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Home History What is a Brahmin? List of Brahmin Gotras
List of Brahmin Gotras
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List of Brahmin Gotras | SBBSLeics http://www.bardaionline.com/history/brahmin/list-of-brahmin-gotras/
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Gotra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Brahmin gotra system)
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]
Contents
1 Origins
2 History
3 Marriages and gotras
3.1 Legal situation
4 List of gotras
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links
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 patri-lineal descent among Brahmins (the Brahmin gotra system), warriors and administrators in
Kshatriyas and ancestral tradesmen in Vaisyas
[2]
In present-day Hinduism, gotra is applied to all the lineage systems.
History
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.
[3]
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, yased on one's faith or Ia-devat.
Marriages and gotras
In a patri-lineal 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. 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. People within the gotra are regarded as kin and marrying such a person would
be thought of as incest. 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 Jatt 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.
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,
[4]
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.
[5]
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.
[6]
Some communities in North India do not allow marriage with some other communities on the lines that
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