Information AboutGotra |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT GOTRA | |
| indian caste system | |
| families | |
| gotras | |
| hindu philosophical concepts | |
| kinship and descent | |
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ORIGINS OF GOTRA The term 'gotra' is applied generally to all the lineages found in Hinduism. In Southern India , gotras are also known as 'bari' ( Tulu ) or 'illum' ( Malayalam ). The names of Hindu gotras typically are taken from great Sage s. 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"). Hindu Gotras Hindu communities' gotras are normally named after great mythological Rishi s, and membership in a particular gotra generally implies patrilineal descent from the rishi. In Hindu ritual, by reciting of the names of one's ancestor, qualified by the gotra, the Hotri claims divine sanction and legitimacy. Present day Hindu gotras derive from eight rishis:
According to Satapatha Brahmana . However, it's difficult to list the Saptarishi s (seven sages) as different scriptures give different names of the sages. In many places the names of:
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 Hindu origin. However, origins of Vasishta and Agastya , were Hindus. Over time, the number of Hindu 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. Generally, gotras were inherited Patrilineally . MARRIAGES AND GOTRAS The 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 Malayali s and Tuluva s, 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. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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