Gotra (also spelled as Gothra in South India) in Hindu society refers to a group of people who trace their ancestry to a common male ancestor. Some of the common Gotras are Bharadvaja, Sandilya, Kashyapa and Vatsa.
Technical Definition of Gotra
- Gotra means an enclosure for cows. Just as cows of a cowherd flock together in a shelter, so too people of similar family and lineage are bound by the same gotra.[1]
- Gautama and Bharadvaja, Visvamitra and Jamadagni, Vashishtha and Kashyapa and Shandilya are seven sages (also known as Saptarishi); the progeny of these seven sages is declared to be gotras.[2]
- A descendant beginning with a grandson is termed Gotra.[3]
- Gotra is the instrument by which knowledge is spread. Go also means rays of knowledge and tra means instrument. People who belong to a Gotra spread knowledge.
Reference
- Rig Veda
- Brihadaranyaka Upanisad 2.2.6
- Panini - apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram (IV. 1. 162)
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