Kundali Details in a Marriage Biodata: Rashi, Nakshatra, Gotra & Manglik Explained

The horoscope section confuses more biodata writers than any other — half the fields are Sanskrit terms most of us have heard at family functions but never had to define. Here is what each field means, where to find yours, and how to write it so an astrologically-minded family reads it without follow-up calls.

Each term, plainly

Rashi (राशि): Your moon sign — the zodiac sign the Moon occupied at your birth. There are 12 (Mesh to Meen). Note this is usually different from the "sun sign" of English horoscopes.

Nakshatra (नक्षत्र): Your birth star — one of 27 lunar constellations (Ashwini to Revati). Along with rashi, it is the primary input for gun-milan (the 36-point compatibility match).

Gotra (गोत्र): Your paternal lineage, passed down from father to child. Many communities require the couple to be of different gotras, which is why it appears on biodatas.

Manglik (मांगलिक): Whether Mars (Mangal) sits in the 1st, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th house of your chart. Written as Yes / No / Anshik (partial). Two manglik matches are traditionally considered compatible with each other.

Gan (गण): A temperament classification from your nakshatra — Dev (gentle), Manushya (balanced) or Rakshasa (strong-willed; the name sounds harsher than it means). Used mainly in Maharashtrian and North Indian matching.

Nadi (नाडी): One of three pulse types (Aadi, Madhya, Antya) derived from the nakshatra. Same-nadi matches score zero on that gun-milan criterion, so families like to see it stated.

How it looks filled in

Also make sure the time and place of birth in your personal details are exact — serious families will generate the full kundali themselves from those two fields, and a wrong birth time produces a wrong chart.

When to include it, when to skip it

• Include it if your family or community matches kundalis — filling it completely signals cooperation and saves a round of phone calls.
• Skip it entirely if your family does not follow astrology. A deleted section reads as a choice; a half-empty one reads as evasion.
• Never guess. A wrong gotra or manglik status discovered later damages trust at the worst possible moment. If you do not know, ask the family pandit or leave the field out.