Shatabhisha's side of a match is a rakshasa gana, the female horse yoni and the Adi nadi, with the Moon always in Aquarius. Across the 27 nakshatras in the table above, its totals run from 7 to 33 as the groom and 8 to 33 as the bride, with one pairing, Dhanishta, in the excellent band either way.
Shatabhisha never leaves Aquarius, so any range in its row comes from the partner. The rest of this note explains the pattern our kundli matching engine produces.
The four kootas Shatabhisha fixes
Shatabhisha, the empty circle of Varuna, is ruled by Rahu and lies in Aquarius, a Saturn sign.
- Gana (6): rakshasa.
- Yoni (4): horse, female. Ashwini is the male horse. The buffalo, yoni of Hasta and Swati, is the sworn enemy.
- Nadi (8): Adi.
- Tara (3): from its place in the sequence.
Varna, vashya, graha maitri and bhakoot are read from Aquarius for every Shatabhisha Moon.
How the Shatabhisha row falls
As the groom: 9 usual scores below 18, 11 between 18 and 24.5, 6 between 25 and 32, and 1 above 32. As the bride: 8, 11, 7 and 1.
Dhanishta heads the list at 33 both ways. Both are rakshasa, and when Dhanishta's Moon is in Aquarius the two share a sign. Its cell still reads 23.5–33 (24.5–33 with Shatabhisha as the bride), because Dhanishta's first two padas are in Capricorn, the sign just before Aquarius, and adjacent signs lose bhakoot.
Krittika comes second, 30.5 as groom and 31.5 as bride, even though it lands on a vadha tara from Shatabhisha. It is rakshasa too, and it is in a different nadi. Its range (26–30.5 and 27–31.5) reflects Krittika's split between Aries and Taurus. Mrigashira follows at 28 and 29, then Shatabhisha with itself at 28. Chitra reaches 26 with a Shatabhisha groom, and Rohini 26.5 with a Shatabhisha bride.
The lowest usual results for a Shatabhisha groom are Uttara Phalguni and Hasta at 8.5 each, and Ardra at 12. All three share the Adi nadi. Uttara Phalguni and Ardra are manushya, which zeroes gana; Hasta is deva, which leaves gana at 1, and it carries the buffalo yoni.
Gana: the fierce temperament
The rakshasa gana explains much of the low end. With a manushya partner (Bharani, Rohini, Ardra, Purva Phalguni, Uttara Phalguni, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, Purva Bhadrapada or Uttara Bhadrapada) gana scores 0 from either side; with a deva partner it gives 1; with another rakshasa it gives 6. Among the five best results with a Shatabhisha groom, every partner except Mrigashira is rakshasa. Some regional manuals ease a gana mismatch under other favourable conditions, and our score simply reports the rule.
Groom and bride figures differ a little, mostly through varna, since the gana table treats rakshasa pairings the same from both sides.
Horse, buffalo and tara
Horse and buffalo are sworn enemies, so Hasta and Swati give 0 of 4 for yoni. Ashwini, the other horse, gives the full 4, but it also shares Shatabhisha's nadi and is deva, so the pair does not rise far.
From Shatabhisha, vipat falls on Pushya, Anuradha and Uttara Bhadrapada; pratyari on Ashwini, Magha and Mula; vadha on Krittika, Uttara Phalguni and Uttara Ashadha. Tara costs up to 1.5 from each direction. Some schools count only from the bride.
Adi nadi and its one exception
Shatabhisha shares the Adi nadi with Ashwini, Ardra, Punarvasu, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Jyeshtha, Mula and Purva Bhadrapada. Nadi scores 0 with each. For seven of them no exception can apply.
The eighth is Purva Bhadrapada. Its first three padas are in Aquarius, so a Purva Bhadrapada Moon there shares Shatabhisha's sign, and the "same Moon sign, different nakshatras" exception can apply. Shatabhisha with Shatabhisha can take the "different padas" exception. How much weight such exceptions carry is a matter on which astrologers genuinely differ; the nadi dosha guide explains the positions.
What else to look at
The ashtakoot total leaves out the rest of both charts: manglik status, the seventh house and its lord, the navamsa and the dashas ahead. South Indian porutham systems read the same nakshatras by other rules. For the full grid, see the nakshatra compatibility chart, and for Shatabhisha's best match, read the Dhanishta page.