Bhakoot dosha 6/8, 2/12, 5/9: meaning and cancellation rules

Bhakoot dosha means the bride's and groom's Moon signs sit 2/12, 5/9 or 6/8 apart, so the Bhakoot koota of Gun Milan scores 0 instead of 7. It is not rare: exactly half of all couples have it, because six of the twelve possible sign distances count. Tradition itself cancels it for 17 of the 36 sign pairs involved, so the first question is never "is it there?" but "is it cancelled?".

What is Bhakoot dosha?

Gun Milan (Ashtakoota) compares two birth charts through eight kootas worth 36 points. Bhakoot, also written Bhakut or called Rashi koota, compares the two Moon signs (rashis). At 7 points it is the second largest koota after Nadi.

Bhakoot does not look at the signs themselves, only at the distance between them. When the distance is one of three "difficult" pairs, Bhakoot scores 0 and the match is said to have Bhakoot dosha. Every other distance scores the full 7. There is no half score.

Tradition reads Bhakoot for the welfare of the household: money, children, health and harmony. These are traditional cautions, not predictions about any couple.

Which Moon-sign distances cause it?

Count from the bride's Moon sign to the groom's, taking her sign as 1. Then count back from his to hers. Unless both have the same sign, the two counts always add up to 14, so they come in pairs.

Distance	Name in tradition	Traditionally linked with	Bhakoot points
2 and 12	Dwirdwadasha	money and expenses	0 (dosha)
5 and 9	Navapanchama	children	0 (dosha)
6 and 8	Shashtashtaka	health, disputes, harmony	0 (dosha)
Same sign (1)			7
3 and 11, 4 and 10			7
7 and 7 (opposite signs)	Samasaptaka		7

Two things surprise many families. The same Moon sign is not a dosha; it scores the full 7. And opposite signs (7/7) are among the best distances, not the worst.

If you do not know your Moon sign or birth star, the birth star finder gives both from your date, time and place of birth.

When is Bhakoot dosha cancelled?

Classical practice sets Bhakoot dosha aside when the lords of the two Moon signs are:

1. The same planet. Mars rules Mesha and Vrischika, Venus rules Vrishabha and Tula, Mercury rules Mithuna and Kanya, Jupiter rules Dhanu and Meena, and Saturn rules Makara and Kumbha.
2. Natural friends of each other. The friendships are the ones given in Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra. Our check requires the friendship to run both ways: each lord must count the other as a friend.

Because the rule depends only on the two signs, it can be written out in full. These are all 36 sign pairs with Bhakoot dosha:

Distance	Cancelled (same lord or mutual friends)	Not cancelled
6/8	Mesha–Vrischika (Mars), Vrishabha–Tula (Venus), Simha–Meena (Sun and Jupiter)	Mesha–Kanya, Vrishabha–Dhanu, Mithuna–Vrischika, Mithuna–Makara, Karka–Dhanu, Karka–Kumbha, Simha–Makara, Kanya–Kumbha, Tula–Meena
2/12	Vrishabha–Mithuna, Karka–Simha, Kanya–Tula, Vrischika–Dhanu, Makara–Kumbha, Meena–Mesha	Mesha–Vrishabha, Mithuna–Karka, Simha–Kanya, Tula–Vrischika, Dhanu–Makara, Kumbha–Meena
5/9	Mesha–Simha, Vrishabha–Kanya, Mithuna–Tula, Simha–Dhanu, Tula–Kumbha, Vrischika–Meena, Dhanu–Mesha, Makara–Vrishabha	Karka–Vrischika, Kanya–Makara, Kumbha–Mithuna, Meena–Karka

The order within a pair does not matter: Simha–Meena is cancelled whether the bride or the groom has Simha.

Our check never adds the 7 points back. It shows the score as counted and a note beside it, for example "Bhakoot dosha present, traditionally cancelled because the two rasi lords are natural friends". That way the same couple gets the same number everywhere.

How often does Bhakoot dosha occur, and how often is it cancelled?

We paired every birth-star quarter (pada) with every other: 11,664 bride and groom pairs, counted with the same code as our free check. Because every sign holds exactly nine padas, each sign distance is equally likely.

Distance	Share of all couples	Of these, cancelled	Share of all couples, cancelled
2/12	16.7%	6 of 12 sign pairs (50%)	8.3%
5/9	16.7%	8 of 12 sign pairs (67%)	11.1%
6/8	16.7%	3 of 12 sign pairs (25%)	4.2%
All Bhakoot dosha	50%	47.2%	23.6%

So about one couple in four has Bhakoot dosha that tradition does not cancel. The 6/8 relation, shashtashtaka, is the one least often cancelled: only three of its twelve sign pairs qualify, so a 6/8 couple is the least likely to see it cancelled.

The complete pair-by-pair data is in our star-match file, and the method is on the editorial standards page.

What do cancelled and uncancelled 6/8 matches look like?

Both couples below are 6/8 apart and their totals are only two points apart: 26.5 and 24.5 of 36. One has Bhakoot dosha cancelled, the other does not.

Cancelled. The bride is Uttara Phalguni in its first pada, which falls in Simha. The groom is Uttara Bhadrapada in Meena. Simha to Meena is 8, Meena to Simha is 6. The lords, the Sun and Jupiter, count each other as friends, so the dosha is cancelled:

Koota	What it looks at	Points	Out of
Varna	Spiritual outlook	1	1
Vashya	Mutual influence	1	2
Tara	Health and well-being (birth-star count)	1.5	3
Yoni	Physical and emotional closeness	4	4
Graha Maitri	Friendship of the Moon-sign lords	5	5
Gana	Temperament	6	6
Bhakoot	Moon-sign distance: family welfare	0	7
Nadi	Health of the couple and children	8	8
Total		26.5	36

• Bhakoot dosha present, traditionally cancelled because the two rasi lords are natural friends.

Not cancelled. The bride is Mrigashira in Mithuna (its third or fourth pada) and the groom is Shravana in Makara. Again 6/8. Mercury rules Mithuna and Saturn rules Makara. Saturn counts Mercury as a friend, but Mercury counts Saturn only as neutral. Graha Maitri still gives 4 of 5, yet the friendship is not mutual, so the Bhakoot dosha stands:

Koota	What it looks at	Points	Out of
Varna	Spiritual outlook	1	1
Vashya	Mutual influence	0.5	2
Tara	Health and well-being (birth-star count)	3	3
Yoni	Physical and emotional closeness	2	4
Graha Maitri	Friendship of the Moon-sign lords	4	5
Gana	Temperament	6	6
Bhakoot	Moon-sign distance: family welfare	0	7
Nadi	Health of the couple and children	8	8
Total		24.5	36

• Vashya: this star crosses the middle of its sign, so the exact degree can change the group.

The totals are two points apart and the 10 poruthams give 7 of 10 for both. What differs is the note under the table, and that note is what a careful family should read. This is also why a total alone never tells the whole story.

How is Bhakoot different from Rasi porutham and shashtashtakam?

In Tamil Nadu and much of the South, families use the 10 poruthams rather than Gun Milan. One of them, Rashi porutham, also compares the Moon signs, but with a different rule:

• It fails for 2, 6, 8 and 12, counted from the bride's sign to the groom's. So 2/12 and 6/8 fail in both systems.
• It does not fail for 5/9. A 5/9 couple can have Bhakoot dosha in Gun Milan and still pass Rashi porutham.
• It has no lord-based cancellation inside it. The lords are judged in a separate porutham, Rashi Adhipati, which passes when the lords are the same or not enemies.

In Tamil the 6/8 relation is called ஷஷ்டாஷ்டகம் (shashtashtakam), and it is a common worry in South Indian matching. Over all pada pairs, Rashi porutham passes for 63.5%. Read the 10 poruthams explained and Gun Milan or 10 poruthams? for the two systems side by side.

Where do references differ?

• One-way or mutual friendship. Some references cancel the dosha when the lords are friendly in just one direction, or even neutral. We require mutual friendship, the stricter reading. A pair like Mithuna–Makara is cancelled in some books and not in others.
• Navamsa lords. Some references also cancel Bhakoot when the lords of the two Moon navamsas are the same or friends. That needs the exact Moon degree in both full kundlis, not the star names alone.
• Points added back. Some calculators add the 7 points back when a cancellation applies, so the first couple above scores 33.5 on one site and 26.5 on another. We keep the counted score and show the cancellation as a note.
• How strictly to read the total. Drik Panchang reads the total more strictly when Bhakoot fails: the match is never called excellent, 26 or more is very good and 21 to 25 is middling. Our free check shows this reading beside the usual 18-point one. See how many gunas should match.
• Milder and harsher 6/8. Some Tamil families and almanacs call certain 6/8 pairs a milder, friendly shashtashtakam. The lists differ from book to book, so we apply only the lord rule above.

When two websites disagree about the same couple, ask which of these rules each one used before worrying.

What does Bhakoot dosha mean for your marriage?

Bhakoot dosha is guidance, not a guarantee of anything, good or bad. A sensible order:

1. Find the two Moon signs and check the table above. If the pair is in the "cancelled" column, tradition itself sets the dosha aside.
2. Run the free kundli matching check. It shows Bhakoot, the cancellation if any, Nadi, the total with both readings, and the 10 poruthams.
3. If it is not cancelled, read the whole match. Look at the total, Nadi dosha, Rajju and Vedha, both charts and dosha balance (dosha samya) together. See Rajju and Vedha and dosha samya.
4. Keep fear out of it. No costly puja or remedy is needed to decide. If your family wishes to do a simple prayer, that is a personal choice, not a condition. Navatara never sells one.

For a real proposal, send both horoscopes or birth details to your personal astrologer on WhatsApp. You get Bhakoot with its cancellation, Nadi, the 10 poruthams, Rajju and Vedha, Mangal dosha in both charts and a clear answer with the reasons. There is no need to go anywhere. Talking first is free, and you pay only when sure: a proposal check is ₹199, all taxes included (see all prices). If marriage itself is getting delayed, the marriage timing reading looks at that separately.

Questions families ask

Is 6/8 (shashtashtakam) always bad? It always gives Bhakoot dosha, but it is cancelled for three sign pairs: Mesha–Vrischika, Vrishabha–Tula and Simha–Meena. For the other nine, families usually weigh it with the full charts rather than on its own.

Is a 5/9 match acceptable? In Gun Milan it is Bhakoot dosha, but eight of the twelve 5/9 sign pairs are cancelled by their lords. In the South Indian 10 poruthams, 5/9 passes Rashi porutham.

Does the same Moon sign give Bhakoot dosha? No. The same sign scores the full 7 points. In the 10 poruthams the same sign also passes, unless the birth star is the same too.

What Gun Milan score is enough if Bhakoot fails? By the common reading, 18 or more is acceptable. Drik Panchang is stricter when Bhakoot fails: 26 or more is very good and 21 to 25 middling. Read how many gunas should match.

Can we check Bhakoot without a birth time? Usually, yes: the Moon sign is known from the birth star for most stars. For the nine stars that span two signs, such as Mrigashira or Uttara Phalguni, you need the pada or the time. See matching without a birth time.

Is a Bhakoot dosha nivaran puja necessary? Tradition's own cancellations come first, and they need no puja. When the dosha stands, a remedy is a matter of family belief, never a requirement, and it should never be expensive or sold through fear.

For the whole picture of a match, read Ashtakoota Gun Milan explained and the nakshatra compatibility table.