Gotra

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In Hindu society, the term gotra means clan. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken
male line from a common male ancestor. Pini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam
pautraprabhrti gotram (IV. 1. 162), which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny (of a sage) beginning
with the son's son." When a person says "I am Kashyapa-gotra," he means that he traces his descent from
the ancient sage Kashyapa by unbroken male descent. According to the Brihadaranyaka Upanisad 2.2.6,
Gautama and Bharadvja, Vivmitra and Jamadagni, Vasiha and Kayapa, and Atri are seven sages (also
known as Saptarishi); the progeny of these eight sages is declared to be gotras. This enumeration of eight
primary gotras seems to have been known to Pini. The offspring (apatya) of these eight are gotras and
others than these are called gotrvayava.
[1]
All members of a particular gotra are believed to possess certain common characteristics by way of nature or
profession. Many theories have been propounded to explain this system. According to the brahminical
theory, the Brahmins are the direct descendants of seven or eight sages who are believed to be the mind-born
sons of Brahma. They are Gautama, Bharadvaja, Vishvamitra, Jamadagni, Vashista, Kashyapa and Atri. To
this list, Agasthya is also sometimes added. These eight sages are called gotrakarins from whom all the 49
gotras (especially of the Brahmins) have evolved. For instance, from Atri sprang the Atreya and Gavisthiras
gotras.
[2]
A gotra must be distinguished from a kula. A kula is a set of people following similar cultural rituals, often
worshiping the same divinity (the Kula-Devata, god of the clan). Kula does not relate to lineage or caste. In
fact, it is possible to change one's kula, based on one's faith or Ia-devat.
It is common practice in preparation for Hindu marriage to inquire about the kula-gotra (meaning clan
lineage) of the bride and groom before approving the marriage. In almost all Hindu families, marriage within
the same gotra is prohibited, since people with same gotra are considered to be siblings. But marriage within
the jati is allowed and even preferred. In Jat caste marriage within people from same gotra as self, mother
and grandmother is not practiced.
For example, Jatts in Northern India have 2500 Gotras, Gujjars in Uttar pradesh have 3000 Gotras and
Mudirajas of Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu have 2600 Gotras.
Gotra is always passed on from father to children among most Hindus. However, among Malayalis and Tulus
it is passed on from mother to children.
Contents
1 Origins
2 Marriages and gotras
2.1 Legal situation
3 List of gotras
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links
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Origins
As a Rigvedic term, gotra simply means "cow shelter" and more generally "stable, enclosure". The narrowed
meaning "family, lineage kin" (as it were "herd within an enclosure") is younger, first recorded around the
mid 1st millennium BCE (e.g., Chandogya Upanishad).
These "lineages" as they developed during that time meant patrilineal descent among Brahmins (the Brahmin
gotra system), warriors and administrators in Kshatriyas and ancestral trademen in Vaisyas
[citation needed]
.
In present-day Hinduism, gotra is applied to all the lineage systems.
Marriages and gotras
In a patrilineal Hindu society (most common), a bride belongs to her father's gotra before a marriage and to
her husband's gotra after it. The groom only belongs to his father's gotra throughout his life.
Marriages within the gotra ('sagotra' marriages) are not permitted under the rule of exogamy in the traditional
matrimonial system. The word 'sagotra' is union the words 'sa' + gotra, where 'sa' means same or similar.
People within the gotra are regarded as kin and marrying such a person would be thought of as incest. The
Kannada words 'sahodara' (brother) and 'sahodari' (sister) derive their roots from the Sanskrit word 'saha
udara' () meaning co-uterine or born of the same womb. In communities where gotra membership
passed from father to children, marriages were allowed between maternal uncle and niece,
[3]
while such
marriages were forbidden in matrilineal communities, like Nairs and Tuluvas, where gotra membership was
passed down from the mother.
A much more common characteristic of South Indian Hindu society is permission for marriage between
cross-cousins (children of brother and sister) as they are of different gotras. Thus, a man is allowed to marry
his maternal uncle's daughter or his paternal aunt's daughter, but is not allowed to marry his father's brother's
daughter. She would be considered a parallel cousin who is treated as a sister as she would be of same
gotra.
[4]
North Indian Hindu society not only follows the rules of gotra for marriages, but also had many regulations
which went beyond the basic definition of gotra and had a broader definition of incestuousness.
[5]
Some
communities in North India do not allow marriage with some other communities on the lines that both the
communities are brotherhoods.
[6]
An acceptable social workaround for sagotra marriages is to perform a 'Dathu' (adoption) of the bride to a
family of different gotra (usually dathu is given to the bride's maternal uncle who belongs to different gotra
by the same rule) and let them perform the 'kanniyadhanam' ('kanniya' (girl) + 'dhanam' (to donate)).
[citation needed]
Legal situation
Khap panchayats in Haryana have been making a huge fuss over banning "same gotra marriages." Kadyan
Khap International convener Naresh Kadyan had moved a petition seeking amendment to the Hindu
Marriage Act (HMA) to legally prohibit marriages in the same gotra. However, the petition was dismissed as
withdrawn after a vacation. Bench of Justices S N Dhingra and A K Pathak of the Delhi High Court warned
that a heavy cost would be imposed on the petitioner for wasting the time of the court.
In course of the proceedings, the bench observed,
You dont know what is a gotra. Which Hindu text prescribes banning of sagotra (same clan)
Gotra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmin_gotra_system
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marriage? Why are you wasting the time of the court? If you are not able to substantiate your
words, then you should not have come before the court.
[7]
In the court case "Madhavrao vs Raghavendrarao" which involved a Deshastha Brahmin couple, the
German scholar Max Mueller's definition of gotra as descending from eight sages and then branching out to
several families was thrown out by reputed judges of a Bombay High Court.[3]
[citation needed]
The court
called the idea of Brahmin families descending from an unbroken line of common ancestors as indicated by
the names of their respective gotras "impossible to accept."[4]
[citation needed]
The court consulted relevant
Hindu texts and stressed the need for Hindu society and law to keep up with the times, emphasizing that
notions of good social behavior and the general ideology of the Hindu society had changed.[5]
[citation needed]
The court also said that the mass of material in the Hindu texts is so vast and full of contradictions that it is
almost an impossible task to reduce it to order and coherence.[3]
List of gotras
The following is a partial list of gotras found in the Brahmin community of Hindus:
Agastya
Aliman
Angad
Angirasa
Atreya
Atri
Bharadwaj
Bayan
Bhargava
Charora
Chivukula
Chyavana
Dadhichi
Dalabhya
Dhananjaya
Dubey
Gautam
Harita/ Haritash/Haritsa
Jaabaali/ Jabali
Jaimini
Jamadagni
Kankar/ Kankariya
Kanva
Kapila
Akshinthala
Kapinjala
Kapisa
Kashyap
Katyayana
Kaundinya/kowndinya
Kaundrus
Kaushal
Kaushik
Kutsa
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Kush
Mandavya
Marichi
Markandeya
Maudgalya (Moudgil, Mudgal)
Monash
Nanda
Parashara
Pathak
Ramanuja
Rikhi
akti (Shaktri)
Salankayana
Sandilya
Sangar
Sankrithi(Sankrityayan)
Savarna
Shandilya
Sharma
Shaunaka
Shiva(Shiv-adi)
Soral
Srivatsa
Suryadhwaja
Tiwari
Upadhyay
Upamanyu
Upreti
Vadula
Vartantu
Vashista
Vatsyayan
Vishvamitra (sage)/Kamsi
Yaska
Vats
See also
Ahir clans
List of Gurjar clans
Prajapati Clans
Tuluva Malayali lineage system
Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar
Pravaras
Heer (clan)
Notes
^ Brahmin, brahmana, caste, tribe, gotra, rishi, ritual, india, hindu, religion, Mana Sanskriti (Our Culture), Issue
69 (http://www.vedah.net/manasanskriti/Brahmins.html)
1.
^ http://www.gurjari.net/ico/Mystica/html/gotra.htm 2.
^ India - Marriage (http://countrystudies.us/india/86.htm) 3.
^ http://neurologyasia.org/articles/20073_015.pdf 4.
^ Sex and Marriage: Marriage Rules (Part 1) (http://anthro.palomar.edu/marriage/marriage_3.htm) 5.
Gotra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmin_gotra_system
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^ Haryana panchayat takes on govt over same-gotra marriage - Indian Express (http://www.indianexpress.com
/news/haryana-panchayat-takes-on-govt-over-samegotra-marriage/491548/)
6.
^ HC throws out plea to forbid same gotra marriages (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi
/article472462.ece), The Hindu, June 2010
7.
References
Ruegg, D. Seyfort (1976). 'The Meanings of the Term "Gotra" and the Textual History of the
"Ratnagotravibhga"'. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London,
Vol. 39, No. 2 (1976), pp. 341363, Brihadaranyaka Upanisad 2.2.6
External links
Brahmin Sages and Branches (Gotras and Subcastes) (http://www.vedah.net/manasanskriti
/Brahmins.html#Brahmin_Sages_and_Branches)
[1] (http://www.scribd.com/doc/40946827/Gothra-Pattika)(List of rishi, their known gotra lineage-
The Gothra root is same irrespective of sct or sub sect in all Brahmins)
gotra (http://www.gurjari.net/ico/Mystica/html/gotra.htm)
Goelji.com (http://goelji.com) is a community portal of baniyas
Marriage Ceremonies (http://www.sanathanadharma.com/samskaras/index.htm#VIVAHA)
Encyclopdia Britannica (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/239834/gotra)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gotra&oldid=603712897"
Categories: Indian caste system Families Hindu philosophical concepts Kinship and descent Gotras
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