Brahmin gotra system
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The concept of Gotra was the first attempt among Brahmins to classify themselves among different groups. At the beginning, these gentes identified themselves by the names of eight rishis (Atri, Bharadwaja, Gautam, Jamadagni, Kashyapa, Vasishtha, Vishwamitra, and Agastya or Bhrigu; the first seven of these are often enumerated as Saptarishis). It is to be noted that Vishwamitra was initially a Kshatriya king, who later chose and rose to become an ascetic rishi. Hence the gotra was applied to the grouping stemming from one of these rishis as his descendants.
[edit] Gotras
Many lines of descent from the major rishis were later grouped separately. Accordingly, the major gotras were divided into ganas (subdivisions) and each gana was further divided into groups of families. The term gotra was then frequently started being applied to the ganas and to the sub-ganas.
Every brahmin claims to be a direct patrilenial descendant of one of the founding rishis of a certain gana or sub-gana. It is the gana or sub-gana that is now commonly referred to as gotra.
Over the years, the number of gotras increased due to:
- Descendants of original rishi also started new family lineage or new gotras,
- By inter marriage with other sub-groups of the same caste, and
- Inspired by another rishi whose name they bear as their own gotra.
Pravara is a set of the main rishis who belonged to the gotra. Usually these are the founding fathers (and in a few cases, founding mothers) of the gotra. In vedic ritual, the importance of the pravara appears to be in its use by the ritualist for extolling his ancestry and proclaiming, "as a descendant of worthy ancestors, I am a fit and proper person to do the act I am performing."
While the gotras were classified initially according to eight rishis, the pravaras were classified under the names of the following seven rishis:
Some authors claim that the rishi Jamadagni was a descendant of rishi Bhrigu while the rishis Gautam and Bharadvaja were the descendants of rishi Angirasa.
The pravara identifies the association of a person with two, three (or sometimes five) of the above-mentioned rishis. It also signifies the Sutras contributed to different Vedas by those rishis.
For example, Kashyapa Gothram has 3 rishis associated with it viz. Kashyapa, Nidruva and Aavatsaara
[edit] See also
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