Hinduism: Details about 'Gotras'
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A gotra (lit. "cow-pen" or "cow-shed" in archaic rigvedic Sanskrit) is a named family lineage or clan in India.
Origins of GotraThe term 'gotra' is applied generally to all the lineages found in various Indian castes. In southern India, gotras are also known as 'bari' (Tulu) or 'illum' (Malayalam). The names of Brahmin and highly Sanskritized non-Brahmin gotras typically are taken from great sages, however, other castes have different names for their gotras. Gotra could be one of the ancient 'Aryanized' Indian traditions considering the different terminologies used and different names used to denote the lineages and also different ways of inheritance (See "Inheritance of Gotra" below"). Brahmin GotrasBrahmin communities' gotras are normally named after great mythological Rishis, and membership in a particular gotra generally implies patrilineal descent from the rishi. In Brahminical ritual, by reciting of the names of one's ancestor, qualified by the gotra, the hotri claims divine sanction and legitimacy. Present day Brahmin gotras derive from eight rishis, Agastya, Gautama, Vishwamitra, Bharadvaja, Jamadagni, Vasishta, Kashyapa and Atri according to Satapata Brahmana. However, it's difficult to list the Saptarishis (seven sages) as different scriptures give different names of the sages. In many places the names of Mareechi, Atri, Angirasa, Pulatsya, Pulasa, Krathu and Kashyapa were taken as Saptarishis. Perhaps, except for Kashyapa and Atri, the remaining places have been filled by countless other sages in different time and different scriptures. Among Saptarishis Vishwamitra was of known non-Brahmin origin. However, origins of Vasishta and Agastya, though generally considered as Brahmins, are being disputed by the present day scholars who feel both might be of non-brahmin origins. Over time, the number of Brahmic gotras have increased and today, by some counts, number between 50 and 100. A sub-division of the gotra is a pravara, which is a set of the greatest rishis who belonged to the gotra. Inheritance of GotraGenerally, gotras were inherited patrilineally. However, in South India few Malayalee and Tulu castes inherit gotras matrilineally. Marriages and GotrasThe gotra-pravara classification made exogamous systems feasible. Even in ancient times, marriages within pravaras, and according to some scriptures, that within gotras, were not permitted. The reasoning is that marrying within one's gotra would be akin to marrying one's sister and would be akin to incest. However, in southern Indian society this definition of incestuousness took some peculiar forms. In some communities, where the gotras passed from father to children, marriages were allowed between uncle and niece. However, in matrilineal communities, like Malayalis and Tuluvas, where gotras passed from mother to children, uncle-niece marriages were forbidden. A much more common characteristic of southern Indian Hindu society is a marriage between cross-cousins(between children of brother and sister). Thus, a man may marry his mother's brother's daughter or his father's sister's daughter but could not marry his father's brother's daughter. A father's brother's daughter is treated as a sister. Even this cross-cousin marriage is frowned upon by the rest of the Hindu society. However, if one goes by gotra rules even this is acceptable in religious sense since cross-cousins invariably belong to different gotras. The most famous cross-cousin marriage was the one between Arjuna and Subhadra, Krishna's sister, as Krishna's father Vasudeva and Arjuna's mother was Kunti, Vasudeva's sister. Northern Indian Hindu society not only followed rules of gotra when it came to marriages, but also had many regulations which went beyond the basic definition of gotra and had a broader definition of incestuousness. Gotra by itself isn't very comprehensive in determining the marital relationships. In one place, as we see in southern Indian society, it allows marriages between closely related people, on the other hand, it forbids the marriages between totally unrelated people or related few generations back on the grounds that both belong to same gotra. Topics in Hinduism
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