The eight kootas
Yoni Koota: Animal Symbols, Points and Meaning
By Match Kundli Editorial Team · Updated · 4 min read
Yoni koota is worth 4 points and compares the animal symbol, or yoni, attached to each person's birth nakshatra. Tradition reads it as a measure of physical and instinctive compatibility. On this site, the same animal for both people scores 4, one of the seven classical pairs of natural enemies scores 0, and every other combination scores 2.
Because each animal belongs to specific nakshatras, the Yoni result is fixed the moment both birth stars are known.
The fourteen yonis and their nakshatras
Thirteen of the animals are shared by two nakshatras each, and the mongoose belongs to one, which accounts for all 27 stars.
| Yoni (animal) | Nakshatras |
|---|---|
| Horse | Ashwini, Shatabhisha |
| Elephant | Bharani, Revati |
| Sheep | Krittika, Pushya |
| Serpent | Rohini, Mrigashira |
| Dog | Ardra, Mula |
| Cat | Punarvasu, Ashlesha |
| Rat | Magha, Purva Phalguni |
| Cow | Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Bhadrapada |
| Buffalo | Hasta, Swati |
| Tiger | Chitra, Vishakha |
| Deer | Anuradha, Jyeshtha |
| Monkey | Purva Ashadha, Shravana |
| Mongoose | Uttara Ashadha |
| Lion | Dhanishta, Purva Bhadrapada |
In older texts the mongoose's second star is Abhijit, a short extra nakshatra that the 27-star matching system leaves out.
The seven pairs of natural enemies
The heart of the Yoni koota is a list of animal pairs that folklore regards as natural enemies. These pairs are consistent across almost every source.
| Enemy pair | Nakshatras involved |
|---|---|
| Horse and Buffalo | Ashwini, Shatabhisha with Hasta, Swati |
| Elephant and Lion | Bharani, Revati with Dhanishta, Purva Bhadrapada |
| Sheep and Monkey | Krittika, Pushya with Purva Ashadha, Shravana |
| Serpent and Mongoose | Rohini, Mrigashira with Uttara Ashadha |
| Dog and Deer | Ardra, Mula with Anuradha, Jyeshtha |
| Cat and Rat | Punarvasu, Ashlesha with Magha, Purva Phalguni |
| Cow and Tiger | Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Bhadrapada with Chitra, Vishakha |
If one person's star is on the left of a pair and the other's is on the right, Yoni scores zero.
How this site scores Yoni, and how other tables differ
The calculator uses three tiers:
- 4 points when both people share the same animal.
- 0 points when the two animals form one of the seven enemy pairs above.
- 2 points for every other combination.
Classical tables are more finely graded. Between "same" and "enemy" they usually sort the remaining pairings into friendly, neutral and unfriendly, worth 3, 2 and 1 points, and some also take the male or female nature of each star into account. Those middle grades vary noticeably from one almanac to the next, so the site uses the documented middle value of 2 rather than choosing one source's grid. The practical effect is that another calculator may show 1 or 3 where this one shows 2. Same-animal and enemy results agree everywhere.
Yoni in the worked examples
All three worked examples, computed from fictional birth details with the site's engine, land in the middle tier:
| Example | Boy's star and yoni | Girl's star and yoni | Yoni score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example 1 | Uttara Bhadrapada, Cow | Shravana, Monkey | 2 |
| Example 2 | Revati, Elephant | Shravana, Monkey | 2 |
| Example 3 | Mrigashira, Serpent | Shravana, Monkey | 2 |
Small changes show how sharply the score can move. If the girl in Example 2 had been born in Dhanishta instead of Shravana, her yoni would be the lion, the elephant's natural enemy, and the score would fall to 0. If the boy in Example 3 had been born in Purva Ashadha, he would share the monkey yoni with her and the score would rise to 4.
What the animal symbolism is meant to convey
The animals stand for instinctive nature: appetite, energy, rhythm and the way a person reacts under pressure. A shared animal is read as an easy, instinctive fit. Friendly or neutral animals suggest a comfortable but less automatic fit. An enemy pairing is read as a sign that physical or temperamental friction may surface from time to time, and the detailed report on this site describes it as something "best met with patience rather than force".
None of this is meant literally. Two people whose stars are "cat" and "rat" are not expected to quarrel like animals; the symbols are a traditional shorthand for differences in temperament that a couple may want to recognise.
Same animal, different stars
A full Yoni score does not require the same nakshatra. Rohini and Mrigashira are different stars, and can fall in different Moon signs, yet both carry the serpent, so a Rohini boy with a Mrigashira girl scores 4. The same is true of the other twelve animals that cover two stars. Two people born under exactly the same nakshatra always share a yoni as well, but that situation also produces Nadi Dosha, so a perfect Yoni score on its own is not a reason to stop reading the report.
How much weight Yoni carries
At 4 points, Yoni sits in the middle of the scale. It never produces a dosha, and a zero still leaves 32 points available. Astrologers often read it together with two other temperament kootas: Vashya, which describes attraction and influence, and Gana, which describes basic nature. When all three are weak, the reading usually encourages the couple to talk about how they handle stress and disagreement; when only Yoni is weak, it is typically treated as a minor note.
If you want to know which yoni your own star carries, first confirm the nakshatra itself, as described in Moon sign and nakshatra: how they are calculated. The guide to reading your report shows where the Yoni score appears.