Gotra and Pravara (गोत्रप्रवरश्च)

Gotra (Samskrit: गोत्रम्) is of supreme importance in several fundamental matters and practices associated with Sanatana Dharma. Gotra of a family is said to be named after the rishi-ancestor who founded the family in the immemorial past. Gotra came to denote the 'family' or the 'clan'. One of the most important rule laid down in the Grhyasutras and Dharmashastras regarding marriage is that no man shall marry a maiden from within his own gotra.

Pravara is another term closely connected with the gotra. Pravara literally means 'invocation' or 'recitation' of the names of famous rishi ancestors during important occasions. While gotra indicates the lineage or ancestry of a person, pravara denotes the important rishis in that ancestry.

As a part of nitya sandhyavandana, person has to repeat the names of his ancestral rshis (three times a day) to show his lineage and this is known as Pravara. Whenever a person visits Peetha Adhipatis, when he has to perform a yajna and homas, prayers to invoke deities, homas and such sacred activities, he has to recite the pravara.

परिचयः॥ Introduction

Gotra, another unique aspect of Sanatana Dharma, is a fundamental matter to the Indian Society. It has an important role in determining relationships socially. In the Brahmana literature there are several indications that priestly families formed into several groups named after their founding rishis and such families differed in details of worship according to the group they belonged to.

According to Manu, the following eight (mula-rshis) were the Gotrakara rshis or family founders.

जमदग्निर्मरद्राजो विश्वामित्रात्रिगौतमाः । वसिष्ठ काश्यपागस्त्या मुनयो गोत्रकारिणः । एतेषां यान्यपत्यानि तानि गोत्राणि मन्यते ॥

Summary: Jamadagni (जमदग्निः), Bharadvaja (भरद्राजः), Vishvamitra (विश्वामित्रः), Atri (अत्रिः), Gautama (गोतमः), Vasishta (वसिष्ठः), Kashyapa (काश्यपः), and Agasthya (अगस्त्यः) are the Gotrakara (rshis). Their children are also considered as gotras.

In Dharmashastra and Grhyasutra texts we find that some rishis forbade marriage with a sagotra (meaning samana or same gotra rshis) girls while some others prohibit it with a sapravara (meaning same pravara rshis) girls. Many seers, and works like Vishnu Dharmasutra (24.9), Yajnavalkya (1.53), Narada Smrti (Stripunsa, 7) have ordained that marriage to a sagotra and sapravara girl is "amanya" or not accepted.

Gotra was primarily discussed in the context of marriage rules. Every varna was further divided into a number of exogamous groups. Such groups may be formed by members of the same clan having common gotra and pravara. Marriage between the members belonging to the same exogamous group was prohibited. Gobhila, Apastarnba, Hiranyakesin, and Jaimini lay down that a man should not marry a girl belonging to his own Gotra. Gautama, Vasishtha, and Manava. G. S. state that a man should marry a girl who does not have the same Pravara.

Gotra is also important in the context of Asoucha especially in Mrta-Asoucha to determine which member of the family has to follow the restrictions of Asoucha for how many days. For example,

एकपिण्डास्तु दायादाः पृथग्दारनिकेतनाः । जन्मन्यपि विपत्तौ च तेषां तत्सूतकं भवेत् ॥ ३.7 ॥ (Para. Smrt. 3.7)

Even if the Dayadis (one who are sagotras and sapindas) have separate homes and their families are not living in joint families, they have the same rules of ten days of sutakam (both at birth and death).

We will discuss more such aspects about Gotra in this article.

Etymology

Though the word Gotra is used in the Rigveda to express many meanings according to the context, such as a cow-stall, a cloud, a fort, and a mountain range, yet ‘enclosure’ appears to be tlie main idea associated with Goira}^ Later on the word Gotra came to signify a group of persons living together within the same walls. In tlie Atharvaveda the compound Yisvagotryah is used, and the word Gotra hero means 'a group of persons connected togtdlier by blood In the Srauta, Grihya and Dharmasutras, the term Gotra denotes a group of persons who are distinguished by the same family name (i.e. surname) and who are believed to have descended from the same ancestor.

In the Rigveda (1.5.113, 1.17.1, 3.39.4, 3.4337, 9.86.23, 10.48.2, 10.12018), gotra means "cowstable" or "cowshed"or "herd of cows". By a natural metaphor, the 'Gotra' represents a cloud ( with blocked water or Vritra (the cloud demon) or water.