A Sikh-Hindu couple, or a Sikh family with Hindu relatives, often runs into a specific question: is kundli matching something Sikhism asks for, or is it a separate tradition some families follow regardless?
Not a religious requirement in Sikhism
The Anand Karaj, the Sikh marriage ceremony, does not include kundli matching as a religious step. Sikh scripture and the Anand Karaj Maryada do not prescribe checking birth charts before marriage. On the religious side alone, there is no requirement here.
Why many Punjabi Sikh families still do it
That said, kundli matching shows up in many Sikh weddings anyway, particularly in Punjabi families with Hindu extended family, regional customs shared across communities, or simply a household habit carried forward across generations. In these cases, families are treating it as a cultural practice rather than a religious one, similar to how many customs travel across communities in North India without being tied to a specific faith’s doctrine.
The distinction matters for how it’s discussed
Naming this clearly helps avoid confusion within the couple’s own families: one side may expect it as “how things are done,” while the other may see it as optional or unfamiliar. Neither view is wrong, and this is not a case where one tradition’s practice is more correct than the other’s. It is worth talking through openly rather than assuming everyone shares the same expectation.
How this typically plays out in real families
In most cases, it is the older generation that requests the kundli match, not the couple themselves. A Sikh grandmother who grew up in Jalandhar or Amritsar, where kundli matching was common across both Hindu and Sikh families in the neighbourhood, may consider it a normal pre-wedding step regardless of what the Rehat Maryada says. The couple, who may be in their late twenties and living in Toronto or Birmingham, often goes along with it to keep the peace. This is not cynicism. It is how families actually work. The important thing is that both partners understand what the exercise is and what it is not. An Ashtakoota score of 18 out of 36 does not mean the marriage is doomed, and a score of 32 does not guarantee anything. It is one cultural input among many, and its weight in the decision should match how much authority the family genuinely gives it, not how much anxiety it generates. If only one side of the family cares about the result, that is worth discussing openly before the charts are even pulled up.
Where the Anand Karaj and kundli matching intersect, if at all
Because the Anand Karaj has no astrological component, when a Sikh-Hindu couple does choose a kundli match, it’s typically kept separate from the wedding ceremony, done weeks or months earlier as a private family step rather than folded into any Gurdwara ritual. This differs from Hindu weddings, where the muhurat for the wedding date often comes directly out of the same astrological process. Families sometimes still want a favourable wedding date (checking Rahu Kaal or a good tithi), but that’s separate from the Ashtakoota comparison and has nothing to do with Sikh religious requirements either.
What to do if the families disagree
If one family wants a kundli match and the other doesn’t see the point, the workable middle ground most couples land on is treating it as informational rather than a requirement either family imposes on the other. The side that wants it gets their reading and shares it if they wish, but it doesn’t function as a veto for the side that doesn’t put weight on it. That keeps the process from becoming a test of whose customs take precedence right before a wedding.
If a family wants to proceed
Families who choose to do it can use the kundli matching tool for a standard Ashtakoota reading, same as any other couple.