What is a good guna score for marriage?

In traditional Ashtakoot gun milan, 18 out of 36 is the minimum acceptable score. Scores of 24-32 are considered good to excellent. Above 32 is rare and highly auspicious. Below 18, pandits usually recommend checking dosha cancellation before proceeding.

Is 16 out of 36 guna match good for marriage?

16/36 is below the traditional minimum of 18 gunas. It indicates weak compatibility on key Ashtakoot factors. Marriage may still be possible if major doshas (Nadi, Bhakoot, Manglik) are absent or cancelled, but a qualified astrologer should verify the full horoscope before deciding.

How long does a kundli matching report take?

Your detailed kundli matching report is generated within 3-5 minutes after payment. You receive a comprehensive analysis covering dosha status, gun milan score, remedies, and muhurat dates — delivered instantly to your email.

May 10, 2026 • 10 min read

Born in the USA — Does Time Zone Affect Your Kundli Matching?

By KundliMilan Research Team

Last updated: May 2026

If you or your partner were born in the United States, you have probably run into some version of this problem: a pandit in India asks for the birth time and place, you give them accurate details, and the chart that comes back looks slightly different from what an online tool shows. Or your parents have an old horoscope for you that was made in India years ago, and no one is sure whether it accounts for the time zone correctly.

This is a real issue. The Lagna (ascendant) can shift by a full house if the birth time offset is wrong by even an hour. Here is exactly what to do.

The direct answer: which time to enter

Enter the local clock time at the place of birth. If you were born at 4:30 PM in New York, enter 4:30 PM with New York as the birth city. Most modern kundli software — including tools like KundliMilan — handles the UTC conversion internally.

Do not manually convert to IST (Indian Standard Time) unless the tool specifically asks for IST and has no city input. Manually converting is where most errors happen.

Daylight saving time is the most common error

The US observes daylight saving time (DST) from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. During this period, clocks move one hour ahead.

This matters for kundli because a birth recorded at 9:00 AM EDT (summer) is actually 8:00 AM EST in standard time. If your software does not adjust for DST automatically — or if a pandit entering your details does not know DST was active — the chart gets calculated one hour off.

One hour can move the Lagna (ascendant) from one sign to the next, changing house lordships and the interpretation of your chart entirely. It does not affect the guna score from Rashi and Nakshatra — those depend on the Moon, which moves slowly — but it changes the full chart reading.

How to check: Look up whether DST was active on your birth date at your birth location. Timeanddate.com has a historical DST lookup. Confirm with whatever time is on your birth certificate.

US time zones at a glance

The four main continental US time zones and their IST offsets:

Eastern (EST/EDT): UTC-5 (standard) / UTC-4 (DST). IST is +5:30 from UTC, so EST is IST-10:30; EDT is IST-9:30.
Central (CST/CDT): UTC-6 / UTC-5. IST is IST-11:30 / IST-10:30.
Mountain (MST/MDT): UTC-7 / UTC-6.
Pacific (PST/PDT): UTC-8 / UTC-7.

Again: enter the local time and the city name into any reputable kundli software. The tool calculates the offset. If you are working with a pandit who needs IST, confirm whether they are accounting for DST before giving the converted time.

What if your old kundli was made incorrectly?

Many Indian-Americans have horoscopes prepared by pandits in India who entered the birth time without knowing DST was active, or who manually converted using a fixed offset without accounting for the date. This was especially common before digital tools became standard.

If you suspect your old kundli used the wrong time: recalculate using a tool that accepts city name and local time. Compare the Lagna (ascendant sign) and Moon sign. If the Lagna changes, the old chart needs revision. If only minor planetary degrees shift slightly but the Rashi and Nakshatra are the same, the guna score is unaffected.

A KundliMilan expert report can review your details and flag time zone errors before completing the matching analysis — useful if you are unsure whether your existing chart is accurate. The report is ₹249 (~$3) and specifically notes whether US birth details were handled correctly.

What about matching when one person is from the US and one is from India?

The matching process itself is identical. Kundli matching compares chart placements — Rashi, Nakshatra, and the eight kootas — and those are derived from birth details regardless of country. As long as both birth dates, times, and places are accurate, the charts can be matched normally.

The practical challenge is making sure both charts are calculated correctly. The India-born person's chart is usually straightforward. The US-born person's chart needs DST verification. That is the only additional step.

See our detailed guide on kundli matching for couples born in different countries for the full cross-border setup.

Frequently asked questions

What time zone should I use for kundli if I was born in the USA?

Use the local time zone where the birth actually happened — Eastern, Central, Mountain, or Pacific — and convert it accurately to IST only if the software requires IST input. Many modern kundli tools accept local time directly. The key is that the chart is cast for the exact moment and place of birth, not adjusted after the fact.

Does daylight saving time (DST) affect kundli accuracy?

Yes. If you were born during DST in the US, your actual clock time is one hour ahead of standard time. A birth recorded as 3:00 PM EDT in summer is actually 2:00 PM EST in winter terms. Entering the wrong time can shift the Lagna (ascendant) by one house, which affects the entire chart. Always confirm whether DST was in effect on your birth date.

Can I match kundli if one person was born in India and the other in the USA?

Yes. Kundli matching compares chart positions at the moment of birth, not where those births happened. The birth location determines the Lagna (ascendant) and house positions. As long as both birth details — date, time, place — are accurate, the matching process works exactly the same regardless of which country each person was born in.

What if I do not know my exact birth time?

Approximate birth times create uncertainty mainly around the Lagna (ascendant) and Moon sign. For Ashtakoot guna matching, the Moon sign (Rashi) and Nakshatra are most critical. If your time is within 2–3 hours, a competent astrologer can often work within a range or use Prashna (horary) methods. See our dedicated guide on kundli matching without exact birth time.

Is it a problem if my parents used IST for my US birth in an older kundli?

It is a common error. Older horoscopes cast by pandits in India sometimes used IST or added an incorrect offset. If your chart was prepared this way, the Lagna and some planetary positions may be off. The guna score from Rashi and Nakshatra is usually unaffected — since Nakshatra depends primarily on Moon's degree, not Lagna — but for full chart analysis it is worth recalculating with the correct local time.