Yoni-kūṭa

Yoni-kūṭa (योनिकूट, also written Yoni Koota) is the fourth of the eight kūṭas in the classical Aṣṭa-kūṭa guṇa-milana framework and carries a maximum score of 4 points. Yoni in this context names the classical animal-symbol assigned to each of the 27 nakshatras — the symbolic-form register through which the nakshatra's physical-instinctual character is classically read. The kūṭa operates on the animal-form pairing of the two natives' Janma-nakshatras and reads the pair through the classical 14-yoni relational matrix of friendship, enmity, neutrality, and gender-based pairing.

Classical grounding

Muhūrta Cintāmaṇi of Rāma Daivajña names the 14 yoni-assignments and the full relational matrix; Nārada Saṃhitā, Bṛhat Saṃhitā of Varāhamihira (chapter 98 specifically for yoni-pairings), and the Jātaka Pārijāta provide extended treatment. The yoni- assignment for each nakshatra is older than its application in guṇa-milana — the classical reading of nakshatra-as-animal-symbol figures in older vedāṅga-jyotiṣa literature and in the Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa's enumeration of nakshatra presiding forms.

Classification scheme

Classical 14-yoni assignments across the 27 nakshatras (each yoni carrying both male and female nakshatra-representatives): Aśva (horse) — Aśvinī (male), Śatabhiṣā (female); Gaja (elephant) — Bharaṇī (male), Revatī (female); Meṣa (ram) — Puṣya (male), Kṛttikā (female); Sarpa (serpent) — Rohiṇī (male), Mṛgaśīrṣā (female); Śvāna (dog) — Mūla (male), Ārdrā (female); Mārjāra (cat) — Aśleṣā (male), Puṣpamī classically assigned to Puṣya per some sources — regional variation exists; Mūṣaka (rat) — Maghā (male), Pūrva-Phalgunī (female); Gau (cow) — Uttara-Phalgunī (male), Uttara-Bhādrapadā (female); Mahiṣa (buffalo) — Svātī (male-female pairing per Bṛhat Saṃhitā 98; regional variation), Hastā (counter-pairing); Vyāghra (tiger) — Viśākhā (male), Citrā (female); Mṛga (deer) — Anurādhā (male), Jyeṣṭhā (female); Vānara (monkey) — Pūrva-Āṣāḍhā (male), Śravaṇa (female); Nakula (mongoose) — Abhijit in extended schemes, or Dhaniṣṭhā in some regional assignments; Siṃha (lion) — Pūrva-Bhādrapadā (male), Uttara-Āṣāḍhā (female). The nakshatra- to-yoni mapping is authoritatively listed in Muhūrta Cintāmaṇi; regional variants exist for three or four nakshatras.

Scoring rules

Classical scoring matrix for Yoni-kūṭa: (1) same-yoni pairing with opposite-gender complementarity classically scores the full 4 points; (2) same-yoni same-gender pairing classically scores 3 points; (3) friend-yoni pairing classically scores 3 points (friendship relations listed in Muhūrta Cintāmaṇi's yoni-maitrī table); (4) neutral-yoni pairing classically scores 2 points; (5) enemy-yoni pairing classically scores 1 point; (6) bhakṣya- bhakṣaka (predator-prey) yoni pairing — e.g., Vyāghra-Mṛga (tiger-deer), Siṃha-Gaja (lion-elephant), Sarpa-Nakula (serpent-mongoose), Mārjāra-Mūṣaka (cat-rat), Śvāna-Mṛga (dog-deer) — classically scores 0 points.

Classical interpretation register

The classical register Yoni-kūṭa measures is the physical- instinctual temperament dimension of the pair — a register the tradition reads as touching physical compatibility, instinctual response-patterns, and the animal-symbolic interrelations the yoni-classification names. Of the eight kūṭas, Yoni sits in the middle of the weighting-range and reads a register the classical tradition treats as distinct from the more-temperamental Varṇa and Vaśya assessments and from the more-structural Bhakūṭa and Nāḍī measurements. The tradition reports the scoring; the interpretive framework locates Yoni-kūṭa as one diagnostic among eight and does not prescribe action from the score alone.

Related Concepts

Varṇa-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 1
Vaśya-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 2
Tārā-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 3
Graha-maitrī-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 5
Gaṇa-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 6
Bhakūṭa-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 7
Nāḍī-kūṭa — Aṣṭa-kūṭa 8