Tārā-kūṭa

Tārā-kūṭa (ताराकूट, also written Tara Koota) is the third of the eight kūṭas in the classical Aṣṭa-kūṭa guṇa-milana framework described in Muhūrta Cintāmaṇi and regional muhūrta literature. Tārā in this context names the classical nine-fold nakshatra classification (Janma, Sampat, Vipat, Kṣema, Pratyak, Sādhaka, Vadha, Mitra, Ati-mitra) counted from the native's Janma-nakshatra (the nakshatra occupied by Chandra at birth). Tārā-kūṭa carries a maximum score of 3 points and operates on the two natives' Janma-nakshatras counted from each other.

Classical grounding

Muhūrta Cintāmaṇi of Rāma Daivajña treats the Tārā classification extensively; Nārada Saṃhitā, Jātaka Pārijāta, and regional Muhūrta Dīpaka compendia extend the treatment. The nine-fold Tārā framework is older than its kūṭa-application — the Tārā- count is used classically in muhūrta-selection for all manner of activities (the native's Sampat-tārā nakshatras are classically favourable for new undertakings, Vipat-tārā nakshatras are classically avoided for travel and major transactions), and its application in guṇa-milana is a specialisation of this general framework.

Classification scheme

Classical Tārā-count: from the native's Janma-nakshatra, the 27 nakshatras cycle three times through the 9-fold Tārā series in the sequence Janma (1st), Sampat (2nd), Vipat (3rd), Kṣema (4th), Pratyak (5th), Sādhaka (6th), Vadha (7th), Mitra (8th), Ati-mitra (9th), then repeating. A nakshatra's Tārā classification relative to the native is determined by dividing its position-count-from-Janma (1-indexed) by 9 and reading the remainder. The classical "inauspicious tārās" are Vipat (3rd), Pratyak (5th), and Vadha (7th); the classical "auspicious tārās" are Sampat (2nd), Kṣema (4th), Sādhaka (6th), Mitra (8th), and Ati-mitra (9th); Janma (1st — the native's own nakshatra) is read classically as neutral to restrictedly-auspicious depending on context.

Scoring rules

Classical scoring matrix for Tārā-kūṭa: (1) count the groom's Janma-nakshatra from the bride's Janma-nakshatra and divide by 9; the remainder locates the Tārā; (2) count the bride's Janma- nakshatra from the groom's Janma-nakshatra and divide by 9; the remainder locates the Tārā in that direction. If both counts fall on auspicious tārās, the pair classically scores the full 3 points; if one count is auspicious and the other inauspicious, the pair classically scores 1.5 points; if both counts fall on inauspicious tārās, the pair classically scores 0 points. Regional traditions vary slightly in the half-point allocation for mixed results — some sources score strictly 3, 1.5, or 0; others allow 1, 2, or 3 depending on the combination of specific tārās involved.

Classical interpretation register

The classical register Tārā-kūṭa measures is the nakshatra- position-based register of life-register interaction between the two natives — the classical reading that each native's nakshatra stands in a specific Tārā relationship to every other nakshatra, and the pairing of two natives creates a bidirectional Tārā- register. Classical commentators note that Tārā-kūṭa measures a different register from Yoni-kūṭa (physiological-symbolic), Graha-maitrī-kūṭa (lord-friendship), and Nāḍī-kūṭa (genetic- physiological) — Tārā is specifically the position-register of nakshatra-interrelation. The tradition reports the score; the interpretation of what the score implies for a specific pair is not what the kūṭa itself prescribes.

Related Concepts

• Varṇa-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 1
• Vaśya-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 2
• Yoni-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 4
• Graha-maitrī-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 5
• Gaṇa-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 6
• Bhakūṭa-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 7
• Nāḍī-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 8