Gotra lineages and Rishi details

Gothra Pattika - Gothra Pravaram - Gotra names and related
Rishi vargam - Abhivathanam

List of Rishis, Their known Gotra lineage -
The Gothra root is same irrespective of
Sect or Sub-sect in all rahmins!

Following are the names of Rishis, to whom a specific Gothra person
belong to. While prostrating to elders, one has to give these details
at the end, stating his Rishis group, how many Rishis in his grouping,
Soothra, and the Veda culture he belongs to, (Rg, a!ur, Sama "
#tharva Veda$, then his Gothra and name in that order. %ne need not
pronounce this #bhivathanam to a Saint (Sanyasi$, &ula #charya ' (the
one who affi(es the Shan)a *ha)ra (+he *onch " Wheel$ ,mblem in
your arms and adopts you as -is disciple.sishya$ or any other women
e(cept one/s mother. -owever, for 0ruhaspathi (Vadyar$ and other
elders, one has to pronounce the entire abhivathanam, every time one
meets them.
1 list below the most used and prevailing Gothra names together Rishis/
group that a specific Gotra one belong to and the pravaram one has to
say while doing abhivathanam. 1f anyone finds a missing Gothra from
the table given below, please let me )now with due pravarams so as to
include the same in the table. +he actual benefits of prostrating
(namaskaram & sashtanga namaskar, Dhandavath$ is listed by a
researcher and the same is published in another page of this website.
2lease add the respective Rishis name from the given table, and other
details in the blan) spaces to complete the #bhivathana.
(3$ #bivathaye,
(4$ 5555555 5555555 555555 (6ames of respective Gothra Rishis, as
applicable as one, two, three, five or seven Rishis from the table given
below$
(7$ 555555555555 (*hoose one as applicable ",)a Risheya,
"8hwayarsheya, "+hrayaa Risheya, "2ancha Risheya, "Saptha Risheya$,
(9$ 2ravaraanvitha:
(;$ 555555555555555 Soothra (#basthampa Soothra. 0hodhayana
Soothraa$,
(<$ 555555555555555 (aa!usha.Samo.Rg$ Gaathyaathi
(=$ 5555555555555555 Gothrasya
(>$ 5555555555555555555555 (your name$
(?$ sarma6a: aham asbibho.

rugu #riku$ - Twent% sub-lineage Rishis
&
'ame of
Gothra
Pravaram to be pronounced
with 'ames
@3 Aamadagni
0hargava, Syavana, #abnavaana '
+hrayarisheya, pravaranvitha:
@4 Aaabaali
0hargava, Vaithahavya, Raivasa '
@7 Aaamadagnya
0hargava, #urva, !amadagnya '
@9. Aaimini
0hargava, Vaithahavya, Raivasa '
@; 0haulathsya
0hargava, #urva, !amadagnya '
@< Baandoo)eya 0hargava, #urva, !amadagnya '
@= Baunabhargava
0hargava, Vaithahavya, Saavethasa '
@> Vathoola
0hargava, Vaithahavya, Saavethasa '
@? Srivathsa
0hargava, Syavana, #apnavana, #urva,
Aamadagya ' 2ancharisheya, pravaranvitha:
3@ Garthsamatha
0hargava, Garthsamatha ' 8vayarisheya,
pravaranvitha:
33 &ana)a
pravaranvitha:
34 agn!apathi
pravaranvitha:
37 #vada
0hargava, #urva, Aamadagnya '
+hrayarsheya, pravaranvitha:
39 #artish,6a
0hargava, #arttishe6a, #nCpa '
+hrayarsheya pravaranvitha:
3; #aswalaayana
0hargava, Vaadhya)sha, 8aivadaasa '
3< &asyapi
0hargava, Vaidahvya, Saavethasa '
3= &aathyaayana
0hargava, #artish,6a, #nCpa '
3> &aargya
0hargava, Vaithahavya, Revasa '
3? &ruthsamatha
0hargava, Saunahothra, Gaarthsamatha '
4@ 6airruthi 0hargava, #artish,6a, #nCpa '

Aangirasa #with () sub lineage Rishis$
@3
Cthasatha
(Cthathya$
#angirasa, #udathya, Gauthama '
@4 &amyaangirasa
#angirasa, #amahaavya, #urushaaya '
@7 Gaarg,ya
#angirasa, Gaargya, *haithya '
@9 Gaarg,ya
#angirasa, 0haarhaspathya,
0haratheeva!a, Sainya, Gargya '
2ancharsheya pravaranvitha:
@; Gauthama
#angirasa, #ayarsaya, Gauthama '
@< 2auru)uthsa
#angirasa, 2auru)uthsa, +hraasathasya '
@= 2aatharaaya6a
#angirasa, 2auru)uthsa, +hraasathasya '
@> Bauthgalya
#angirasa, #mbarisha, Bauthgalya '
@? 0haratwa!a
#angirasa, 0haarhaspathya, 0haratwa!a '
3@ Bauthgalya
#angirasa, 0hargyasva, Bauthgalya '
33 Ratheethara
#angirasa, Vairoopa, Raatheethara '
34 Vishnuvruththa
#angirasa, 2auruguthsa, +hraasathasya '
37 Shatamarsh6a
#angirasa, +hraasathasya, 2auruguthsa '
39 San)ruthi
Saathya, Saan)ruthya, Gauriveetha '
3; San)ruthi
#angirasa, Saas)ruthya, Gauriveetha '
3< -aritha
#angirasa, #mbarisha, auvanaachva '
3= #abasthamba
#angirasa, 0harhaspathya, 0haratwa!a '
3> #ayaasya
#angirassa, #ayaasya, Gauthama '
3? &a6va
#angirasa, #!ameeta, &aa6va '
4@ &a6va
#angirasa, #amaheeyava, #uru)shyasa '
43 &abila
#angirasa, #amaheeyava, #uru)shyasa '
44 Garga
#angirasa, *hainya, Gargaya (Gar)a$ '
47 &uthsa
#angirasa, #mbareesha, auvanaachva '
49 &uthsa
#angirasa, Baandathra, &authsa '
4; &aundinya
#angirasa, 0harhaspathya, 0haratwa!a '
4< 2auru)uthsa
#angirasa, 2auru)uthsa, #asathasya '
4= Dohitha #angirasa, Vaichvamitra, Dohitha '

Aathri # *+ sub lineage Rishis$
@3 #athreya
#athreya, #arsanaanasa, syaavaachva '
@4 Bauthgalya
#athreya, #arsanaanasa, 0aurvaathitha '
@7 #thri
@9 Cthaala)a
@; Buth)ala
thrayarsheya, pravaranvitha:
@< Gauriveetha
thrayarsheya, pravaranvitha:
@= 8attathreya
@> 8hanan!aya
#athreya, #arsanaanasa, &aavishtira '
@? 8ha)sha ( 8a)shi$
#athreya, &aavishtira, 0haurvathitha '
3@ 0haaleya
#athreya, Vaamarathya, 0authri)a '
33 2athan!ala
34 0hee!aavaaba
#athreya, #arsanaanasa, #adhitha '
37 #athreya, #arsanaanasa, syaavaachva '

,ishwamitra # *+ sub lineage Rishis$
@3 &ausi)a (&usi)a$
Vaiswamithra, #agamarsha6a, &ausi)a '
+hrayarsheya
@4 Dohitha
Vaiswamithra, #shta)a, Dohitha '
+hrayarsheya
@7 Viswamithra
Vaiswamithra, 8evaraatha, #uthala '
+hrayarsheya
@9 Saalaavatha
Vaiswamithra, 8evaraatha, #uthala '
+hrayarsheya
@; &adha)a Vaiswamithra, &adha)a ' 8hwayarsheya
@< #agamarsha6a
Vaiswamithra, #agamarsha6a, &ausi)a '
+hrayarsheya
@= Gatha
Vaiswamithra, Baaduchandasa, #a!a '
+hrayarsheya
@> &aathyaayana
Vaiswamithra, &athya, #dgeetha '
+hrayarsheya
@? &ama)aayana
Vaiswamithra, 8evaseevarasa,
8aiva+harasa (Rethasa$ ' +hrayarsheya
3@ &aalava
Vaiswamithra, 8evaraatha, #udhala '
+hrayarsheya
33 &ausi)a
Vaiswamithra, Salangayana, &ausi)a '
+hrayarsheya
34 Aabhala (Aabali$
Vaiswamithra, 8evaraatha, #udhala '
+hrayarsheya
37 8evaraatha Vaiswamithra, 8evaraatha, #ulitha '
+hrayarsheya

,ashishta # *+ sub lineage Rishis$
@3 &aundinya
Vaasishta, Baithravaru6a, &aundinya '
+hrayarsheya
@4 2arasara
Vaasishta, saa)thya, 2aarasarya '
+hrayarsheya
@7 Vaasishta
+hrayarsheya
@9 Vasishta Vaasishta ' ,)arsheya
@; -aritha Vaasishta ' ,)arsheya
@< #achvalaayana
Vaasishta, #indrapramatha,
#abarathvasasya ' +hrayarsheya
@= Cpamanyu
@> &aa6va
@? Aaadhoo)ar6ya
3@ 0hodayana
Vaasishta, #athreya, Aaadhoo)ar6ya '
+hrayarsheya
33 Bithraavaru6a
+hrayarsheya
34 Bauthgala
+hrayarsheya
37 Vaasida
#aabarathvasasya ' +hrayarsheya

-ach%apa.-as%apa # *+ sub lineage Rishis$
@3 6aithruva &asyapa
&aasyapa, #avathsaara, 6aithruva '
+hrayarsheya
@4 Reba &asyapa
&aasyapa, #avathsaara, Rebaa '
+hrayarsheya
@7 Saandilya
&aasyapa, #avathsaara, Saandilya '
+hrayarsheya
@9 Saandilya &asyapa, 8aivala, #sitha ' +hrayarsheya
@; Saandilya
&aasyapa, #avathsaara, 6aithruva, Reba,
Raiba, Sandila, *handilya ' Sapthaarsheya
@< &aasyapa &aasyapa, #asitha, 8aivala ' +hrayarsheya
@= &achyapa
&aasyapa, #avathsaara, 6aithruva, Reba,
Raiba, Sandila, *handilya ' Sapthaarsheya
@> 0ru)u
&aasyapa, #avathsaara, 6aithrava '
+hrayarsheya
@? Baareesa
&aasyapa, #avathsaara, 6aithrava '
+hrayarsheya
3@ Raibya (Reba$
&aasyapa, #avathsaara, Raibya '
+hrayarsheya
33 0au)a)shi
&aasyapa, #avathsaara, #asitha '
+hrayarsheya
34 Vaathsya
&aasyapa, #avathsaara, Raibya '
+hrayarsheya
37
&aasyapa, #avathsaara, #asitha '
+hrayarsheya

Agasth%a # ) sub lineage Rishis$
@3 #gasthya #gasthya ' ,)arisheya, pravaranvitha:
@4 1dhmavaaha #gasthya ' ,)arisheya, 2ravaranvitha:
@7 #agasthi
#gasthya, Baahendra, Baayobhuva '
+hryarisheya, pravaranvitha
@9 #gasthi
#gasthya, 8hradyavrutha, #idhmavaaha '
@; 1dhmavaaha
#gasthya, Vaathyasva, #idhmavaaha '
thrayarisheya, pravaranvitha:
@< 2ulaha
@= Baayobhuva

'ote/ 0n the above chart, some of the Gothra Rishis names are
appearing same as in other Gothra! 0t is advisable to check the
pravaram Rishis names from %our famil% elders as the Gothra name
with different Rishi1s names are mentioned in the same script! The
difference is in the Rishis sub-lineage names that should be checked
with elders! 2or instance, Saandil%a Gothra has three different
pravaram with the same Gothra Rishi but the sub-lineage names of
Rishis are different!

3hat is Gotra4
-ow did the people thousands of years ago realiEe that genetically
there was transference of some uniFue characteristics only from father
to son (in the form of 'chromosomes$ G 1n recent past when it was
fashionable to condemn all 1ndian traditional systems as of no value,
non'believers have referred to /Gothra/ as archaic, unscientific,
irrelevant and male chauvinisticH +he Scientifically proven factor 86#
type test and assertions are more closer to the Gotra lineage
matters. #nd to the Vedic line state nothing less than what your
researchers " scientists spea)ing aboutH
Bodern 86# " genetic research has confirmed male line '
chromosomal transference, through > generations in case of +homas
Aefferson. /Gothra/ in essence really stands for 'chromosomal identity.
1n the very recent, CS 2resident (" #uthor of 8eclaration of
1ndependence of Cnited States$ +homas Aefferson/s paternity of his
slave Sally Fleming/s children has been in news. For nearly 4@@ years,
since CS president +homas Aefferson/s time, many traditionalists
maintained that Aefferson did not cohabit with Sally. 0ut some
descendants of Sally maintained otherwise and claimed to be progeny
of the e('president. +his old historical controversy has now been
resolved using modern genetic 86# analysis methods (Source '
Founding father by ,ric S Dander " Aoseph A ,llis and Foster et al, 6ature
I Volume 7?< ' ; 6ovember 3??>@J pages 39, 4= " 4>$.
+he genetic 86# study of descendents of Aefferson family and Sally
Fleming/s family, has confirmed with very high probability that, CS
2resident +homas Aefferson was indeed the father of at least one of the
sons of Sally Fleming. -ow was this genetic wor) doneG Geneticists
used a scientific fact, that most of the male 'chromosome is passed
intact from father to son. Females do not carry the 'chromosome. With
modern advances in genetics, this fact has been used to trace paternal
lineage, and resolve stories li)e +homas Aefferson/s.
+homas Aefferson did not have surviving sons from his legal wife. 0ut
his paternal uncle/s male lineage is in tact to present time.. +he genetic
'chromosome of these persons (eight generations down from +homas
Aefferson/s paternal uncle$ living at present time was used as the
reference. +his was compared with intact male line persons from (Five
generations down from$ Sally Fleming living presently. +he geneticists
used polymorph mar)ers so that 'chromosome can be distinguished by
haplotypes. +hey found that Sally Fleming/s son ,ston/s male line
progeny had same haplotypes as Field Aefferson who was paternal uncle
of +homas Aefferson. Csing other physical and living pro(imity factors,
the geneticists have concluded with high probability that ,ston Fleming
was the son of +homas Aefferson and Sally Fleming.
1n the western countries, there are lots of research underta)en on the
lineage and genealogy. 0ut in 1ndia, there is no basis for eFuating
genetics and race, other than specifying one/s Gothram. #nd more
interestingly, there is no female lineage ta)en into accountH +hat is, if
you are provided the geno'graphic profile of a random 1ndian, you
would not be able to say to which caste or tribe that person belongs.
*onversely, if you )now the race of a person, you would not be able to
say what genetic lineage that person will have. Race is a social
phenomenon. Genetics is a biological phenomenon.

+he 1ndian patrilineal pool is very diverse and cuts across castes and
tribes. +he 1ndian mitochondria 86# pool (female ancestry$ falls into
!ust four types, attesting to how closely related all 1ndians are to each
other. Researchers suggest, that there is no lin) between language
(1ndo',uropean, 1ndo'#rabic and 8ravidian$ and genetic lineage.
Bost of the genetic differences between people are superficial.
-owever, geno'graphic profiles provide a way for us to understand our
own origins and the migratory path of our ancestors (they may also be
useful for understanding potential susceptibilities to certain diseases
among people with different genetic lineages$.
+his class of human male lineage research is now very active and is
being conducted in native populations of Wales, ,ngland, in 1celand and
to establish uniFueness, paternity, historical lineage, medical issues
and intellectual issues of heredity etc amongst various population
groups. 8oes this not ring a bell amongst traditional -indus who believe
in /Gothra/ identification carried down from Sanathana'dharma
orthodo(yG. 1Gothra1 is an identit% carried b% male lineage in
0ndia from time immemorial! 5ost people have Gothra chain
names traceable to Rig ,edic Rishis like 1Gowthama1, 1,asishta1
1,iswamithra1 and to first sons of ,aivaswatha 5anu like
Angirasa 6 hrigu! Purana such as ,ishnu Purana refer to
individual identit% through 1Gothra1. Distings of more than 4;@
Gothra chains have been e(plicitly listed. 1 have heard of instances of
even Buslims converted from -induism still )eeping trac) of their
/Gothra/.
1n a classic e(ample, 1 cite that 0uddha, named Siddhartha was of
/Gowthama Gothra/.. 1t means that his 'chromosomes were probably
from Rig'Vedic Rishi /Gowthama Rahoogana/.
6early 4;@@ years have passed since death of Dord 0uddha, but many
/Gowthama Gothra/ individuals e(ist even today. +hey can claim genetic
relation to 0uddha. +ypically 9 generations occur in 3@@ years and in
4;@@ years nearly 3@@ generations are complete. %ther /Gothra/ chains
may have run 3@@'4@@ generations from Vedic period if male lineage
did continue unbro)en. 8o 'chromosomes remain intact after, say 3@@
generations of unbro)en male issuesG Genetic mutations may or may
not have changed some 'chromosomes. +he Gotra lineage is the one
aspect that is very interesting field of research for future to see if
persons of same /Gothra/ in the present generations have common and
uniFue 'chromosomal features. %nly deep study with dedicated
research could bring about the truth, that Vedic ,ra findings are
certainly more authentic and scientific one that our forefathers relied
aptly.
1n conclusion, considering the above, no doubt, the Gotra lineage and
86# roots, probably, are one and the same way to find out the Family
tree from the rootsH
G7T8RA SAG9S!
:ompiled b% Sri Gopalakrishna Ramai%er, #Retired AG5, S'L$
Tambaram, :hennai!
0ntroduction!
+here are 9? established Dead -indu Gothras (or Gothram$. #ll members of a
particular Gothra are believed to possess certain common characteristics by
way of nature or profession.
+he term Gothra was used in its present sense for the first time in the
0rahmanas. 1t was systematised by about the 9th century 0* to accommodate
changed social rules and laws and by the time of the Sutras, it was a well'
established system.
Gothras have their orgination to saptharshies who change with Banvanthara.
We are in the seventh Banvanthara now.
Bany of the seven sages have been repeated and replaced. 1n the first
manvanthara the saptharshies were Barichi, #tri, #ngeerasa, 2ulasthia,2ulaha
&ratu and Vasistha. +hey are believed to be the mind'born sons of 0rahma.
#ccording to the 0audhKyanas/rauta'sLtra VishvKmitra, Aamadagni,
0haradvK!a, Gautama, #tri, Vasishtha, &ashyapa and #gastya are > sagesM the
progeny of these eight sages is declared to be Gothras.
0nde;
Section 0$ *! Gouthama Gothra (! Garga Gothra +! Agasthia Gothra <!
hargava Gothra =! haradwa>a 6 ?! Atri Gothra!
Section 00$ *! 8aritha Gothra! (! viswamithra Gothra +! ,asistha
Gothra <! ,adula Gothra =! @paman%u Gothra ?! Shounaka Gothra 6
)! Sankrithi Gothra!
Section 000$ *! 5oudgal%a Gothra (! Sandil%a Gothra +! Salakh%ana
Gothra <! Raivata Gothra =! -oundin%a Gothra ?! 5anda%a Gothra )!
5aitre%a Gothra 6 A! -ata%ana Gothra!
Section 0,$ *! Bhanwantari Gothra (! Camadagni Gothra +! -anva
Gothra 6 <! -Dt%D%ana Gothra!
Section 0
*! Gouthama Gothra (! Garga Gothra +! Agasthia Gothra <! hargava
Gothra =! haradwa>a 6 ?! Atri Gothra!
*! Gouthama Gothra!
Gautama Baharishi is one of the Saptarishis of the current Banvantara
(seventh$. -e was one of the Baharishis of Vedic times, )nown to have been
the discoverer of Bantras '' /Bantra'drashtaa/, in Sans)rit
+he Rig Veda has several su)tas that go with his name. -e was the son of
Rahugana, belonging to the line of #ngiras. +he 8evi 0hagavatam says that
the river Godavari is so named because of its association with Gautama. -e
had two sons by name Vamadeva and 6odhas, both themselves discoverers of
Bantras
+here is a hymn called 0hadra in the Sama Veda which again is ascribed to
Gautama Baharishi. -is wife is #halya,
+he 2uranas spea) of the story wherein it is described how Gautama won the
hand of #halya by perambulating the divine cow.
+he *hief priest of &ing Aana)a of Bithila, by name Shatananda, was the son of
Gautama and #halya. Gautama/s si(ty'year long penance is mentioned in the
Shanti parva of the Bahabharata
+he 6arada purana describes the story of the 34'year famine during which
Gautama fed all the Rishis and saved them.
+he 0rahmaanda'purana mentions that this Gautama initiated one of the sub'
branches of the Raanaayani branch of Sama Veda.
Some famous disciples of Gautama were 2raachina'yogya, Shaandilya,
Gaargya, and 0haradwa!a.
#ccording to the Ramayana, Rishi Gautama once went to ta)e bath in the river
Ganges early morning. +he )ing of the devas, 1ndra, was fascinated with
Gautam/s wife, #halya. 1ndra came in the form of Gautam and made love to
#halya N.
Gauatama was also the author of 8harma'sutra )nown as Gautama 8harma
sutra I4J I7J. 1t is in fact the earliest 8harma Sutra
Sage Gautama was the most ancient sage of all 0rahmin lawgivers. -e was
Fuoted by 0audhayana and belonged to Samaveda School. GautamaOs
teachings are called Gautamasutra or Gautamasmriti.
Gautamas 0rahmins are originally settled in 0ri! region of 6orth 1ndia
(! Garga Gothra
Garga is the son of Rishi 0haradwa!a and Suseela . Gargya (son of Garga$ is
the author of some of the Su)thas of the #tharvana Veda. Sage garga was the
family priest of the family of 6anda (the foster'father of &rishna$. -e named
child as P&rishnaP after receiving the name by meditation. Garga is the author
of Garga Samhita.
+he 0rihat 2arasara -ora Sastra 1n this sastra in chapter 43, 2arasara Fuotes
Garga and 0rahma on the effects of the 3@th bhava (house$.
Sri 2rasanna 2arvathi Sametha Gargeshwari temple near Bysore is named
after the Garga where #rdhanareeswara appeared before him.
+! Agsthaia Gothram
#gastya was a Vedic sage. #gastya and his clan are also credited to have
PauthoredP many mantras of the Rig Veda #gastya is also the author of
#gastya Samhita 1n some rec)onings, #gastya is the greatest of the Seven
Sages or Saptarshis. +he word is also written as #gasti. #'ga means a
mountain, #sti, thrower
#gastya the Rishi, was born of Gods Varuna, from Crvashi .#nother reference
to him is in the Bahabharata in Saupti)aparva as the teacher of Guru 8rona.
#s with all other -indus, it was necessary for #gastya to marry and sire a son,
in order to fulfill his duties to the Banus. %nce he resolved upon doing this,
#gastya pursued an unusual course of action.
0y his yogic powers, he created a female infant who possessed all the special
Fualities of character and personality that would be appropriate in the wife of
a renunciate. #t this time, the noble and virtuous )ing of Vidarbha was
childless and was undergoing penances and prayers for the gift of a child.
#gastya arranged for the child he had created to be born the daughter of that
noble )ing of Vidarbha.
+he child was named PDopamudraP by her parents. #gastya approached the
)ing and sought the hand of his daughter when she was grown up. She was
utterly intent upon e(changing the palace of her father the )ing for the forest'
hermitage of #gastya. Dopamudra and #gastya were duly married and lived a
life of e(traordinary felicity. 1t is believed that they had two sons ' 0ringi "
#chuthan. 1n Bahabharata (Vana 2arva: +irtha'yatra 2arva$, there is mention
of his penance at Gangadwara (-aridwar$, with the help of his wife,
Dopamudra (the princess of Vidharba$ I3J.
#gastya is famous for being the first siddhar in the siddhars tradition. -e
created many medicines, and !adha)am( #gasthia nadiG$, mandhri)am and he
said all of them.
+wo of his students and disciples were +herayar and +hol)appiar.
#ccording to #)ilattirattu #mmanai, the religious boo) of #yyavaEhi, #gastya
was created from the mind of lord Siva in order to offer boons to &aliyan
(See:0oons offered to &aliyan$. #s per the order of Siva, #gastya offered many
boons including all worldly )nowledge to him.
Sage #gastya appeared to Rama when he was despondent at the impending
war with Ravana and instructed him in the use of #ditya -ridayam, a hymn
praising the Sun God. #gastya also composed Saraswati Stotram.
<! hargava Gothram
Baharishi 0hrigu was one of the seven great sages, one of the Saptarshis in
ancient 1ndia, one of many 2ra!apatis (the facilitators of *reation$ created by
0rahma (+he God of *reation$, the first compiler of predictive astrology, and
also the author of 0hrigu Samhita, the astrological (Ayotish$ classic written
during the Vedic period, +reta yuga, most probably around 7@@@ 0*.
0hrigu is a Banasa2utra (wish'born'son$ of Dord 0rahma, who simply wished
him into e(istence, to assist in the process of creation, for this reason he is
also considered one of the 2ra!apatis.
-e is married to &hyati, the daughter of 8a)sha. -e has two sons by her,
named 8hata and Vidhata.
-e had one more son, who is better )nown than 0hrigu himself ' Shu)ra. +he
sage *hyavana coming in the pravara of Srivatsa Gothra is also his son.
Sage 0hrigu finds mention in the Vayu 2urana, where he shown present during
the great agna of 8a)sha 2ra!apati (his father'in'law$.
+he 0hrigus, also )nown as 0hargavas, are a clan of sages descending from
the ancient fire'priest 0hrigu. +hey instituted the ritual of offering the !uice of
the Soma plant to the old deities +his treatise is said to contain over ; million
horoscopes, in which he wrote down the fate of every being in the universe.
0hrgu lineage: 0hrgu was the son of 0rahma. (Bahabharata, 2auloma 2arva$
0hrgu descendants: 0hargavas: 0hrugu was the father of Su)racharya, the
grandfather of 8evayani and the great'grandfather of ayati and the great'
great'grandfather of adu. 1ndraOs daughter Aayanti was married to 0hrguOs
son Su)racharya (who also called &avya$. (8evi 0hagavatham$.
0hrgu was the grandfather Rch)a (Richi)a$, great'grandfather of Aamadagni,
great'great'grandfather of 2arasurama. Rch)a was the son of *yavana.
(Bahabharata$.
*yavana was the son of 0hrguO through wife 2auloma, who married Su)anya.
0hrgu and 0haradwa!a had discussions on many sub!ects. (Bahabharata$.
=! haradwa>a Gothra
+he Barut 8evatas found sage 0haradwa!a near ganga river, raised him and
taught him about the Vedas. -e was adopted by 0harata, the son of Sa)untala
and 8ushyanta.
-e performed a ya!na so that his foster father 0harata would have another son
(0humanyu$ and handed that )ingdom bac) to him.
-e was a disciple of Gauthama Baharshi as well as of Valmi)i. -e was a first
hand witness to the incident of the &rauncha birds.
-e married Suseela and had a son called Garga. -is son 8ronacharya was
born as a result of his attraction to an #psara Ghrtaci. -e trained 8rona in use
of weapons. 8rona also learnt the use of weapons from #gnivesha,
2arasuramaOs student and from 2arasurama himself.
0haradwa!a had a daughter called 8evavarnini. She was given in marriage to
Visravas and was the mother of &ubera.
a!naval)ya, the author of the Satapatha 0rahmana was a descendant of
0haradwa!a.
0haradwa!a was a host to 8asarathaOs son 0harata when he was en route to
meeting Sri Rama, to persuade him to return to #yodhya.
0haradwa!a had a debate with 0hrugu about the caste system and he said
that physiologically there was no difference between members of any caste.
-e performed the 2utra)ameshti ya!nam for 8ivodasa, so that he could get a
son.
0haradwa!aOs Vedic mantras were placed in the si(th Bandala of the Rig Veda
by Veda Vyasa.
8harmasutra and Srautasutra were written by 0haradwa!a. +he manuscript of
the latter was in 2andu script and is available with the Visvavidyalaya of
0ombay(Bumbai$.
#s per the R)tantra, pratisa)hya of the samaveda, 0rahma taught grammar to
0rhaspati who taught it to 1ndra, who in turn taught it to 0haradwa!a.
-e was one of the great sages (rishis$ descendant of rishi #ngirasa, whose
accomplishments are detailed in the 2uranas.
?! Atri Gothra!
1n -induism, #ttri is a legendary bard and scholar, and a son of 0rahma, and
one of the Saptarishis in the seventh, i.e the present Banvantara .
#ttri is also a rishi present in all manvantras. -e was among the three main
seers who propounded the sacred thread (after 0rihaspati$ which has three
strands symbolising *reation (0rahma and the letter #$, sustenance (Vishnu
and the letter C$ and 8issolution (ShivaQmR and the letter B$.
#tri Gothra is from the lineage of 0rahmarsi #tri and #nusuya 8evi. 0rahmarsi
#tri is the seer of the fifth mandala (boo)$ of the Rigveda. -e had many sons,
including Soma, 8atta, and 8urvasa.
#tri/s wife is #nasuya or #nusiya devi, a daughter of &ardama 2ra!apati and an
embodiment of chastity.
Rama, the son of 8asaratha, visited #tri Baharishi/s #shram during his
fourteen years of stay in the forest. 1t was #tri who showed the way to
8anda)aranya forest to Rama, after showering his hospitality on him.
+here were also other great Rishis in that line: Budgala, Cddaala)i,
Shaa)alaayani, *haandogya, etc.#ttri'samhita and #ttri'smriti are two wor)s
attributed to #ttri.
a. -aritha Gothra. b. viswamithra Gothra c.Vasistha Gothra d.Vadula Gothra e.
Cpamanyu Gothra f.shouna)a Gothra g. san)rithi Gothra.

Section 00
*! 8aritha Gothra! (! viswamithra Gothra +! ,asistha Gothra <!
,adula Gothra =! @paman%u Gothra ?! Shounaka Gothra 6 )!
Sankrithi Gothra!
*! 8AR0T8A G7T8RA!
-arit.-arita was one of the great )ings of Suryavansha. 0rahmins with -arita
Gothra are the descendants of -arit +he 2ravara of this Gothra is #ngiras,
#mbarisha, uvanaswa. #mbarisha and uvanaswa were also great )ings of
Suryavansha and ancestors of Dord Rama.
1n the Vishnu 2urana it is said, P+he son of #mbarSsha, the son of BTndhTtri,
was uvanTUwaM his son was -arita, from whom the #ngirasa -Tritas were
descendedPI3J.
Sri Ramanu!a was also of -arita Gothra.
(! ,0S3A50T8RA G7T8RA
0rahmarshi Vishvamitra is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of
ancient times in 1ndia. -e is also credited as the author of most of Bandala 7
of the Rigveda
+he story of Vishvamitra is narrated in the 0ala)anda of Valmi)i RamayanaI3J.
+he Bahabharata adds that Vishvamitra/s relationship with Bena)a resulted in
a daughter, Sha)untala whose story is narrated in the #di 2arva of the
Bahabharata.
Vishvamitra was a )ing in ancient 1ndia, also called &aushi)a (Pthe descendant
of &ushaP$. -e was a valiant warrior and the great'grandson of a great )ing
named &usha. +he Valmi)i Ramayana, prose ;3 of 0ala &anda, starts the
legend of Vishvamitra, Gaadhi/s son is this great'saint of great resplendence,
Vishvamitra.
Regarding sage viswamithra not much familiar points are only told. 1t is ta)en
for granted readers are familiar to viwamithra much than other sages.
+he Vishnu 2urana and -arivamsha chapter 4= (dynasty of #maavasu$ of
Bahabharatha narrates the birth of Vishwamitra.
+! irth of ,iswamithra
#ccording to Vishnu 2uranaI4J, )ushi)a married a damsel belonging to 2uru'
)utsa dynasty and had a son by name Gadhi who had a daughter named
Satyavati(not to be confused with Satyavati of Bahabharata$.
Satyavati was married to an old 0rahman )nown as Richi)a who was foremost
among the race of 0hrigu. Richi)a desired a son having the Fualities of a
0rahman, and so he gave Satyavati a sacrificial offering (charu$ which he had
prepared to achieve this ob!ective. -e also gave Satyavati/s mother another
charu to ma)e her conceive a son with the character of a &shatriya at her
reFuest. 0ut Satyavati/s mother privately as)ed Satyavati to e(change her
charu with her. +his resulted in Satyavati/s mother giving birth to Vishvamitra,
the son of a &shatriya Gadhi with the Fualities of a 0rahmanM and Satyavati
gave birth to Aamadagni, the father of 2arasurama, a 0rahman with Fualities of
a &shatriya.
#fter many trials and undergoing many austerities, Vishvamitra at last
obtained the title of 0rahmarishi from Vasishta himself
8uring this time he had a daughter named Sha)untala (who appears in the
Bahabharata$ with Bena)a, an apsara in the court of 1ndra. Son of Sha)untala
became a great emperor. -e came to be )nown as ,mperor 0harata and it is
in his name that the land of 1ndia got its name 0harat.
5enaka episode and bith of Sakunthala!
Viswamithra earlier name was &ousi)a. &aushi)a )nows that Bena)a
genuinely loves him, so with great sorrow he curses her !ust to be parted from
him forever. &aushi)a/s love of Bena)a is considered to have been intense
and passionate beyond estimation.
Rambha episode!
+his is brought to light to &aushi)a when he angrily curses Rambha, an apsara
sent by 1ndra to seduce &aushi)a again, to become a stone for a thousand
years.
Trisanku episode
When a proud &ing +risan)u as)ed his guru, Vasishta, to send him to heaven
in his own body, the guru responded that the body cannot ascend to heaven.
&ing +risan)u then as)ed Vasishta/s seven sons to send him to heaven. +he
sons, outraged that +risan)u should not come to them when their father had
refused, cursed him to be a chandala, or untouchable.
-aving ta)en pity on +rishan)u, he willingly e(hausted all the punya he gained
from his tapas, to enable him to ascend to the heavens. #ngered, Visvamitra
used his yogic powers and ordered +risan)u to rise to heaven. Biraculously,
+risan)u rose into the s)y until he reached heaven, where he was pushed
bac) down by 1ndra.
,nraged even more by this, the powerful Visvamitra then commenced the
creation of another heaven for +risan)u.
+risan)u, however, did not en!oy +risan)u Svarga, he remained fi(ed in the
s)y and was transformed into a constellation.
1n the process of forming a new universe, Vishvamitra used up all the tapas he
had gained from his austerities. +herefore after the +risan)u episode,
Vishvamitra had to start his prayers again to attain the status of a 0rahma
Rishi, to eFual Vashistha.
8arishchandra1s Sacrifice# not much known$!
While underta)ing a penance, &aushi)a helps a boy named Shunashepa who
has been sold by his parents to be sacrificed at -arishchandra/s yagna to
please Varuna, the God of the %ceans. +he )ing/s son Rohit does not want to
be the one sacrificed, as was originally promised to Varuna, so young
Sunashep is being ta)en. # devastated and terrified Sunashepa falls at the
feet of &aushi)a, who is deep in meditation, and begs for his help.
&aushi)a teaches secret mantras to Sunashepa. +he boy sings these mantras
at the ceremony, and is blessed by 1ndra and Varuna, and -arishchandra/s
ceremony is also completed.
1n the 1ndian epic Ramayana, Vishvamitra is the preceptor of Rama, prince of
#yodhya and the seventh #vatara of Vishnu, and his brother Da)shmana.
+here are two Gothras, or lineages, bearing the name of Visvamitra.
,isvamitra Gothra off shoots
2eople belonging to the Visvamitra Gothra consider 0rahmarishi Visvamitra as
their ancestor.
+here is an off'shoot of PVishvamitra GothraP called P*ha)ita Vishvamitra
Gothra more li)ely, e(planation, is that a group of descendants decided to
split from the main group and started their own branch of this line.
2eople belonging to &aushi)a (&aushi). &ousi)a.&ousi)asa.&oushi)a.&ausi)a$
Gothra ta)e Ra!arishi &ausi)a as their root.
&ausi)a was one of the names of Visvamitra.33 Royal clans of ?< clan of
Barathas belong to &aushi) Gothra including the illustrious house of Shiva!i
and Rashtra)utas
Some brahmins in South Gu!arat, +amil 6adu and #ndhra 2radesh also have
&aushi).&oushi) as a family Gothra. Some of the )umauni region brahmin li)e
0hatt also belongs to &aushi) Gothra.
<! ,AS0ST8A G7T8RA
Vasistha, in -indu mythology was one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages
Rishi$ in the seventh, i.e the present Banvantara,I3J and the Ra!purohit .
Ra!guru of the Suryavamsha or Solar 8ynasty. -e was the manasaputra of
0rahma. -e had in his possession the divine cow &amadhenu, and 6andini her
child, who could grant anything to their owners.
#rundhati is the name of the wife of Vashisht Vashisht is credited as the chief
author of Bandala = of the Rigveda. Vashisht and his family are glorified in RV
=.77.
Sage Vashishtha was Ram/s guru and the Ra!purohit of P1)shwa)uP dynasty.
-e was a peace loving, selfless, intelligent and great Rishi. -e had established
Guru)ula (residential college$ on the ban)s of river PSaraswatiP, where he and
his wife P#rundhatiP were ta)ing care of thousands of students stayed there
and studied there and Vashishtha Rishi was the chief principal.
Regarding sage V#S1S+-# not much familiar points are only told. 1t is ta)en
for granted readers are familiar to V#S1S+-# too much than other sages.
B0L99PA 9P0S7B9
&ing 8ileepa was a )ing of the Raghuvamsha dynasty. -e had a wife named
Suda)shina, but they had no children. For this reason, 8ileepa visited the sage
Vashisht in his ashram, and as)ed him for his advice. Vashisht replied that
they should serve the cow 6andini, child of &amadhenu, and perhaps if
6andini was happy with their service, she would grant them with a child .after
worship he got a son.
E7GA,AS0ST8A
Bembers seeing the serial V,ngae brahminanW in Aeya +V may be recollecting
the compliment of boo) ogavasistha to #sho) during his upanayanam. oga
Vasistha is an ancient scripture narrated by sage Vasistha to Rama. # uniFue
and an e(tremely profound discourse, that provides innumerable insights and
secrets to the inner world of consciousness. +his e(tremely huge scripture
(,nglish translation about <.; Bb$ covers all the topics that relate to the
spiritual study of a see)er.
Rama, the eldest son of 8asaratha, after completing a pilgrimage of holy
places returns to the palace. #fter his return, he is constantly found wandering
lost in thought and completely disenchanted with the worldly life and the
pleasures of the )ingdom Vasistha as)s for Rama to be brought before him.
Rama is then brought to the palace and 8asaratha as)s him what is bothering
him. Rama then e(plains his disenchantment with worldly things and
e(presses sadness at the miserable life as a worldly man.
+he ensuing answer to Rama/s Fuestions forms the entire scripture that is
oga Vasistha.
#fter the flood of the matsya avataram, Vasishtha and his wife #rundhati may
have had a hermitage on the ban)s of the river Saraswati, but they spent a lot
of time at #yodhya, the capital of the &osala )ingdom .
#rundhati was a lot younger than Vasishtha. While at #yodhya, Vasishtha not
only taught Sri Rama, but was an advisor to his father, 8asaratha as well.
Vasishtha was a contemporary of &ing 6imi (Aana)aOs 2oorva!a (previous
born$$ and Gautama Bahrashi.
=! ,AB@LA G7T8RA
Vadula was a Rishi who gave his name to a Gothra, or a line of descent,
commonly amongst 0rahmins. Vadula Baharishi was reportedly prone to great
distraction, which some ascribe to deep, consciousness'e(panding meditation.
6%+,:' 6othing more than this 1 could collect of this sage. 1 reFuest learnt
members to add to my write up .
?! @PA5A'E@ G7T8RA
+he &ambo!as are a very ancient &shatriya tribe of the north'western parts of
the 1ndian subcontinent, of what now forms north'eastern #fghanistan and
southern parts of +a!i)stan. Cpamanyu was one such Rsi of &ambo!a lineage
who finds freFuent mention in ancient 1ndian te(ts li)e Rig Veda, several
2uranas and the epic Bahabharata.
Cpamanyu is the name of a Vedic Rsi who finds reference in 0oo) 1, -ymn
3@4. ? of the Rig Veda I9J, Siva 2urana, Dinga 2urana, &urma 2urana and also
in #di 2arava I=J as well as in #nushasana 2arava of epic Bahabharata I>J I?J.
CpamanyuOs Guru was so pleased with him that he blessed him with instant
memory and told him that he will )now the Vedas and 8haramshashtras
(other religious te(ts$ automatically without any effort.
Scholars including S. &. 8e, 6. *haudhury write that /Cpamanyu was also the
epic promulgator of the Shaivism.
-is hermitage was in the mountains of -imalayas I37J. -is father was the
sage Vyaghrapada I39 Cpamanyu, a pupil of #yoda 8haumya also received
his Vedic education at +a)sasila.
Cpamanyu had heard of Shiva in several forms from his mother and afterward,
recited to &rsna the thousand and eight names of Shiva I77J.
+he people with Cpamanyu Gothra live in far western part of 6epal and
eastern 2arts of Aammu " &ashmir. +hey are basically present !ust below the
Bount &ailash as they pray to Dord Shiva only. -owever, according to 8r 8. *.
Sircar, Cpamanyu Gothra is not found in early Sans)rit literature and it is
difficult to determine at this time whether it is a mista)e for #upamanyava
Gothra I9<J.
Cpamanya Gothra is said to be an offshoot of the Vrigu (2arasara$ Gothras.
+his means that a Rishi hailing from the &ambo!a tribe was also founder of a
0rahmanical class....... 2eople staying !ust below or the South (,astern "
Weastern$ parts of Bount &ailash (6epal " 1ndia$ are the descendants of
Cpamanyu.Cpamanyu Gothra.
+he &ambho!as (Cpamanyu Gothra$ can be easily identified as they are fair
and have colorful eyes (ellow, light blue, light brown$ with a bit broader
Forehead " nose, possibly due to admi(ture.
2raying to Dord Shiva every Bonday is a routine for all &ambho!a.Cpamanyu
Gothra (all clans$. # visit to Dord Shiva/s +emple every Bonday is a must for
every Cpamanyu Gothra. &ambho!as.Cpamanayu Gothra pray to Dord Shiva
and 8urga Baa is their &ula 8evi.
+he earliest mention of &ambo!as occurs in Vamsa 0rahamana of Samaveda
where a teacher &ambo!a #upamanyava is referred to. +he sage Cpamanyu
mentioned in the Rigveda (i.3@4,?$ is in all probability the father of this
&ambo!a teacher .
)! S8A@'A-A G7T8RA
Shauna)a is the name applied to teachers, and to a Sha)ha of the
#tharvaveda -e is claimed as the teacher of &atyayana and especially of
#shvalayana, and is said to have united the 0ash)ala and Sha)ala Sha)has of
the Rigveda. 1n legend, he is sometimes identified with Gritsamada, a Vedic
Rishi.
#ccording to the Vishnu 2urana, Shauna)a was the son of Gritsamada, and
invented the system of the four levels of human life.
Shauna)a had a prominent role in the epic BahXbhXrata. +he epic
BahXbhXrata was narrated to Shauna)a by a story teller named Cgrasrava
Sauti during a conclave of sages headed by Shauna)a in a forest named
6aimisha.
A! SA'-R0T80 G7T8RA
San)rithi is the Grandson of Sage Vashishta, and the son of Sage Sha)thi.
1ncidentally, Sage Sha)thi is the father of Sage 2arashara (the father of Sage
Veda Vyasa.$
+here is not much )nown about Sage San)rithi e(cept that his name figures in
the #vadhuta Cpanishad, where Dord 8attatreya e(plains the nature of an
#vadhuta to Sage San)rithi., founder Rishi of the San)rithi Gothra.
+he lineage of San)rithi/s is given as Sha)thya, San)rithya, and Gauriveetha.
i.e. lineage of Sha)thi, San)rithi, and Gauriveethi.
6%+,:' 6othing more than this 1 could collect of this sage. 1 reFuest learnt
members to add to my write up.
Section 000
*! 5oudgal%a Gothra (! Sandil%a Gothra +! Salakh%ana Gothra <! Raivata
Gothra =! -oundin%a Gothra ?! 5anda%a Gothra )! 5aitre%a Gothra 6 A!
-ata%ana Gothra!
*! 5oudgal%a Gothra
6#D##61 was the young wife of very old sage, Budgala, but she was a great
2ativrata. ,ven when Budgala Rshi became afflicted by leprosy and started
stin)ing, she continued to serve him. %nce, when he was consuming food, one
of his fingers fell of from his hands and fell into the food. 6alayani removed it
and partoo) the remaining food. +he sage was e(tremely pleased.
1n order to please he too) five bodily forms corresponding to the five
(2anchabhootas$ elements and satisfied her in all respects. #fter thousands of
years, he wanted to retire from family life and wanted to live the life of a sage.
0ut, 6alayani tried to prevent him and )eep him in the material pleasures.
Budgala Rshi cursed her that she will be borne as the daughter of 8rupada
and will marry five men. (source : #di 2arva of Bahabharata verses 3?= to
4@9$.
Sages belonging to the Baudgalya Gothra are well )nown for their patience
and forbearance. %ne such rshi was living through 0hi)shatana (alms$ at
&uru)shetra.
%nce Rshi 8urvasa came to his #shram (hermitage$ as his guest, in a
digambara (na)ed$ form and Budgala gave him, whatever food he obtained as
alms. 8urvasa consumed some food from the same. +he remaining food, he
massaged on his own body. et, Budgala did not become angry. +he following
days also 8urvasa came to Budgalas #shram before the latter could Fuench
his hunger and repeated the same behaviour. Budgala gave all the food to
8urvasa and remained hungry for several days. Finally, 8urvasa said that he
was e(tremely pleased with Budgalas patience and forbearance and blessed
Budgala with an offer to ta)e him the -eaven in his physical body.
1mmediately the 8evas came with their plane. Budgala enFuired 8urvasa
about the pleasures available in the -eaven and then in the end he refused to
be drawn to such pleasures. (source : Vana 2arva of Bahabharata *h. 4<3$.
+here was a great Vedic Scholar from Baudgalya Gothra, who participated in
the sarpa yaga (serpent sacrifice$ of Aaname Aaya. (source : #di 2arva of
Bahabharata *h. ;7$.
Budgalas were rigvedies and might have continued to be so till they were in
the 6orthern part of 1ndia and might have shifted to &rishna a!ur Veda, much
after they established themselves in the Southern part of 1ndia.
+his may be the reason why Budgalas follow the *handramana calendar while
all the other &rishna a!ur Vedis follows the Sauramana calendar. 2ersons
belonging to Baudgalya gothara celebrate their birthdays according to their
na)shatras falling in the solar months in which they were born, while they
perform the shrardhams (death anniversary$ in the thithies of the lunar
months in which the deaths too) place.
+he route through which Baudgalyas would have traveled might be
0aluchistan ' 2un!ab ' &ashmir ' %rissa ' #ndhra ' +amil 6adu " &erala.
5udgala and Ganapathi
Ganesha 2urana spea)s of Rshi Budgala, who was an ardent devotee of Dord
Ganapathi, who was so pleased with him that he gave his devotee powers to
give boons to other bha)tas (devotees$.
8a)sha became an ardent devotee of Ganapathi. %n Ganapathis advice, he
met Rshi Budgala, who taught him the one lettered mantra %B. +his, 8a)sha
chanted relentlessly.
5udgala Purana
2erhaps no other Rshi in the human world has a purana named after himself.
+his 2urana does not give any information about Rshi Budgala, but is out and
out e(position of the grandeur of Dord Ganapathi. +his shows the humility of
the author, Rshi Budgala. +his 2urana has ? )handas (cantos$ and gives
details about all facets of Ganesha worship.
5audgal%as of Recent Times!
%f the persons belonging to Baudgalya Gothra, who have made a name for
themselves, the most popular one is Cpanyasa *ha)ravarthy, Sengalipuram
#nantarama 8ee)shithar.
-is upanyasams (discourses$ on Ramayana and 0hagavatham and
Bahabharatham moulded the characters of many of us during our childhood.
-is rendering of the shlo)as from the epics had a ma!estic tone which still
ringing in our ears.
(! Sandil%a!
Sandilya is one of the great sages of ancient 1ndia and a Vedic scholar. #mong
0rahmins there is a Gothram named after him, specifying that the generations
of people belonged to Sandilya as the paternal root.
1n -induism, it is believed that -indu goddess 2arvathi, bride of Shiva, also
belonged to the Sandilya/s generation and is a daughter of -imavantha the
lord or )ing of the -imalayas.
1t is believed that Sandilya had si( more ancestors, namely &aashyapa,
#vatsaara, 6aidhruva, Rebha, Raibha, Sandila and SandilyaI3J .
+! Salanka%ana!
+he Salan)ayanas were an ancient dynasty that ruled the Vengi region of
1ndia/s eastern coast from 7@@ to 99@ #8. +hey were 0rahmins and their name
is derived from their symbol and Gothra name, which stood for 6andi (the bull
of Shiva$.
+he Salan)ayanas succeeded the #ndhra 1)shva)u dynasty and were vassals
of the 2allava )ings of southern 1ndia. 8uring their time the script for +elugu
and &annada began to clearly separating from that of the other South 1ndian
and 6orth 1ndian languages.
1n the late 9@@s, the Salan)ayanas were conFuered by Badhavarma 11 of the
Vishnu)undinas (a &shatriya Ra!u dynasty$.
<!Raivata -akudmin
Raivata &a)udmin was the )ing of &usasthali. RaivataOs father was Revata and
his father was #narta. #nartaOs sister was Su)anya (*yavanaOs wife$ and their
father was Saryati, whose father was Vaivaswatha Banu. Vaiwaswatha is.was
the son of Vivaswan. Vivaswan is another name for Surya 8eva. (1n the
0hagavad Gita, Sri &rishna says that -e taught Vivaswan, in a previous$.
Raivata &a)udmin had a daughter called Revati. %n 0rahmaOs advice, he gave
his daughter Revati in marriage to 0alarama, the elder brother of Sri &rishna.
Raivata was also called &a)udmi.
=! -aundin%a
&aundinya was a brahmin who first came to prominence as a youth due to his
mastery of the vedas and was later appointed as a royal court scholar of &ing
Suddhodana of the Sa)yas in &apilavastu. +here &aundinya was the only
scholar who uneFuivocally predicted upon the birth of 2rince Siddhartha that
the prince would become an enlightened 0uddha, and vowed to become his
disciple.
&aundinya and four colleagues followed Siddhartha in si( years of ascetic
practice, but abandoned him in disgust after Siddhartha gave up the practice
of self mortification.
Cpon enlightenment, Siddartha gave his first dharma tal) to &aundinya/s
group. &aundinya was the first to comprehend the teaching and thus became
the first bhi))hu and arahant.
Following the formation of the sangha, &aundinya and the other mon)s
travelled with the 0uddha by foot through the Gangetic plains area of what is
now 0ihar and Cttar 2radesh to spread the dharma.
?! 5andav%a!
Bandavya was a sage wrongly punished by the )ing by being impaled as the
chief of robbers who had clandestinely hidden their stolen goods in a corner of
his hermitage when he was in deep contemplation. Dord 8harma gave him this
punishment for having tortured birds and bees in his childhood. #t this
Bandavya cursed 8harma who was born as Vidura, the wise, to the servant
maid of #mbali)a, wife of &ing Vichitravirya, who offered her to Sage Vyasa in
place of #mbali)a.
)! 5aitre%a!
+he 0rihat 2arasara -ora Sastra, a treatise on astrology was e(pounded by
Rishi 2arasara (the father of Veda Vyasa$ to Rishi Baitreya.
Rishi Baitreya e(plained parts of the 0hagavatham to Vidura, a son of Veda
Vyasa.(#uthorship and *opyright 6otice : #ll Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada
&andula$
A! -Dt%D%ana
&XtyXyana (c. 7rd century 0*$ was a Sans)rit grammarian, mathematician and
Vedic priest who lived in ancient 1ndia.
-e is )nown for two wor)s:+he Vartti)a, an elaboration on 2XYini grammar.
#long with the BahXbhXsya of 2ataZ!ali, this te(t became a core part of the
vyX)arana (grammar$ canon. +his was one of the si( Vedangas, and
constituted compulsory education for 0rahmin students in the following twelve
centuries.
-e also composed one of the later Sulba Sutras, a series of nine te(ts on the
geometry of altar constructions, dealing with rectangles, right'sided triangles,
rhombuses, etc.
&XtyXyana/s views on the word'meaning connection tended towards
naturalism. &XtyXyana believed, li)e 2lato, that the word'meaning relationship
was not a result of human convention. For &XtyXyana, word'meaning relations
were siddha, given to us, eternal.
Section 0,
*! Bhanwantari Gothra (! Camadagni Gothra +! -anva Gothra 6 <!
-Dt%D%ana Gothra!
Bost of the details are compilation from Wi)ipedia.
*! Bhanwantari Gothra
8hanvantari is an avatar of Vishnu from the -indu tradition. -e appears in
the Vedas and 2uranas as the physician of the Gods (devas$, and the God of
#yurvedic medicine. 1t is common practice in -induism for worshipers to pray
to Dord 8hanvantari see)ing his blessings for sound health for themselves
and.or others.
8hanvantari was an early 1ndian medical practitioner and one of the worldOs
first surgeons. 0ased on -indu traditions, he is regarded as the source of
#yurveda. -e perfected many herbal based cures and natural remedies and
was credited with the discovery of the antiseptic properties of turmeric and
the preservative properties of salt which he incorporated in his cures.
0eing a very s)illed surgeon according to the standards of his time, he is
widely believed to be the pioneer of modern medical practices li)e plastic
surgery I3J.
#lbeit his methods were a lot cruder and more painful and were used only in
emergencies, such as on the in!uries of war victims.
#ll his surgeries were performed without anesthetic, however in spite of his
crude methods he was reported to have had a very high success rate. #s a
result of the brilliance and achievements he displayed in the field of medicine
he was chosen as one of the 6ine Gems in early 1ndian ruler Vi)ramadityaOs
court.
#ccording to traditions, he taught surgery methods and procedures to
Susrutha, the Father of #yurvedic Surgeon.
The Legend
8hanvantari is depicted as Vishnu with four hands, holding medical herbs in
one hand and a pot containing re!uvenating nectar called amrita in another.
+he 2uranas state that 8hanavantari emerged from the /%cean of Bil)/.
irthda% celebration
0irth day celebration of Dord 8hanvantari, the God of health, healing and cure,
is celebrated with great enthuiasm and happy environment, by the
practitioners of the #yurveda every year, on 8han +eras, two days before
8eepwali, the -indu festival of Dights. 1n the Samudra Banthan, Dord
8hanvantari appeared with the )eeping #mrit 2ot, Shan)ha, *ha)rra and
Aalau)a each one in his four hands.
Temples in 0ndia
1n 6orthern 1ndia no permanent temple is established for Dord 8hanvantari.
+he reason is not yet )nown, but in Varanasey Sanssa)rit Vishvavidyalaya,
Varanasi, Cttar 2radesh state, one statue of Dord 8hanvantari is present in the
Buseum of the Cniversity.
-owever there are few dedicated temples to the Dord 8hanwantri, in South
1ndia especially in &erala and +amil 6adu, where #yurvedic medicine is highly
practised and patronised.
1n +amil 6adu, in the courtyard of Sri Ranganathaswamy +emple (Srirangam$,
is the 8hanvantari +emple where daily worshipping of the deity is performed.
1n the front of this temple there is an engraved stone believed to date around
the 34th *entury. +he writing on the stone contains the details that Garud
Vahan 0hattar, who was a great ayurvedic physician , established the statue
inside the temple. #s a /2rasad/ or /+eerth/, a decoction of the herbs is given to
the visitors.
+hough not )nown to many, there is a temple dedicated to Dord 8hanvantari
in &erala. 1t is in a village called 6elluvaya, 4@ )ilometers from guruvayur and
trissur, located e(actly midway between the two towns. +he temple is
believed to be as old as the temple of Guruvayur. Bany ayurvedic doctors
from )erala visit this temple before they start practicing medicine.
#bout 3@ )m from the railway station is the ages old, very powerful
8hanvantari +emple, &annur (*annanore$, &erala.
# not so well )nown temple in its humble environs has a serene atmosphere.
8hanvantari poo!a is performed here for the good health of anyone, of any
faith, from any corner of the world. #dded attraction is the -uge +emple pond
with water liliesH
Similarly, there/s a 8hanvantri &shetram (i.e.temple$ in the outs)irts of
*alicut, in &erala. +his temple is gaining prominence, as people come from far
off places to offer their prayers to the Dord, to cure them of their ailing
diseases, or to be blessed with a healthy life ahead.
+here is an e(clusive very big temple for Dord 8hanwantari in *herthala
Baruthorvattom village in the #lleppy district. 1 have visited and made prayers
in the temple.
1n #ll 1ndia #yurvedic practitioners worship Dord 8hanavantary.
Ashta ,aid%a of -erala
1n &erala, the family of P#shta VaidyaP is famous and traditionally provide
#yurvedic and Siddha treatment to the sic). +he forefathers of these #sta
vaidyas are still today serving in the same manner as centuries ago. +his
family worships Dord 8hanvantari. Some family members have built temples
inside their houses while others have built proper temples in his honour.
6ear &ota))alat 2ulamantol village, here is a family of #shta Vaidya. +his
family has a temple of Dord 8hanvantari. Vaidya Badam is near
Vada))ancheri. -ere the #shta Vaidya Batra dattan have a statue of
8hanvantri, made of a mi(ture of five metals. 1n trishura/s 2erungva, a big
temple is here built by #shta vaidya. +he #shta Vaidya families are in the
following places:
#alyittur *annanore (&annur$
&uttancheri +ai))ad
Vayas)ara Vellod
*hirattaman 2ulamanthole
%lassa
1t seems that tradition of Dord 8hanwantri worshipping is regularly persisting
in the families to families in &erala.
While all the ashtavaidayan families (+hey are all 2ushpa)a 0rahmins.$
worship 8hanwantari it is felt they may be of 8hanwantari Gothra. Dearnt
members may wirite to me who belong to 2ushpa)a 0rahmins group.
References:
8hanavantari ' the God of #yurveda
&alyan -indi monthly magaEine, Barch 4@@3 issue, Geeta 2ress, Gora)hpur,
C2
Source of References:
Dord 8hanvantari
-indu God 8hanwantari: +he promulgator of #yurveda.
8oes #yurveda begin with 8hanvantari, the ancient physicianG 0y 8.2.
#grawal 8hanvantari in the 0hagavata 2urana.

(! CamadagniGothra
Aamadagni is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi$ in the seventh,
i.e. the present Banvantara I3J. -e is a descendant of the sage 0hrigu, one of
the 2ra!apatis cretaed by 0rahma, the God of *reation.
Aamadagni had several children with wife Renu)a, the youngest of whom was
2arashurama, an #vatara of Dord Vishnu.
9;ecution of Renuka
Renu)a was such very devoted wife and the power of her chastity was
manifest. Such was this power, that she used to fetch water from the river in a
pot made of unba)ed clay every day. +he pot would hold together because of
her devotion to her husband.
%ne day, when she was at the river, a handsome Gandharva happened to be
passing by in the s)y, in his chariot. Smitten with desire for this handsome
youth, for merely an instant, the damage to her powers was done. +he
unba)ed pot that she was carrying, dissolved into the river. She was no longer
chaste of mind. #fraid to go bac) to her husband, she waited at the river ban).
Beanwhile Aamadagni, who was waiting for fresh water to begin his morning
sacrifices, noticed that his wife had not yet returned from the river. 0y his
yogic powers, he divined all that had ta)en place.
,(ceedingly angry with his wife, he called his eldest son, told him what had
happened and as)ed him to e(ecute his mother. -orror'stric)en, his son
refused to perform this deed. -e then as)ed all of his sons, in the order of
their seniority, to e(ecute their mother. While all the elder sons refused (and
so Sage Aamadagni turned them to stone$, only his youngest son,
2arashurama, ever'obedient and righteous, at once beheaded his mother with
his a(e.
Aamadagni, pleased, offered to grant two boons to 2arashurama, who at once
as)ed that his mother be restored to life and his brothers to be unturned from
stone and accepted into the family again. 1mpressed by his son/s devotion and
affection for his family, Aamadagni granted this boon and many others.
Aamadagni was later )illed by a &shatriya )ing &artavirya #r!una, over a
dispute over a divine calf named )amadhenu.
References:
1nhabitants of the Worlds Bahanirvana +antra, translated by #rthur #valon,
(Sir Aohn Woodroffe$, 3?37, 1ntroduction and 2reface.
+! -anva Gothra!
&anva is a renowned rishi, author of several hymns of the Rigveda, called a
son of Ghora and one of the #ngirasas. +he &anvas are the descendants of
&anva. &anva is also the name of a founder of a Vedic sha)ha, of several
princes and founders of dynasties and several authors. +he &anvas are also a
class of evil spirits, against whom hymn 4.4; of the #tharvaveda is used as a
charm.
Sahunthala daughter of Viswamithra and Bena)a was brought up by sage
&anva.+he child born to Sha)unthala is 0harat from whom our country got the
name so.
<! -Dt%D%ana Gothra!
&XtyXyana (c. 7rd century 0*$ was a Sans)rit grammarian, mathematician and
Vedic priest who lived in ancient 1ndia.
-e is )nown for two wor)s: +he Vartti)a, an elaboration on 2Xnini grammar.
#long with the BahXbhXsya of 2ataZ!ali, this te(t became a core part of the
vyX)arana (grammar$ canon. +his was one of the si( Vedangas, and
constituted compulsory education for 0rahmin students in the following twelve
centuries.
-e also composed one of the later Sulba Sutras, a series of nine te(ts on the
geometry of altar constructions, dealing with rectangles, right'sided triangles,
rhombuses, etc.
&XtyXyana/s views on the word'meaning connection tended towards
naturalism. &XtyXyana believed, li)e 2lato, that the word'meaning relationship
was not a result of human convention. For &XtyXyana, word'meaning relations
were siddha, given to us, eternal. +hough the ob!ect a word is referring to is
non'eternal, the substance of its meaning, li)e a lump of gold used to ma)e
different ornaments, remains undestroyed, and is therefore permanent.
+his view may have been the nucleus of the Sphora doctrine enunciated by
0hartu hari in the ;th c., in which he elaborates the word'universal as the
superposition of two structures [ the meaning'universal or the semantic
structure (artha'!Xti$ is superposed on the sound'universal or the phonological
structure (Uabda'!Xti$.
1n the tradition of scholars li)e 2ingala, &XtyXyana was also interested in
mathematics. -ere his te(t on the sulvasutras dealt with geometry, and
e(tended the treatment of the 2ythagorean theorem as first presented in >@@
0* by 0audhayana.
&XtyXyana belonged to the #indra School of grammarians and may have lived
towards the 6orth west of the 1ndian subcontinent.
G7T8RA SAG9S - Part (!
:ompiled b% Sri Gopalakrishna Ramai%er, #Retired AG5, S'L$
Tambaram, :hennai!
0ntroduction!
+here are 9? established Dead -indu Gothras (or Gothram$. #ll members of a
particular Gothra are believed to possess certain common characteristics by
way of nature or profession.
+he term Gothra was used in its present sense for the first time in the
0rahmanas. 1t was systematised by about the 9th century 0* to accommodate
changed social rules and laws and by the time of the Sutras, it was a well'
established system.
Gothras have their orgination to saptharshies who change with Banvanthara.
We are in the seventh Banvanthara now.
Bany of the seven sages have been repeated and replaced. 1n the first
manvanthara the saptharshies were Barichi, #tri, #ngeerasa, 2ulasthia,2ulaha
&ratu and Vasishta. +hey are believed to be the mind'born sons of 0rahma.
#ccording to the 0audhKyanas/rauta'sLtra VishvKmitra, Aamadagni,
0haradvK!a, Gautama, #tri, Vasishtha, &ashyapa and #gastya are > sagesM the
progeny of these eight sages is declared to be Gothras. We have discussed
the Gothra Sages earlier in the Part * in sections 0 to 0,! 1n the following
part 11, the discussion is about section , to ,000 as listed below:
0nde;
Section ,$ *! -as%apa gothra (! ,amadeva gothra +! Pulasthia
Gothra <! Pulaha gothra =! Angirasa gothra 6 ?! Atre%a Gothra
Section ,0$ *! -utsa gothram (! Shounaka gothram +! Parasara
gothram
Section ,00$ *! Srivatsa Gothra (! ,atsa Gothram +! -ausika Gothram
<! Shadamarshna Gotra 6 'aithrupa -as%apa Gothram
Section ,000$ *! Lohita Gothra, (! -apila Gotra, +! Bathaathre%a
gothra, <! Galava gothra, =! 5athanga Gothra, ?! Sur%a Batta gothra,
)! 5ithrasu Gothra, A! -ausala gothram, F! :harora Gotra, *G!
Bhalab%a gothra 6 **! ,ishnu Gothra!
Section ,
*! -as%apa gothra (! ,amadeva gothra +! Pulasthia Gothra <! Pulaha
gothra =! Angirasa gothra ?! Sadarmashna 6 )! Athre%a Gothra

*! -ASEAPA G7T8RA
-as%apa gothra is a ver% ver% familiar Gothra! 'ot much known
details are detailed while known details are >ust mentioned!
-ash%apa a ,edic sage to whom some hymns of Rigveda are
attributed! All authorities agree in assigning to him a large part
in the work of creation!
-ash%apa was the son of 5areechi! Baksha Pra>apati married
his thirteen daughters with sage -ash%apa! The names of those
daughters were Aditi, Biti, Banu, -ala, Bana%u, Sinhika,
-rodha, Pradha, ,ishwa, ,inata, -apila, 5anu and -adru!
All these women gave birth to so man% children that the whole
creation was filled up with their progenies and off springs!
Aditi was the mother of all the Bevatas and the twelve Aadit%a
#suns$! Biti gave birth to the 1Bait%a1 #demons$, Banu was the
mother of the 1Banavas1 #demons$, 1-ala1 and 1Bana%u1 also
gave birth to the Banavas #demons$ 1Sinhika1 gave birth to lions
and tigers, 1-rodha1 was the mother of the demons who had
great anger, 1,inata1 gave birth to 1Garuda1, 1Arun1 etc! -adru
was the mother of snakes and cobras and 15anu1 was the
mother of all human beings! 8ence, it becomes Huite clear that
all the species which e;ist in this world originate from the same
ancestor and hence all of us are like brothers and sisters! 3e
are the offspring of 5aharshi -ash%apa and so are the trees,
the animals, the birds etc!
7ut of these *+ women, Aditi was the senior most loving wife of
the sage -ash%apa! She was the mother of all the deities
including 10ndra1! 9ven Lord ,ishnu incarnated as ,amana in
this famil%!
According to the 5ahabharata, the Rama%ana, and the Puranas,
he was the son of 5arichi, the son of rahma, and he was
father of ,ivaswat, the father of 5anu, the progenitor of
mankind, the above is confirmed!
The Satapatha rahmana gives a different and not ver%
intelligible account of his origin thus/II J8aving assumed the
form of a tortoise, Pra>apati created offspring! That which he
created he made #akarot$K hence the word koorma #tortoise$!
-as%apa means tortoiseK hence men sa%, LAll creatures are
descendants of -as%apa!M This tortoise is the same as Adit%a!J
The Atharva veda sa%s, JThe self-born -as%apa sprang from
Time,J and Time is often identical with Sri 5aha ,ishnu!
The 5ahabharata and later authorities agree in representing
that -as%apa married Aditi and twelve other daughters of
Baksha! @pon Aditi he begat the Adit%as, headed b% 0ndra, and
also ,ivaswat, and Jto ,ivaswat was born the wise and might%
5anu!J
% his other twelve wives, he had a numerous and ver%
diversified offspring/ demons, nagas, reptiles, birds, and all
kinds of living things! 8e was thus the father of all, and as such
is sometimes called Pra>apati!
8e is one of the seven great Rishis, and he appears as the
priest of Parasurama and Ramachandra!
So marr%ing the daughters of Baksha sage -ash%apa happen
to be the co- brother of Lord Siva who married Sati another
daughter of Baksha, and also of moon god who married ()
daughters of Baksha from Aswathi to Revathi!
(! ,amadeva Gothra
%nce, during thirtieth )alpa named Ra)ta, Dord 0rahma was meditating on
2arameshthi Shiva. Suddenly a divine child appeared before him who was of red
comple(ion and who had put on red apparels. -e was none other than Dord Vaamdev.
Dord 0rahma immediately realiEed the divinity of that child and was convinced that he
was the embodiment of #lmighty God.
Dord 0rahma eulogiEed Vaamdev who was pleased by his devotions. Four divine
entities'Viri!a, Vivahu, Visho)a and Vishwabhavana manifested from the body of
Vaamdev. #ll of them had great resemblance to Dord Vaamdev. Vaamdev preached
them on the finer points of religiousness so that man)ind could be benefited by this
)nowledge.
+ 6 <! Pulasthia and Pulaha Gothrams
'ote- 0 have combined these two sages because man% datas received
pertains both!
6ainital and 2ulasthia' 2ulaha

6ainital is referred to in the \Banas &handO of the \S)anda 2uranaO as the +ri'Rishi'
Sarovar, the la)e of the three sages, #tri, 2ulastya and 2ulaha who were reputed to
have arrived here on a penitential pilgrimage and, finding no water to Fuench their
thirst dug a hole and siphoned water into it from Bansarovar the sacred la)e in+ibet.
&ing 0harata and 2ulaha

+he life of &ing 0harata depicted in 2urana highlights the truth that attachment can
distract even a man of renunciation. 0orn in the lineage of mighty emperors, 0harata
ruled the )ingdom he inherited with a sense of duty and devotion.
-e was not only a !ust )ing loved by his sub!ects but was also spiritually inclined, as
his father Rshabhadeva was a manifestation of the Dord -imself. 0harata performed
many sacrifices and his devotion to God grew day by day. -e retired to the hermitage
of Sage 2ulaha on the ban) of the Ganda)i river (Salagrama)shetra in 6epal$ after
dividing the )ingdom between his sons, to devote his life to worshipping God.
#s he sat meditating one day, he was disturbed to see a pregnant deer in distress
chased by a lion and it succumbed to the e(haustion of premature delivery. Boved at
the sight of the helpless young one without its mother he too) it to his hermitage and
lavished his care on it to the e(tent that he became intensely attached to it. Such a
man of detachment who had gained total control of his senses and mind after
renouncing a )ingdom voluntarily, now doted on a deer whose welfare and pran)s
occupied his entire attention that he was reborn as a deer in his ne(t birth.

2ulasthia and Bangalya sthavam
Bangalya sthavam/ is a prayer addressed to several avatharas of Dord Vishnu,
occurring in the forty third chapter of the Vishnu 8harmotharam 1thihasam. 1t is a
conversation between Sage 2ulasthya and his disciple sage 8haulabhya.
%n being as)ed by 8haulabhya, about the most suitable prayer to drive away
bad dreams and for being able to complete all !obs in a proper fashion, sage
2ulasthya tells him that only a prayer to Dord Vishnu would help him achieve
that, and he also teaches the prayer to him. +hat prayer is PBangalya
sthavamP.
+he prayer is for increasing /mangalyam/ (Bamasthu mangalya vivrudhaye$by see)ing
Dord Vishnu/s blessings,to protect oneself from all evils and sins +he result is that any
wor) started with a prayer for Bangalya' vriddhi, (as in Bangalya sthavam$ is
completed without any problem.
+he 2hala'sruthi of this sthothra says that on reciting this at the beginning of any
action, the sins that hinder that action are removed. +he action can be fulfilled without
hindrances and one will also be blessed with all types of wealth.
Sreemad 0hagavattham has got lot of ref to 2ulasthia and 2ulaha #shram in -ardwar
S0 ;.=.> S0 ;.=.33 S0 ;.>.7@ S0 3@.=?.3@
Sage 2ulasthya has described how to start vedic rituals as follows:' +a)e bath, do
sandhya vandanam, and collect enough water to sprin)le over the homa articles and
the house. 8o achamana and start the Vedic rituals.

1n the lineage from Satrupa ]2rasuti ]2reeti got married to 2ulasthia and her sister
&shama got married to 2ulaha.
&shama'wife of Sage 2ulaha had many offspring among whom &ardam " Sahishnu
were prominent.
2reeti, wife of Sage 2ulastya had two sons named 8attarnavr and 8ahvahu. She also
had a daughter named 8washdwati. &ratu/s wife'Sannati had si( thousand offspring
who became famous as 0aal)hilyas.
=! Angirasa Gothra
Sage #ngirasa appear in addition pravara of many gothras.
Sage #ngirasa is one of the Saptarishis (Seven Sages$ and the Banasaputra (son born
of the mind$ of 0rahma. -e is one of the 2ro!enitors of human)ind
-e is also mentioned in the other three Vedas. Sometimes he is rec)oned as one of
the Seven Great Sages, or saptarishis of the first Banvantara, with others being,
Barichi, #tri, 2ulaha, &ratu, 2ulastya, and Vashishtha.
0rahmas mind born daughter is Satrupa. -er daughter is 2rasuti. 2rasutiOs daughter
Smriti was the wife of sage #ngirasa.
She had given birth to five daughters''' Sini, Vali, &uhu, Ra)a and #numati. Sage
0rihaspati was his son.
%ther accounts say that he married smrithy, the daughter of 8a)sha. 1n the Rigveda,
#gni is sometimes referred to as #ngiras or as a descendant of #ngiras (RV 3.3$. 1n the
Rigveda, 1ndra drives out cows from where they had been imprisoned by either a
demon (Vala$ or multiple demons (the 2anis$ and gifts them to the #ngirasas (RV 7.73,
3@.3@> and a reference in >.39$. Bandala < of the Rigveda is attributed to a family of
#ngirasas.
Dord 0uddha is said to be a descendant of Sage #ngirasa in many 0uddhist te(ts.

Bany verses in the Vedas are attributed to Sage #ngirasa.
Atharva veda and Angirasa
-e along with sage #tharvan are said to have composed most of the #tharvana Veda.
Some descendents of Sage #ngirasa are said to be &shatriya by birth and 0rahmins by
calling. +his is so because the Sage helped a childless &ing to beget children.
#tharva Veda : #tharva Veda has mantras, those are to be used for various special
purposes. +he #tharva Veda Samhitaa has two parts. (3$ +he #tharva " (4$ the
#ngirasa. 0ecause of these two ma!or sections, this Veda is also called #tharva
angirasa, and in short #tharva Veda.
2ara and #para Vidya
%ne of the stories related to Sage #ngirasa is mentioned in the Bunda)a Cpanishad. #
householder by the name Sauna)a carries his firewood and reaches the forest where
Sage #ngirasa is. -e approaches the Sage reverentially and beseeches V% -oly Sage,
teach me that through which the whole universe can be )nown.W
#ngirasa was happy to hear the beautiful Fuestion, and started his discourse by
classifying the entire spectrum of things to be )nown into two categories. +he 2ara
and the #para Vidya. #s the #para Vidya /ob!ects/, and 2ara Vidya /ob!ect/ reFuires an
entirely different approach Shauna)a inspite of his best efforts could not get the
desired fruit of omniscience was that he was un)nowingly pursuing #para Vidya
but with the wish to get the fruits of 2ara Vidya, and thus the
frustration.
Sage #ngirasa goes on to e(plain the two different )inds of )nowledge on this ,arth.
The lower knowledge he states are the sciences, h%mns, rituals, grammar,
poetr% astrolog% etc! The higher knowledge is that which leads a man to
that which never dies! The 0ndestructible!
Sage #ngiras to e(plain this further says V+his body is li)e a tree in which two birds
live. +hey loo) ali)e. +he lower bird is tasting the fruits of the tree and some are sweet
and others are sour. +he higher bird is !ust watching the lower bird. %ne day the
lower bird is tired of everything and starts to weep. +he lower bird sees the higher bird
which is calm, unattached and at peace. +he lower bird hops towards the higher one.
1t suddenly realiEes that the upper bird is also !ust himself, his true Self. &nowing this
his grief disappears. -e realises that the ,go was not real, the Self was real, the
observer of all.
?! Sadamarshna Gothram
# few words more about Shatamarshana Gothram. 6atha Buni, #alavandar (aamuna
Buni$ belong to this Gothram.
#bout Shatamarshana Gothram lineage, 0efore Shatamarshana: #n)iras, 2urugutsar
and +rasadasyu were all born in this Gothram. Shatamarshana gothris are called
Sreshtars or Sottai &ulam people in +amil.
#alawandar refers to his reputed Dineage referring to his grandfather 6ata Buni "
Shatamarshana this way:
PSottai nambiP son of #lavandhar (great grand son of 6athamuni$ , one of the =9
mudhalis, could be the reason for the name Psottai )ulamP. Q 2erhaps he was bald in
some usual part of the head and was addressed that wayH$. Bany vaishanvites belong
to this gothram. We have already seen the lineage of #ngiras.
3.#n)iras ' Shatamarshana (2enance in the middle of Five fires at -aridhwar and got
the boon that the Sata Vayu will not affect him. -is predecessors, 2uru)utsar and
+raasa 8asyu were authorities on Rig Veda.
+ras is made up of 7 &inds of fear.Since these three )inds of fear ran away fro him out
of fear for his 2ower derived from penance, -e is called +rasa 8hasyu. #ll the three
Rishis (#n)iras, 2uru)utsar, +rsadasyu$ are thus included in the 2ravaram of
Shatamarshana Gothris.
)! Athre%a Gothram
7. #treya is a descendent of Sage #tri one of the saptharshies.We have already read
about #tri Gothra. +he lineage for #treya Gothram is.#tri'''$ 8attatreya'''$ #treya
Gothram$ Sri Ramanu!ar and Vedanta 8esi)an are born in #treya Gothram.
0ndrasMs palace on earth -stor%
#treya is a descendent of Sage #tri. -e had done many yagnas and was able to go to
any place as he li)ed. %ne day in course of his wanderings he came to the court of
1ndra which fascinated him by its beauty and festivities. -e thought that no other
place could be more pleasant and he wanted it with all his heart. -is modest hut
could not please him any more. -e called his wife and told, \What sort of rubbish are
you giving me to eatG 8oes it taste goodG our fruits and vegetables cannot come
anywhere near the sweetmeats 1 ate at 1ndraOs courtO.
So saying he called Viswa)arma and as)ed him to ma)e his hermitage li)e 1ndraOs
palace. 1f you do not do as 1 tell 1 shall reduce you to ashes by curse. +he buildings,
the court, the gardens, the elephant, the horse, the chandelier, the music, the food,
and the courtiers ] all these must be as they are in 1ndraOs palace.
#fraid of the curse, Viswa)arma forthwith built a palace which could rival 1ndraOs
palace. Buch pleased the muni said, \+his is the very thing 1 wantedO. #fter some time
however the demons began to frown at the place and said, \Doo), that fellow 1ndra has
surreptitiously left the heaven and built up a home on earth. Det us go and give him a
good thrashing for )illing our VritraO.
Shouting, \&ill 1ndraH &ill 1ndraHO the demons in a body laid that palace under siege.
+he muni was happily reclining on his bed. 0ut when he heard the shouts of the
demons he became mortally afraid. Within minutes using all )inds of weapons the
demons reduced the place to a heap of rubbles. +he muni himself did not escape
some minor in!uries. -e came out trembling and going to the demons he told them
with folded hands, \1 swear, 1 am not 1ndra, 1 am a muni, a 0rahmin and a very poor
and innocent man. Why are you so angry with meGO \+hen why have you been posing
li)e 1ndraG Remove your trappings at onceO, said the demons.
\#t once 1 am doing as you say. 1 must have lost my head and did these foolish
things. 1 shall never do it again.O Viswa)arma was summoned and was told by the
muni to replace the palace with his modest ashram. -e told him, \8o it soon, or 1 shall
die at the hands of these demons.O
RealiEing that the muni was in grave danger Viswa)arma readily obeyed and the huts
and the forests reappeared where a short while ago a palace stood. -owever, before
he left Viswa)arma en!oyed a hearty laugh at the predicament of the muni.
Section ,0
*! -utsa gothram (! Shounaka gothram +! Parasara gothram!
*! -@TSA G7T8RA5
&utsa Baharishi is a Saptarishi of this Banvantara. ,ach Rishi has their own speciality,
Baharishi &utsa stands for sweetness. 1t is said that of the >4 su)tas in the Rudram,
about <; are the outpourings of Baharishi &utsa. 1t is also stated that &utsa Baharishi
e(plained the allegories of the first laws of celestial bodies
+he 2ro)shana Bantram goes as follows K^_%m 0hoo: %m 0huvaha: %m SuvahaK^`.
1t is said that water is a purifier. +he water gets the ability to purify anything that it
touches. +his power is rested upon water through the 2ro)shana Bantram. +he
+aittriya Samhita states that the Bantra 8rishtas of the above mantra are none other
than #tri, 0hrigu " &utsa Baharishi.
A* 5eaning of -utsa
&utsa is indeed a very strange name. +he word &utsa means in Sans)rit fault'finding
%ne who engages in scolding or belittling others. -ow could such a name attach to
one who was a great Bantra 8rish+aa in his own right besides being in the lineage of
the renowned Baharishi #angirasa G
1t might mean that perhaps he was very e(asperated with the vagaries of the world
and was vocally e(pressing his displeasure to the annoyance of those who were
annoyed with him for his stentorian disciplining. #nd, therefore, this name got stuc) to
him.
A( -utsa and Anpil temple
1t is, however, seen that even this great Rishi who was so strict in his own
observances, once made a mista)e in pronouncing a Veda mantram and, therefore,
was cursed to become a frog in the well. When he atoned for his lapse, Veda 2urusha
told him that even while being a frog, he would remember his previous birth and will
be relieved of the curse if he did penance in a 2ush)ara6i (-oly waters$ and prayed to
Soundarara!a 2erumaaD in Vaalmi)i )sh,tram for 9> days. +his he did and was cured
of his curse and regained his former self.
+his Valmi)i )shetram is none other than #601D, the birthplace of Sage Vaalmi)i and
one of the 3@> 8ivya 8,sams consecrated by +irumaEhisai #Ehwar. +he 2ush)ara61 is
)nown as Bandoo)a 2ush)ara6i. (#uthority: +iruvarangam +iru))%yil (pages =7'=9$ of
the official publication of Sri Ranganatha Swami 8evastaanam, Srirangam$
(1ncidentally, this is one of the many glories of #601D, #601D is situated ; miles east of
Dalgudi, in +iruchy 8istrict, +amil 6adu$
A+ Prokshana manthram
We are familiar with the 2r%)sha6a mantram, %m 0hoo: 0huva: and Suvaha. +he
Bantra drish+a of the fourth Vyaahriti Suvah. 1s none other than this &utsa Rishi. +he
Veda Va)hya in +aittriya Samhita 4.<.; attests this fact thus:
0rahmavaadin% vadantyatbhir haveemshi prou)shee: )enaapa iti brahma6,ti
brooyaat adbirhy,va haveemshi pr%)shati brahma6aapa: +his occurs in the aaga
pra)ara6am in the Vedas as an answer to the Fuestion:
With what do you purify the offerings (havis$ ' 0y sprin)ling water
A<! -utsa mistaken for 0ndra b% 0ndrani herself
Rig Veda 9.3<.3@ mentions a conversation between Sage Vaamad,va and 1ndra which
illustrates how &utsa and 1ndra were not only bosom friends but also were loo)'ali)es
so much that at one stage 1ndra6i herself could not differentiate between them. She
had to ascertain from the horses mouth of 1ndra himselfH
1t would appear that at the reFuest of &utsa who was the son of one Ra!arishi called
Ruru, 1ndra helped in decimating Rurus enemies and invited &utsa to 1ndralo)a to
celebrate the victory. 1t was then that the above incident happened.
+here is a Soo)tam in Ri) Veda 3.3@<.< that consists of = mantras. +hough &utsa
discovered this Soo)tam, he too) pride in calling it in con!unction with his #chaarya,
#aangirasa as &utsa: #angeerasa:
A= -alidasa and -utsa
&aalidaasa commences the ;th Sargam of his Raghuvamsa with an invocation to
&utsa. it was due to the blessings of Sage &outsa that fame of Raghu Vamsa was
firmly established.
(! S87@'A-A G7T8RA5
Shauna)a is the name applied to teachers, and to a Sha)ha of the #tharvaveda. 1t is
especially the name of a celebrated Sans)rit grammarian, author of the rig veda'
2ra`tibca`)hya, the 0rihad'devata`, the *araTdea'vybfha and other wor)s. -e is
claimed as the teacher of &atyayana and especially of #shvalayana, and is said to
have united the 0ash)ala and Sha)ala Sha)has of the Rigveda. 1n legend, he is
sometimes identified with Gritsamada, a Vedic Rishi. #ccording to the Vishnu 2urana,
Shauna)a was the son of Gritsamada, and invented the system of the four levels of
human life.
* Shounaka and 5ahabharata
Shauna)a had a prominent role in the epic Bahabharata. +he epic Bahabharata was narrated to Shauna)a by a
story teller named Cgrasrava Sauti during a conclave of sages headed by Shauna)a in a forest named 6aimisha.
Souna)a, who learned all the 2uraa6as from the renowned Sootha 2ouraa6i)ar and publiciEed them to the world.
6ame of &utsa is found mentioned in the Vedas in about 9@ to ;@ conte(ts shows how the greatness of this Rishi is
recogniEed in the Vedas.
=!: PARASARA G7T8RA
2arasbara is a Rigveda Baharishi and author of many ancient 1ndian te(ts. 2arasbcara
was the grandson of Vasishtha, the son of Sha)ti'muni, and the father of Vyasa.
+here are several te(ts, which give reference to 2arasbcara as the author.spea)er.
Bodern scholars believe that there were many individuals who used this name
throughout time. -indus believe that the same 2ara`bcara taught these various te(ts
and the time of writing them varied. +he actual sage himself never wrote the te(ts, he
was )nown as a traveling teacher, and the various te(ts attributed to him are given in
reference to 2arasbcara being the spea)er to his student. 1 being a learner of
astrology refer to 2arasara -ora sasthra
:* Parasara- sath%a vathi- 5ahabharata
0rahma created Vasishtha and with #rundhati had a son named Sha)ti'muni who had
2arasbcara. With Satyavati, 2arasbcara had Vyasa. Vyasa had 8hritarashtra, 2andu
and Vidura through his dead brother/s wives. +hus 2arasbcara was the great'
grandfather of both the warring parties of the Bahabharata, the &auravas and the
2andavas.
8e was present also during the time of hisma1s death
:(- Parasara was brought up b% ,asistha
2arasbara was raised by his grandfather, Vasishtha, because he lost his father at an
early age. -is father, Sha)ti'muni, was on a !ourney and came across an angry
Ra)shasa (demon$ who had once been a )ing but was turned into a demon feeding on
human flesh as a curse from Vishwamitra. +he demon devoured 2arasb/s father. 1n the
Vishnu 2urana, 2arasbcara spea)s about his anger from this. 1nfact vasistha wanted to
leave the world on griefg
:+ Te;ts attributed to sage ParNsOsara
#uthor of verses in the Rigveda: recorded as the author of RV 3.<;'=7 and part of RV
?.?=.
2arasbara Smriti (also called 2arasbcara 8harma Samhita$: a code of laws, which is
stated in the te(t to be for the present &ali uga.
Spea)er of Vishnu 2urana considered by scholars as one of the earliest 2uranas. I9J
spea)er of the 0rihat 2arasbara -orab Sastra , also written as 02-S. 1t is considered a
foundational te(t of astrology. +he Sans)rit in which it is composed dates to the =th or
>th centuries *,
Spea)er of the Vr)sayurveda (Pthe science of life of treesP$, one of the earliest te(ts
on botany.I3J.
+his te(t was considered to be an ancient botany primer for students of +raditional
1ndian Bedicine.
Bahamuni parasara, -usband of Satyavati and the father of Vyasadeva. Baitreya was
Bahamuni 2arasara/s diciple, so Vyasa and Baitreya were very close friends.
-e was spiritual master of Bahara!a Aana)a and a great devotee of Dord Siva. -e is the
author of many Vedic scriptures and sociological directions.
We may be recollecting the verse'2arasaratma)a m vanthaee su)athathum
thaponidhim in Vishnu sahasranam.
:<! Parasaramasmrithi- some interesting points
-e also manifested to the people living in the &ali uga his blessings in the scripture
called 2arasar Smriti. Smriti created by sage 2arashar and )nown by his name as
/2arashar Smriti is the most benevolent for the modern &ali uga. 2arashar has
himself said:
-R0T9 T@ 5A'A,7 B8AR5ASTR9TAEAA5 GA@TA57 S5R0TA8 PP
B3APAR9 S8A'-8AL0-80TAA -ALA@ PARAS8ARA8 S5R0TA8 PP
Beaning' Banu Smriti was most relevant in Satya uga. 1n +reta, Smriti created by
Gautam had most relevance whereas in 8wapar, Shan)h/s Smriti was mostly
recogniEed. 0ut in &ali uga, it is 2arashar Smriti that by and large shows the way to
the ignorant people.
Sage 2arashar was the father of Vedvyasa. 1n the first chapter of this great treatise,
Baharshi Vedvyasa reFuests his father to create such an ideologically and morally
sufficient discipline that will help the people in &ali uga to overcome their woes.
SAR,AB8AR578A -R0T9 CATA8 SAR,9 'AS8TA8 -ALA@ E@G9 PP
:8AAT@R,AR'EA5 SA5AA:8AARA5 -0':80T SAAB8AARA'A5 ,AB PP
Beaning' #ll these religions were created in Satya uga and would be destroyed in
&ali uga. -ence, )indly outline some ordinary religious norms so that all the four
classes could run their lives in a religious way.
Sage 2arashar too was fully aware of the attenuation that religion would suffer in
future on the basis of his deep )nowledge, that great sage contemplated on the
problems which he thought would imminently afflict the religion in &ali uga. *hange
is the only thing that remains constant in nature. Religion is also no e(ception to this
rule.
1n twelve chapters, 2arashar Smriti preaches its whole moral discourses. *onduct and
e(piation are the main sub!ects of contemplation here.
:<!*!8ow to treat a eggar appearing while sraadha is
performed
1f a beggar arrives when a 0rahmin household is offering sacrifices for the solace of
his deceased ancestors, the 0rahmin must divide the cereals in two parts and should
reserve one to ma)e offerings and donate the other as alms to the beggar.
,A0S83AB9,-R0TA5 PAAPA5 S8A-T7 80-S8@R,EAP780T@5 PP
'A 80 80-S8@-R0TA'B7S8AA ',A0S8,AB9,7 ,EAP78AT0 PP
Beaning' +he sin committed un)nowingly while offering sacrifices to the dead
ancestors is done away with by the beggar. 0ut, a crime committed against a beggar
at such a moment is never done away with by the offering of sacrifices to the dead
ancestors.
:!<!( 7ffering Sacrifices to the dead ancestors/
%ffering sacrifices to the dead ancestors is one of the five great agyas. 8uring this
ritual, a 0rahmin should ma)e offerings to the sacred fire. +hen, he should use the
remaining cereals to offer to the dead ancestors and also to the animals and birds. 1f a
0rahmin does not perform this ritual, he is bound to suffer severe torments in hell and
ta)e reincarnation as a crow.
:!<!+ 'orms for Bining/
# 0rahmin should dedicate his food to God first. +hen he should ta)e it as a pious
giving of God. While dining, a 0rahmin should not cover his head, should not face the
south and should not put his hand on the left leg. +hese are all deeds characteristic of
demons.
:!<!< B@T09S 72 A 375A'
Regarding the duties of a woman, sage 2arashar says that a woman, who doesnK^ht
serve even her disabled husband faithfully, turns the family into a hell.
BAR0BRA5 ,EAAB80TA5 5@R-8A5 PP
8ARTAARA5 EAA 'A 5A'EAT9 PP
SAA 5R0TAA CAEAAT9 ,EAAL0 PP
,A0B8A,EA':8A P@'A8 P@'A8 PP
Beaning' # woman, who does not regard her poor, diseased or ignorant husband,
becomes a serpent after her death and faces widowhood again and again.
#fter her monthly periods, a woman must crave for intercourse only in the company of
her husband.
R80T@S'AATAA T@ EAA 'AAR0 8ARTAARA5 '7PASARPAT0 PP
SAA 5R0TAA 'AR-A5 EAAT0 ,0B83AA :8A P@'A8 P@'A8 PP
Beaning' # woman, who does not dedicate herself after her periods to her husband,
goes to hell after her death and faces widowhood in subseFuent births.
:!<!=!B@T09S 72 A 8@SA'B
# husband, who does not accept the desire of his wife of having intercourse after her
periods, commits a crime eFual to )illing an unborn child.
Sage 2arashar asserts that, )illing an unborn child is more severe sin than )illing a
0rahmin.
# sweet relation between the spouses is the )ey to a successful social life. -ence, they
should help each other with dedication at the times of emergency. -usband should
also respect his wife and behave accordingly even if she is a disabled person.
*.9.< illegal relations
+he tenth chapter describes the e(piation reFuired to wash the sins of having illegal
carnal relations with women other than the wife. Sage 2arashar, it seems, had )nown
that it would be a characteriEing feature of &ali uga. -ence, he says
AGA5EAA GA5A'9 :8A0, S8@BB8A@ :8AA'BRAEA'AA5 :8AR9T PP
Beaning' # man who has relations with other women than his wife, can get purified
only by observing *handrayan Vrata (a fast devoted to the moon$.
+hose 0rahmins, who have illegal carnal relations with the women of low caste must
observe a fast for three days and three nights continuously. +hen, he must get shaven
of his head hair including the normal tuft of hair left otherwise. #nd ultimately, he
should observe to 2ra!apatya Vrata.
:!<!) 'ightmares/
#ccording to 2arashar Smriti, nightmares are a)in to the sins and reFuire proper
e(piation by ta)ing a bath.
B@8S3AP'A5 EAB0 PAS8E9B3A ,A'T9 ,AA -S8@R-AR5A'0 PP
5AT8@'9E PR9TAB8@59 :8A S'A'A59, ,0B80EAT9 PP
Beaning' 1f one has a nightmare in which he sees himself vomiting, getting shaven,
having intercourse or sees smo)es rising above a cremation ground, one should get
purified by ta)ing proper bath. +a)ing a proper bath, ill effects of a nightmare are
removed.
:=! Parasara and Tirupuram kundram- Saravana Poikai
+he si( sons of sage 2arasara were cursed to become fishes in the Saravana 2oigai.
%n reFuest for redemption, these si( boys were ordered to pray to Dord Subrahmanya.
When they got his darsan, they could get redemption. 1t was also made )nown to
them that Dord Subrahmanya would come to +irupparan)unram after vanFuishing the
demon Surapadma. #n(iously they waited for the arrival of Subrahmanya.
When the mission of Subrahmanya to vanFuish Surapadma was over at +iruchendur,
on his way, he came to this spot followed by all the devas and heavenly beings whom
he had released from the untold miseries caused by Surapadma.
%n his arrival at +irupparan)unram, the sons of 2arasara received Subrahmanya and,
at their reFuest, he consented to stay there. -e at once ordered Viswa)arma to
construct a beautiful abode for himself, for the devas and for others.
-e also suggested to the heavenly architect to build roads and erect a city around
them.
:?! Parasa- Limping sage
2arasbara was )nown as the Plimping sageP. -e had his leg wounded during the
attac) of his ashram.
Section ,00
*! Srivatsa Gothra (! ,atsa Gothram +! -ausika Gothram <!
Shadamarshna Gotra 6 'aithrupa -as%apa Gothram.
+he famous P8asagothramsP (ten Gothrams$ are : #athreya, 0harathwa!a, Gauthama,
Aaamadagnya, &aasyapa, &aundinya, &ausi)a, Vaasishta, Vaatsa " Vishwaamitra!
1n 8wadasa gothrams the following additional gothras, apart from 8asa gothrams are
told. +hese are: #gasthia, #angirasa, Gargi, -aritha, &anva, &utsa, Boudgalya,
6aithruva &asyapa, 2arasara, Sandilya, San)rithi, Shadarmarshna, Srivatsa " Vaadula.
We have already covered from the list of 9> gothras 74 already. +he remaining are 3<
including the not covered itemsfrom the dasa gothras and dwadasa gothras.
+he not covered Gothras from the list of dasa gothras and dwadasa gothras are the
following:' a. Sri vatsa and b. vatsa Gothram c..&ousi)a Gothram d.. shadamasrana
e. 6aidrupa )asyapa gothram. 1n this section =, these gothras are covered.
+A!Sreevatsa Gothra
1n the south a number of 0rahmin families belong to Sree vatsa Gothra. 1ncluding me
too. 1n fact 1 started the write up trying to )now about sage Srivatsa. 1 could get very
few references about sage Srivatsa.
+he Vedas reiterate the supremacy of Dord 6arayana who protects the entire creation.
+he names and ad!ectives used to refer and describe -im further corroborate -is
omnipotent nature.
%nce when the sages were discussing among themselves as to who was the protector
of the entire manifestation, it was Sage Srivatsa who pointed out that it was Dord
6arayana who sustained the entire creation and related the instance of -is
incarnation as Varaha (boar$ to protect Bother ,arth.
+he lineage for Srivatsa Gothra is from sage 0righu and Valmi)i. +he pravara has ;
rishies 0hargava, chyavana, aplavana, aurva, Aamadagniya. We have covered
0hargava gothram and Aamadagni gothram too.
*orrectly pronounced shri vatsa bh#rgava, ch#yvana, #pnav#na, aurva, !#madagnya
is the pravara.
+hey are bh#rgavas, descendents of bhRiigu, !ust li)e g#lava who is also a branch of
the bh#rgava clan.
1 have read from the net the pravara sages less being for fathers and gothra sage is
the last Rishi. 1s it the reason we donOt have much about sage Srivatsas Sri vatsa is a
mar) on the Dord VishnuOs chest and where Goddess De)shmi resides. ,very body
)now the story of Baha Vishnu remained calm and as)ed 0righu whether he felt pain
on his leg while hitting him.
0 reHuest learned readers to support m% write up about Srivatsa Gothra with
their additional information!
< ,atsa Gothra
+he sage Vatsa is refered in 2adma purana e(plaing the glories of chapter 39 by Dord
Siva to 2arvathi
Dord Shiva said P% 2arvati, )indly hear from me the glories of the Fourteenth *hapter
of the irjmad 0hagavad'gjtX, with the greatest attention.
1n Simhaladvip was a )ing of the name Vi)rama'Vetala. %ne day, when he was going
to the forest for hunting, he too) his son and two hunting dogs along with him. When
he reached the forest he released one dog to chase a rabbit. When that dog was
chasing it, the rabbit loo)ed as if it was flying. Running and running, that rabbit
reached a beautiful hermitage, which was very peaceful. 8eer were sitting happily
under the shade of the trees, and mon)eys were !oyfully eating the fruits of those
trees. +he cubs of the tigers were playing with the baby elephants, and sna)es were
crawling over the peacoc)s.
1n this forest, the great sage Vatsa lived, who
worshipped Dord &rishna by reciting the Fourteenth
*hapter of the irjmad 0hagavad'gjtX.
6ear the ashram of Vatsa, one of his disciples was washing his feet while chanting the
Fourteenth *hapter of irjmad 0hagavad'gjtX. +he earth at that spot became wet. Aust
then that rabbit came running and slipped in the mud. 1mmediately that rabbit
attained a heavenly body. #n airplane came down, pic)ed him up and too) him off to
the heavenly planets. #fter a moment, the dog arrived there in search of the rabbit,
and he also slipped in the mud. -e gave up that dog body, attained a heavenly body
and was also ta)en off to the heavenly planets.
Seeing all of this, the disciple of Bahara!a Vatsa started to laugh. &ing Vi)rama'Vetala,
having witnessed those amusing events, inFuired from that brahmana, P-ow is it
possible that the rabbit and the dog went off to heaven in front of our eyessP
+hat 0rahmana said, P1n this forest, a great sage of the name Vatsa, who has
completely conFuered his senses, is always engaged in chanting the Fourteenth
*hapter of the irjmad 0hagavad'gjtX. 1 am his disciple, and 1 am also by his grace
always engaged in chanting the Fourteenth *hapter of the srjmad 0hagavad'gjtX. 8ue
to that rabbit and dog slipping in the mud which had been made wet from the water
which had washed my feet, they both attained the higher planets.
6ow 1 will tell you the reason why 1 was laughing. 1n Baharashtra there is the town of
the name 2ratudha). # brahmana of the name &eshava had lived there. -e was the
most cruel of men. -is wife/s name was Vilobbana. She was a very loose lady who
always en!oyed the company of other men. For this reason, her husband became very
angry and )illed her. 1n her ne(t life she became that dog, and that brahmana
&eshava, due to his sinful activities, became that rabbit.P
Dord Shiva said, P#fter hearing the glories of the Fourteenth *hapter of irjmad
0hagavad'gjtX, &ing Vi)rama'Vetala also began daily reciting the Fourteenth *hapter
of irjmad 0hagavad'gjtX.
When he gave up that body, he went to Vai)untha, where he was able to engage
eternally in the service of the lotus feet of Dord Vishnu.
+he pravars of vatsa gothra is 7 only and not ; li)e Srivatsa Gothra.
Vatsa '0hargava, Syavana, #planavana.
+here is a referance of vatsa )ing also. 0ut there is nothing about he became a sage
li)e Viswamithra.
= :!-ousika Gothra
&ing &ousi)a was &shatriya, &aushi) gotra is also of many &shatriyas too. *ertain te(t
Vishwamitra has been refered as 0rahmarshi while &aushi) as Ra!arshi.
+he 0hrugu gotra families consider good fortune to get a girl from this family. Aamdagni/s
mother Satyavati was Vishwamitras sister, and his wife Renu)a was also a &shatriya. -ence
it can be seen that the Gotras of &shatriyas have a very solid foundation.
,ishwamitra- # *+ sub lineage Rishis$
&ousi)a gothra have different pravara sages from Viswamithra.
&ausi)a (&usi)a$ Vaiswamithra, #agamarsha6a, &ausi)a ] +hrayarsheya.
Viswamithra' Vaiswamithra, 8evaraatha, #uthala ] +hrayarsheya.

+here is also a version actually &ausi)a was the grandfather of Vishwamitra (&ausi)a$,
but feel this do not hold water from the following Fuotes form the R#m#ya6a #yodhya
&anda Sarga 74, slo)ha 33 to 4@34.
Rama spo)e affectionately to Da)shmana asfollows. 34.
37,39.Rama then told Da)shmana to invite sages #gastya and &ousi)a and shower
them with costly gifts.
3;,3<.Ramatells Da)shmanatodonateapalanFuin,scarificialpedastalsandsil)clothesto
thosewhoarewellversedinvedasandtaitriyaupanishad.
,very body )now about ogavasistha incident and after that Sri rama and De)shmana
proceed with sage &ousi)a(Viswamithra$.
+he day/s !ourney brought them to the ban) of the Sona RiverN Rama as)ed:
PRevered Sir, this region appears rich and prosperousM what is its name and history, 1
would li)e to )now.P
Viswamitra replied, PRamaH 0rahma had a son through sheer Will. -e was named
&usaM he was a great ascetic, steadfast and strict in vows, heroic in spiritual
adventure, learned in the science of morals. -e wedded the daughter of the noble
ruler of Vidarbha... +hey had four sons ' &usamba, &usanabha, #dhoorthara!a)a and
Vasu.
&usa divided the world into four parts and assigned one part to each of them,
directing them thus: PSonsH Rule over the part assigned to each of you and prosperHP
,ach of them started constructing a capital city for the )ingdom ' &usamba built
&ausambi, &usanabha built Bahodaya, #doorthara!a)a built 8harmaranya and Vasu
built Girivra!a.
RamaH +his area is part of the )ingdom of VasuM we have all around us five hills, and
so, this *ity is called Girivra!a (*ollection of -ills$. +his auspicious Sona river is also
)nown as Sumagadhi, so that this region is named Bagadha. +he Bagadhi flows from
east to west here, li)e a !asmine garland placed among the mountain valleys. +he
ma!esty of Vasu has blessed the land on both ban)s of this river to be ever green and
plentiful.
+he second son, &usanabha, was well established in 8harmaM he was a pillar of
Righteousness. -e had a number of daughters, but, no sonN.. +hey were later given
in marriage ' all of them ' to the ruler of &ampilya *ity, 0rahmadatta by name. When
they all left for that *ity, his house became empty and barren.. 1f only 1 had a son, this
calamity would not have overpowered me.P +hus, -e entertained the longing for a
son.
Aust then, his father, &usa, happened to visit him and he enFuired the reason why he
loo)ed sad and full of concernM the son laid bare before him his mind and its an(ieties.
&usa chided him for becoming so worried for this particular reasonM he blessed him
that he get a son soon. #nd, as he blessed, so it happened. +he son born was named
GaadhiM he grew up to a very devoted virtuous princeM since he was born in the
lineage of &usa he was )nown as &ousi)a.
-is sisters lost their husbands after some time and as dutiful wives, they immolated
themselves and gained heaven. +hey were born on the -imalayas as sacred rivers
which !oined together to form the famous &ousi)i river. &ousi)a was attached very
much to the eldest of the sisters, Sathyavathi by name and so, he too) residence on
the ban) of this river, and established himself at Siddha asram, and celebrated the
a!na he had resolved upon with ceremonial rectitudeN
#t this, the mon)s who had gathered around the sage e(claimed, P%, how wonderfulH
Really, we are fortunate that we could listen to the story of the hoary ancestors of our
BasterH #nd started praisingN
Viswamitra interrupted them and said, P1 would not have dwelt on all this, but, RamaH
our Fuestion prompted me to replyM 1 do not give details regarding this body and its
antecedents. 1t is already nightM let us ta)e rest.
+hat night, every one was ruminating over the tales of the forefathers of the Baster.
+he story of Vishvamitra is narrated in the 0ala)anda of Valmi)i RamayanaI3J.
+he Bahabharata adds that Vishvamitra/s relationship with Bena)a resulted in a
daughter, Sha)untala whose story is narrated in the #di 2arva of the Bahabharata.
-is story also appears in various 2uranas, however they show variations from the
Ramayana.
2eople belonging to the Visvamitra Gotra consider 0rahmarishi Visvamitra as their
ancestor.
2eople belonging to &aushi)a Gotra ta)e Ra!arishi &ausi)a as their root. &ausi)a was
one of the names of Visvamitra.
33 Royal clans of ?< clan of Barathas belong to &aushi) gotra including the illustrious
house of Shiva!i and Rashtra)utas.
4 more clans belong to the Vishvamitra gotra. &aushi)a gotra also belongs to 0aish
clan of ra!put which includes in the suryavanshi ra!put.
Some 0rahmins in South Gu!arat, +amil 6adu and #ndhra 2radesh also have
&aushi).&oushi) as a family Gotra. Some of the )umauni region 0rahmin li)e 0hatt
also belongs to &aushi) gotra. References k Valmi)i Ramayana.
Gautama n%a%a sutram, *!(?
+he 4> Saiva #gamas are said to have been revealed from all the five faces of Siva. +he first
four taught five #gamas each, while the last, 1sana, gave rise to eight.
+he Sadyo!ata face revealed the &ami)a, oga!a, *intya, &arana and #!ita. +hese were
taught to &ausi)a Rishi. +he rishis who received the agamas were &ausi)a, &asyapa,
0haradva!a, Gautama and #gastya. 2lease note that these are all rig vedic rishis, therefore
the rig veda and the agamas could not have been revealed at vastly different times.
?B Shatamarshana Gothram
#ll of them are devotees of Sriman 6arayana and are Staunch Vaishnavas.
#bout Shatamarshana Gothram lineage, 0efore Shatamarshana: #n)iras, 2urugutsar and
+rasadasyu were all born in this Gothram. Shatamarshana gothris are called Sreshtars or
Sottai &ulam people in +amil. #alawandar refers to his reputed Dineage referring to his
grandfather 6ata Buni " Shatamarshana thi s way:: P Aanitvaham Aagati Bahati &yata
asasamP( Stotra Ratna)aram.$ 2.#. Ranganatha +atacharya has written about the glory this
Gothram in his monographP Shatamarshana Gothra 2rabhavamP.
Bandyam iyengars in )arnata)a have this gothram.6atha Buni, #alavandar(aamuna Buni$
belong to this Gothram.
0rahma according to 2uranas had 9 sons:#tri, 0hrigu,Vasishta and #n)iras. +heir lines are as
follows:
3. #n)iras$ Shatamarshana (2enance in the middle of Five fires at -aridhwar and got the
boon that the Sata Vayu will not affect him. Similar to the case of Sata)opan (6ammalwar
later$. -is predecessors, 2uru)utsar and +raasa 8asyu were authorities on Rig Vedam.+ras is
made up of 7 &inds of fear. Since these htree )inds of fear ran away fro him out of fear for
his 2ower derived from penance,-e is called +rasa 8hasyu. #ll the three Rishis (#n)iras,
2uru)utsar,+rsadasyu$ are thus included in the 2ravaram of Shatamarshana Gothris.
1n ancient vedic times such transformations, usually involving marriage relationships with
famous 0rahmin family resulted in )shatriyas becoming br#hma6as: maudgalya
(descendents of )ing bhRkimy#shva$, sha8marSha6as (descendents of great i)shv#)u )ing
trasadasyu$, v#dhulas (descendents of )ing v1tayhavya, the haihaya yadu$ etc became
0rahmins.
)9 'aitruva kaas%apa gothram
1t is debated among scholars that the name &aasyapa may be generic and many Sages too)
pride in calling themselves as &aasyapas with additions. #lso it may be li)ely, e(planation, is
that a group of descendants decided to split from the main group and started their own
branch of this line.
#s such it appears to me since only one sage change in the pravara of this gothra it can be
an off shoot of the &ashyapa Gothra.
&ashyapa ' &asyapa, #avatsaara, Sandilya, 6aitruva )ashyapa' &asyapa, #avatsara,
6aitruva.
+he gothra is correctly pronounced as the naidhruva )#shyapa gotra. +he Rkishis
were avats#ra, naidhruva were descendent of )ashyapas and authors of the
som#dhy#ya of the ?th ma68ala of the Rkigveda. +he peculiarity of this gotra is the
soma only #pr1, unli)e the agni #pr1s of the other gotras.
Section ,000
*! Lohita Gothra, (! -apila Gotra, +! Bathaathre%a gothra, <! Galava
gothra, =! 5athanga Gothra, ?! Sur%a Batta gothra, )! 5ithrasu
Gothra, A! -ausala gothram, F! :harora Gotra, *G! Bhalab%a gothra 6
**! ,ishnu Gothra!

The following gothras are covered in this write up!
a. Dohit Gothra b. &apila Gothra
c. 8attthreya Gothra d. Galava Gothra
e. Bathanga Gothra f. Surya data Gothra
g. Bithrasu Gothra h. &aushal gothra
i. charora gothra !. 8alabhya gothram
). Vishnu Gothra '
+a!L780T G7T8RA
Dohit literal meaning in sans)rit means /red/ colour. Dohit is an 1ndian name. Widely
used by -indus. Dohit indicates.symboliEes good luc), good omen. 1n 1ndia, people
give importance for /red/ color especially during some auspicious occasions li)e
/poo!a/,a red color powder called /)um)um/which indicates the power of Goddess
8urga. Dohith means red Dohitagni is red flame. Bany Bandyam iyengars of
&arnata)a have this gothram.
<b!-apila Gothram
Bost of us )now story of 8evhuti married to aged sage &ardam. Sage &ardam had a
condition that he will remain with her till progency is achieved.
#t appropriate time, 8evhuti gave birth to nine beautiful daughters. With the birth of
nine daughters, the resolution of &ardam was completed.
8evhuti said' 0ut we are all in your refuge. 0efore deserting us, tell me finding
suitable grooms for the daughters is the responsibility of the father.
-e assured his wife: P 8evi, don/t be sad, Very soon, the Dord will appear as your son.
-ence, from now on, start worshipping God with faith and devotion and follow self'
control. +hus, 8evhuti began worshipping the Dord. #t appropriate time, the Dord
appeared as her son &apil.
Beanwhile, 0rahma also came there with nine 2ra!apatis and at his insistence, &ardam
married his daughters to those nine 2ra!apatis. &alaa was married to Barich, #nusuya
to #tri, Shraddha to #ngiraM -avirbhu to 2ulastya, Gati to 2ulah, &riya to &ratu, &hyati
+o 0righu and #rundhati was married to sage Vashishtha.
#fter the appearance of the Dord as &apil, he preached &ardam. +hereafter, &ardam
went to the forests. +here, he felt the all pervasive 2armatma in his own #tma(soul$
and thus attained 2arampada( the supreme status$.
0ac) in the hermitage, 8evhuti too felt the futility of lust. She, therefore reFuested
&apil for her salvation. &apil preached her about oga, )nowledge and devotion
towards the Dord. When her prayers were over, &apil too) her permission and went to
the forests. 8evhuti stayed at the hermitage and meditated on the Dord.
#fter several years, 8evhuti attained salvation and that place is now )nown as
Siddhipad. 1t is situated on the ban)s of the river Saraswati. -aving freed herself from
all )inds of sins, 8evhuti/s body became holy and assumed the form of a river. ,ven
today, all devotees who are blessed with whatever they desire, venerate it.
&apila is the father of the San)hya philiosphy. Veda Vyasa tells us that he is an #vatar
of Vishnu and that he is the son of &ardama Baharshi and 8evahuti.
+he first philosophy that Sri &rishna discusses in the 0hagavad Gita is the San)hya
philosophy. 2atan!ali the author of the oga Sutras and the Bahabhasya was a
follower of the San)hya philosopy.
&apila protested against the sacrifice of animals in a!na.
#s per the 6arada 2urana: &apila had an #srama in 2atala. +he sons (<@,@@@ and one$
of &ing Sagara thought that &apila had stolen their sacrificial horse and they entered
2atala. +hey disturbed &apila, who turned them to ashes with a glare. +he 6agas fled
2atala in fear. Sagara adopted his grandson, #mshuman and sent him to 2atala to
recover the horse. #mshuman respectfully approached &apila and recovered the
horse. (6ote the number <@,@@@ ' that is a clue to an astronomical significanceN.
which we shall e(plore later$. #nd then 0hagiratha storyN.
=c BATTT8R9EA G7T8RA5
+he 8att#treya gotra while not seen in south 1ndia is seen amongst -imachalis and
&ashmiris they all descend from the great atri bhauma the first of the #tris.
#s every body )now the story of birth of 8attathreya to sage #tri to#nasuya ,it is not
detailed here.
?d!Galava gothra
Galava gothra, has limited descendents are found even in 6orth 1ndia, 1 am not sure
about south 1ndia.
)e 5athanga gothra
1n the Ramayana, Baharishi Batanga was a man who was brought up as a 0rahmin
but was the son of a *handala. 1t possibly refers to many different persons.
1n the Ramayana, Rama and Da)shman visited the hermitage of Batanga near the
Rishyamu)a mountain and met the devotional tribal woman, Shabari. -is story, as told
in the Bahabharata, relates that he was mercilessly goading an ass/s foal which he
was driving. +he mother ass, seeing this, tells her foal that she could e(pect no better,
for her driver was no 0rahmin but a *handala. Batanga, addressing the ass as Pmost
intelligent,P begged to )now how this was, and was informed that his mother when
into(icated had received the embraces of a low'born barber, and that he, the
offspring, was a *handala and no 0rahmin.
1n order to obtain elevation to the position of a 0rahmin, he went through such a
course of austerities as to alarm the gods. 1ndra refused to admit him. -e persevered
again for a hundred years, but still 1ndra persistently refused such an impossible
reFuest, and advised him to see) some other boon. 6othing daunted, he went on a
thousand years longer, with the same result. +hough de!ected he did not despair, but
proceeded to balance himself on his great toe. -e continued to do this for a hundred
years, when he was reduced to mere s)in and bone, and was on the point of falling.
1ndra went to support him, but ine(orably refused his reFuest, and, when further
importuned, Pgave him the power of moving about li)e a bird, and changing his shape
at will, and of being honoured and renowned.P
+he Sage Batanga is renowned as the one who was granted the boon of having his
prayer granted, that the supreme 8ivine Bother (God as Bother$ be born in his family
as his own daughter.
Af Sur%a data Gothra and Fg 5ithrasa Gothra
6ote' 1 have combined the two since orgin of both the gothras are same.
Sa)aldwipiya 0rahmins or 0ho!a)a 0rahmins, is a class of -indu priests and #yurveda
teachers (acharyas$,I3J with concentrations in Western' and 6orthern 1ndia.
+he Sa)aldwipiyas are also )nown as Baga 0rahmins. #lso )nown as Baga 0rahmins
are the Suryadhwa!a 0rahmins, who however consider themselves to be distinct from
the Sa)aldwipiya.0ho!a)a 0rahmins.
+he Sa)aldwipiya 0rahmin community of 1ndia identify themselves as having 1ranian
roots, and assert that they inherit their by'name maga from a group of priests who
established themselves in 1ndia as the Baga'8ias or Baga'0rahmanas.
+he doctrinal basis for that assertion is 0havishya
2urana 377, which may be summariEed as follows:
&rishna/s son Samba was afflicted with leprosy, which was cured after he worshiped
Surya, -induism/s Sun God. 1n response, he built a temple to Surya on the ban)s of
the *handrabhaga river, but no competent 0rahmin could be found to ta)e up the role
of priest in the temple. So Samba sought help of Gauramu)ha, the adviser of the yadu
chief, Cgrasena.
Gauramu)ha responded with a suggestion that Samba go to Sha)dvipa and invite
their priests to worship Surya. Further, as)ed Samba, Ptell me, oh 0rahmin, what are
the antecedents of these worshipers of the SunGP
+o which Gauramu)ha replied... P+he first of the 0rahmins amidst the Sha)has was
called /Su!ihva./ -e had a daughter of the name 6i)shubha, who so enamored Surya
that she was impregnated by him.
+hus she gave birth to Aarashabda who was the founding father of all the Baga'
#charya. +hey are distinguished by the sacred girdle called the #vyanga that they
wear around their waist.P #nd so Samba called on &rishna to send him Garuda, on
whose bac) he then flew to Sha)adwipa. -e collected the Baga'#charya, brought
them bac) to 1ndia and installed them as priests of his Surya temple. +he lineage
married 0ho!a vamsa women and so their descendants came to be )nown as
0ho!a)as.
#s such, the Sa)aldwipiya are one of only twoIbJ 0rahmin groups who are said to have
originated outside 1ndia, even if about half their clan names (gotras$ are the same as
those of other 0rahmins. Whatever their original beliefs, by the time the 0havishya
2urana 377 was composed the Sa)aldwipiyas were identified as devotees of Surya,
-induism/s deity of the Sun (cf. -var$.
SubseFuently, in Vrihata samhita <@.3?, Varahamihira directs that the installation of
the Surya images should be made by the maga, as they were the first to worship the
divinity. %ther te(ts en!oin that the images of Surya should be dressed li)e a
northerner with the legs covered, that he should wear a coat and a girdle. +he early
representations of the divinity actually follow these in!unctions, and early iconography
depicts the deity in central #sian dress, replete with boots.
Sha)dwipi 0rahamins do in fact appear to have been instrumental in the construction
of Sun temples in different part of the country, to include &ashmir, &athiawad and
Somnath in Gu!arat, 8holpur in Ra!asthan, -issar in Aodhpur, 0haratput and &ha!uraho
in Badhya pradesh, &onar) in %rissa and 8eo, 2unyar), 8ev)und and Cmga in 0ihar.
+he tale of the arrival of the Sa)aldwipiyas appears to have been part of living
tradition for many centuries. +he Govindpur inscription of 337='337> refers to a maga
family of Gaya, 0ihar that was celebrated for its learning, Vedic scholarship and poetic
faculty, and who descended from one of the original Samb invitees.
6ote' 8o these people are parta)ing as 0rahmins in gaya for our Gaya sraadhaG +he
doubt now come to me from their appearance, comple(ion and behaviour. 1t was my
e(perience while performing Gaya sraddha about ;@ or 0rahmins came for different
sraadhas. +hey !ust touched all food items andate ma(imum four handful of items.
+he 0rahmins of the Godda district in Cttar 2radesh li)ewise trace their lineage to the
original invitees. +he maga'vya)ti of &rishnadas Bishra is an elaboration of the
legend.
+he 0ho!a)as are also mentioned in the inscriptions of Baurya #sho)a and &haravela
+he # -istory of 0rahmin *lans states that lX)advjpj 0rahmins have a love for
traditional (Sans)rit$ )nowledge and their Sams)Xras are li)e those of the Baithil
0rXhamanas, although matrimonial and other customary relations with Baithil (or
other 0rahmins$ are not in vogue.
Pthey wear long a!nopavita at the age of > years, )eep Fuiet while eating, li)e to
)eep beards li)e sages, perform agnihotra, and charmed with mantras, and were
called maga because they read the Vedas in haphaEard ways.P
+he Sa)aldwipiya centre was at Bagadha. #ccording to their tradition, they are
identified by their purs rather than by their lineage.
+here are altogether 37 lX)advjpj gotras: &XUyapa, Garga, 2XrXUara, 0hrigu.0hargava,
&auinya, &ausala, 0haradwa!, Vasu, Suryadatta.#r)adatta, 6ala, 0havya Bani and
BihrXsu.
Ba!or Sa)aldwipiya centers are in Ra!asthan in Western 1ndia and near Gaya in 0ihar.
+he term /0ho!a)a/ is popular in the western states while /Sa)advipi/ and its numerous
variations is typical for the north and east. +he terms /Graham Vipra/ and /#charya
0rahmin/ are common in West 0engal and Ra!asthan. %ne of the Sa)aldwipiya groups,
the /Suryadhwa!a/ 0rahmins, are endemic to 6orthern 1ndia and is the only
Sha)adwipiya group classified as &ashmiri 2andits.
+he 0ho!a)as are historically associated with several Aain temples in Gu!arat and
Ra!asthan, where they serve as priests and attendants. Some of the Sha)dwipi
0rahmins of 0ihar and Cttar pradesh are #yurvedic physicians, some are priests in
Ra!put families, while yet others are landholders.
*G h -oushal gothra
Specifically in -aryana and 2un!ab Gaur 0rahmins from &aushal Dineage are found.
+hese 0rahmins are the direct descendents of -iranyabha )aushalya Rishi, a teacher
of great 1ndian Sage agnaval)ya. References to &aushalya Rishi can be found upon
research in Shrimad 0hagwat Baha 2uran. Bany )hatris also use &aushal as their
gotra, however it remains unclear as to the connection between this and the 0rahmin
lineage. 1t is a matter of speculation whether it is a result of Guru Shishya 2arampara
where students too) pride in being identifed by the Gotra of their teacher, or whether
it is something totally diverse having no connection at all. +he Gaur 0rahmins of
-aryana are indigenous to -aryana and in some cases it is said that they originally
came from 0engal a long time ago.
&aushal Ra!vir was the special name and famous )ing in the 1ndian history. 1t is said
that he had ;3< Fueens in his mahal for his pleasure.
+he word &aushal in 8evnagri +hesaurus (-indi language$ means *lever or 2erfect or
S)illful.S)illed.
&aushal is also very common first name for people originating from Gu!arat,0ihar,
1ndia, West coast region of 1ndia.
&aushals were the special names given to -indu )ings by their gurus. Bost of the
-indu &ings had &aushals as their 2riests. +heir origin was in 6orth 1ndia " near the
areas of 2un!ab " -imachal 2radesh,0ihar.
&aushals were traditionally renowned for their )nowledge of astrology and spiritual
healing.
1ts mainly used as a Surname or Dast 6ame (e.g. #tul &aushal$ by few of the members
of vast 1ndian 0rahmin *ommunity mainly from 6orthern region. %n the other hand it
can also be used as an 1ndian First 6ame of a person as a 6oun (e.g. &aushal
&adecha$.
**i :harora gothra
*harora is one of the gotras in Sanadhya 0rahmins. *haroras live in 0haratpur district
of Ra!asthan state in 1ndia.
Sanadya 0rahmin (or Sanadh$ are a community of 0rahmins, living prominently in
Western Cttar 2radesh area of 1ndia.
Sanadhya Samhita gives an account of the origin of the Sanadhya community. Dord
Ramachandra of #yodhya invited some #di Gauda 0rahmins to conduct a ya!na. #s
da)shina he gave villages to =;@ of them, who came to be called Sanadhya. +hey
were engages in tapa, thus came to be called Sanadhya.
#n alternative theory is that since they worship Dord Sun (or Surya$ (S)t san$, they are
called Sanadhya. Si)h Guru Gobind Singh has mentioned that his ancestors once lived
in the Sanadh region, this may have been the region from where the Sanadhya
originated.
1n the 3?th and 4@th national convention of &anya)ub!a 0rahmins by &anya)ub!a
Bahati Sabha, in 3?4< and 3?4= respectively, an earnest appeal was made for unity
among &anya)ub!a 0rahmins whose different branches included Sanadhya,
2ahadi(&umaun 0rahmins$, Au!houtia, Saryupareen, *hattisgadhi, 0humihar 0rahmins
and different 0engali 0rahmins.
Sanadhyas are a dominant section of north 1ndian 0rahmins, most numerous in
Gangetic 8oaba region and they touch the &anau!ias on the north west e(tending over
central Rohil)hand, and the part of the upper central duab from 2ilibhit to Gwalior.
Sanadhya 0rahmins ma)e a triumvarate along with )anya)ub! 0rahmins and 0engali
brahimns in practicing the doctroine of nobility M li)e biswa system of )anya)ub!
0rahmins and )uleen system of 0engali 0rahmins, the sanadhyas rigourusly practice
the /allh/ system to !eaously safeguard the purity of their blood. +hey are branch of #di
Gauda 0rahmins, RtviE of ashwmegh ya!na performed by Dord Sri Rama and have
matrimonial relations in their own fold and #di Gauda 0rahmins.I;J +hey have
matrimonial relations with )anya)ub! 0rahmins as well.
Bigration and infiltration of Sanadhya 0rahmins into central 1ndia from the north too)
place after the fall of Barathas. 1n the beginning of the 3?th century by 3>4@ #8
families of Sanadhyas started to migrate to the 6armada valley e(tending from
Bandla to -oshangabad and so also into the Balwa from Vidisha to C!!ain and 1ndore.
*( C Balabh%a gothram
8alabhya is a sage mentioned in the *handogya Cpanishad. -is lineage is the
8alabhya gotra. +he *handogya Cpanishad describes a conversation between sages
Shila), 8alabhya and 2ravahana. +he sage is also mentioned in the 0havisya'uttara
2urana where the sage 2ulastya narrates him the story of &rishna ta)ing the form of a
mendicant.
Xs)a (<th';th centuries 0.*. according to Shu)la, Georgetown Cniversity$ was a
Sans)rit grammarian who preceded 2Xnini. -is famous te(t is 6iru)ta, which deals
with etymology, le(ical category and the semantics of words. -e is thought to have
succeeded lX)anXyana, an old grammarian and e(positor of the Vedas, who is
mentioned in his te(t. -e is sometimes referred to as Xs)a XcXrya (XcXrya o
teacher$.
+he 6iru)ta attempts to e(plain how certain words get to have their meanings,
especially in the conte(t of interpreting the Vedic te(ts. 1t includes a system of rules
for forming words from roots and affi(es, and a glossary of irregular words, and
formed the basis for later le(icons and dictionaries. 1t consists of three parts, viE.:(i$
6aighantu)a, a collection of synonymsM (ii$ 6aigama, a collection of words peculiar to
the Vedas, and (iii$ 8aivata, words relating to deities and sacrifices.
+he niru)ta was one of the si( vedangas or compulsory ritual sub!ects in syllabus of
Sans)rit scholarship in ancient 1ndia.
*(k ,ishnu gothra
Bany people proclaim they are either Vishnu gothra or siva gothra. +hey are
Vaishanvites or Saivites. Bostly Vaisya community is found telling this gothram.
*+ Appended items
3. #tri Gothra' Sri 8urvasa, the venerable one, was /born/ into one of the most
illustrious family. -e is the son of #tri Baharshi, and Sri #nasuya devi.
4. Viswamithra gothra' 1n +amilnadu and #ndhra they are about a 4@p of the
0rahmins. Several )shatriya lines of andhras, li)e shatav#hanas also claim descent
from Vishvamitra.
Vishv#mitra/s clan a famous )shatriya clan became a 0rahmin clan' the )aushi)a
gotra.
Vishvamitra, the grand author of the gayatri mantras in the rig veda is also the author
of the +riyamba)a mantra (aum triyamba)am ya!amahe$.
+$ ,adula Gothra and 5oudgala%a gothras
1n ancient vedic times such transformations, usually involving marriage relationships
with famous 0rahmin family resulted in )shatriyas becoming br#hma6as: maudgalya
(descendents of )ing bhRkimy#shva$, sha8marSha6as (descendents of great
i)shv#)u )ing trasadasyu$, v#dhulas (descendents of )ing v1tayhavya, the haihaya
yadu$ etc became 0rahmins.
<$ haradwa>a and harga va gothras

1n more later times many 0rahmins assumed )shatriya'hood. +he bharadv#!a family
gave rise to the shunga )ings, )#6va family to the )#6va dynasty, the maitreya family
to the maitra)a )ings, the bh#rgava family to the famous gaqnga dynasty of south
1ndia.
=! -ausika, -as%apa, haradva>a, Gautama and Agasthia gothras!
+he 4> Saiva #gamas are said to have been revealed from all the five faces of Siva.
+he first four taught five #gamas each, while the last, 1sana, gave rise to eight.
+he Sadyo!ata face revealed the &ami)a, oga!a, *intya, &arana and #!ita. +hese were
taught to &ausi)a Rishi.
+he Vamadeva face gave rise to 8ipta, Su)shuma, Sahasra, #msumat and
Suprabheda, and taught them to &asyapa Rishi.
+he #ghora face revealed Vi!aya, 6isvasa, Svayambhuva, #gneya (or #nala$ and Vira,
and gave them to sage 0haradva!a.
+he +atpurusha gave rise to Raurava, Bu)ata, Vimala, *handra!nana and Bu)habimba
(or 0imba$, and taught them to Sage Gautama.
+he 1sana face revealed 2rodgita, Dalita, Siddha, Santana, Sarvo)ta, 2arameswara,
&irana and Vatula to Sage #gastya.
?! -AS8EAPA G7T8RA
+he 0hagavata 2urana states that the #psaras were born from &ashyap and Buni.
1n the family line of &ashyapa, along with him there are two more discoverers of
Bantras, namely, his sons #vatsara and #sita. +wo sons of #vatsara, namely, 6idhruva
and Rebha, are also Bantra'seers. #sita had a son named Shandila, from whom the
famous Shandilya family line (Gotra$ started.
)! -A',A G7T8RA
Since Viswamitra fought with Vasistha, and &anva raised ViswamitraOs daughter, we
)now that they all lived around the same time. &anva Rishi #shram on the ban)s of
river Balini, 94 )m from -aridwar. &anva does not figure in any of the lists of
SaptaRishis. -e was not one of the Rishis that Satyavrata Banu brought over in his
boat. We )now him through his Vedic Bantras and through a beautiful play called
#bhignyana Sa)untalam written by a great poet called &alidasa about Viswamitra,
Bena)a, Sa)untala, 8ushyanta, &anva, 8urvasa and 0harata.
A! Gouthama gothra
Sita #Rama%an$ belongs to Ea>ur ,eda, She belongs to Pravara consisting of
the three Rishis viQ!, Aangirasa, Aa%aas%a and Goutama, She belongs to
Goutama Gotra!
R@9ST07' 6 A'S39R on I G7T8RA
*ompiled by Gopala)rishna Ramaiyer, (Retd. #GB, 0S6D$, +ambaram,
*hennai

R-G*! 3here do we have ma;imum rahmins in 0ndia4
#'@3. 0rahmins even in Cttar 2radesh, where they are most numerous,
constitute !ust ? percent. 1n +amil 6adu they form less than 7 percent
and in #ndhra 2radesh they are less than 4 percent.
R-G(! 8ow man% sages are there as profounder of Bharma
Sasthras4
#'@4. +wenty'one Rishis were the profounder of 8harma Sastras. +here
is a lot of contradiction among these 8armasastras, even within one
Smriti. +hese differences in the rules and rituals resulted in the rigid
stratification of sub'castes among 0rahmins.
6one of these smritis is supreme and universally applicable throughout
the 1ndian Sub'continent. +he oldest among these 8harma Sutras are
#pasthambha, 0audhayana, Gautama and Vasishta Sutras.
#pasthambha:
#pasthambha, a native of #ndhra *ountry, belonged to
&rishnaya!urveda School. -e belonged to fifth century 0*.
#pasthambhaOs teachings are called #pasthambhasutra or
#pasthambhasmriti.
audha%ana/ #odha%ana$
0audhayana also belonged to &rishnaya!urveda School and was an
inhabitant of #ndhra *ountry. 0audhayanaOs teachings are called
0audhayanasutra or 0audhayanasmriti.
rihaspati/
0rihaspati was probably the first !urist to ma)e a clear distinction
between civil and criminal !ustice. a!naval)ya referred to 0rihaspati
Gautama/
Gautama was the most ancient sage of all 0rahmin lawgivers. -e was
Fuoted by 0audhayana and belonged to Samaveda School. GautamaOs
teachings are called Gautamasutra
8arita/
0audhayana and Vasishta in their 8harmasutras Fuote -arita.
-aritasmriti or -aritasutra is an e(tensive wor).
-at%a%ana/
a!naval)ya mentions &atyayana. &atyayanasmriti is Fuoted in several
wor)s of Viswarupa, Bitramisra etc.
Smriti *handri)a cites <@@ verses of &atyayana sutras. -e may belong
to the same period as 6arada and 0rihaspati.
5anu/
Banu is a mythical personality and is the ancestor of the entire
human)ind. Banu received the code from 0rahma, and communicated
it to ten sages and reFuested 0hrigu Rishi to repeat it to the other nine.
+his code of conduct recited by 0hrigu is called Banusmriti
'arada/
Sage 6arada was probably a native of 6epal around first century #8.
6aradasmriti is the first legal code unhampered by the mass of religious
and moral teachings. Some authors thin) that 6arada belonged to
Gupta period when there was a distinct revival of 0rahminism and
Sans)rit literature.
,asishta/
Vasishta belonged to 7rd century 0* and a native of 6orth 1ndia.
VasishtaOs teachings are called Vasishtasutra or Vasishtasmriti.
,ishnu/
Vishnu belonged to 3st or 4nd century #8. VishnuOs teachings are called
Vishnusutra or Vishnusmriti.
Ea>navalk%a/
a!naval)ya belonged to Su)laya!urveda School34. -e was a native of
Bithila *ity in 6orth 0ihar and probably lived anywhere from few
centuries before *hrist to 4@@ #8.
-owever, some scholars thin) he belonged to first or second century
#8. a!naval)ya 8harmasmriti has been sub!ect of numerous
commentaries.
+he most celebrated of all the commentaries of a!navl)yasmriti is
Bita)shara and is practically the beginning of the 0rahmin law and the
so'called -indu law.
2assages from Bita)shara have been found practically in every part of
the 1ndian *ontinent and became an authority. +he a!navl)yasmriti is
concise, more systematic and better arranged than the Banusmriti.
R-G+! 3hat is the origin of Gothras4
#'@7. #ccording to one legend (according to Sherring$, all the chief
0rahmin gotras are descended from the Saptarishis (seven sages$.
Sherring says the Vatsa, 0ida, #rshti)hena, as)a, Bitryu, Shauna) and
0ainya gotras claim descent from sage 0hrigu (Vatsa'0righuG$ he gotras
of Gautam, 0haradwa! and &ewal'#ngiras from sage #ngirah the #tre,
0adbhuta), Garishtira and Budhgala from sage #triM the &aushi)a,
Dohit, Rau)sha), &am)ayana, #!a, &atab, 8hanan!ya, #gamar)han,
2uran and 1ndra)aushi)a from sage Viswamitra the 6idruba, &asyap,
Sandila, Rebha and Danga)shi from sage &asyapM the Vashisht, &undin,
Cpamanyu, 2arashara and Aatu)araniya from sage VashishtM nd the
1dhamabahar, Somabahar, Sambhabahar and agyabhar from sage
#gastya.
7ther Gotras are said to have been derived from these gotras!
R-G<! :an %ou please give a chart of gothras and the sage from
whom the% are derived4
& Sage Gothras desended
3 0hrigu

Vatsa, 0ida, #rshti)hena, as)a, Bitryu,
Shauna) and 0ainya
4 #ngirah

Gautam, 0haradwa! and &ewal'#ngiras
7 #triM #tre, 0adbhuta), Garishtira and Budhgala
9 Viswamitra &aushi)a, Dohit, Rau)sha), &am)ayana, #!a,
&atab, 8hanan!ya, #gamar)han, 2uran and
1ndra)aushi)a
; &asyapM 6idruba, &asyap, Sandila, Rebha and Danga)shi
< Vashisht Vashisht, &undin, Cpamanyu, 2arashara and
Aatu)araniya
= #gastya.

1dhamabahar, Somabahar, Sambhabahar and
agyabhar
R-G= 5ostl% which ,edas are followed b% different Gothras4
#'@;. Though, an%one among the group can follow their
convenient ,eda, each sect or branch can even change over to
other ,eda of their liking, 0 give below a few actual belongingsK
however, it might var% on present generationsK 0hargaus,
San)ritas, Gargs (*handras$, 0hrigus and Sauna)s follow the RigM +he
&asyaps, &aasyaps, Vatsas, Sandilas and 8hanan!ays follow the Sama.
+he 0haradwa!s, 0haaradwa!s, #ngirahs, Gautams and Cpamanyus
observe the a!ur M the &aushi)as, Grita)aushi)as, Budhgalas, Galawas
and Vashishts follow the #tharva. #ll others follow the a!ur Veda.
R-G?! 3here does the north and south geographical division of
rahmins starts4
#'@<. +he 0rahmin sub'castes are broadly categoriEed into two great
geographical divisions'the north and the south. +he dividing line is the
6armada River. (By note ' recollect, manthra narmada sindhu )averi
godavari namosthuthae during Cpa)arma ceremony$.
+he gaur (white$ subcastes, according to Sherring, inhabit the region
north of the 6armada and the dravi8a subcastes, the south.
R-G)! 3ho are 8os%alas4
#'@=. +he -oysala &arnata)as are Smarta 0rahmins living in the State
of &arnata)a in the 1ndian Cnion. Bany eminent scholars, musicians,
philosophers, generals and religious pontiffs belong to this community.
(Read more here$
R-GA! 3hat is the legend behind rahmin migration to south4
#.@>. +he 0rahmin migration to the South features in the legends of
sage #gastya. +he Vindhya mountain range in central 1ndia continued
to grow higher showing its might and obstructed cloud movement
causing draught. Sage #gastya decided to solve the problem and
traveled south. +he Vindhya mountain bowed to #gastya and the sage
reFuested Vindhya to stay prostrated until he returns. Vindhya
complied with this reFuest and the Sage #gastyhya never returned to
northH
R-GF! 0s it correct that earliest rahmin migration to south was
to Andhra4 3hat was the period4
#'@?. +he earliest 0rahmins to arrive in #ndhra were most probably
sage Viswamitra/s students and progeny around 34@@ 0*.
South 1ndian )ings showed respect and patronage for 0rahmins and
0rahminism since ancient times, e.g., Satavahana dynasty that ruled for
five centuries and e(tended over #ndhra and central 1ndia, %ne of the
most important features of Satavahana dynasty was granting land to
0rahmins. Sangam era of *hera, *hola and 2andya )ings in 8eep South
also used to grant lands to 0rahmins. Bost of the 0rahmins in #ndhra
2radesh belong to smaarta 0rahmin group, i.e., the followers of smritis
and followers of #di San)aracharya.
+he smaarta 0rahmins follow #pastambasmriti or #pastambasutra (not
Banusmriti$.
#pasthamba (q<@@ 0*$ was one of the earliest lawma)ers of south
1ndia who lived on the ban)s of River Godavari.
0oudhayana, 2arasara, a!nval)ya sutras and other laws were also
important in the past, e.g., in the courts of Sri)rishnadevaraya.
R-*G! 3hat are the details of rahmins of Andhra toda%4
#'3@. 2radhamasa)ha 6iyogi 0rahmins (see below$ follow a!naval)ya
sutras and &anva sutras.
+he smaarta 0rahmins in #ndhra 2radesh can be grouped into two
ma!or divisions formed about a thousand to about =@@ years ago (most
probably during &a)atiya rule$, 6iyogi and Vaidi)i.
-owever, in addition to smaarta 0rahmins, there are other 0rahmin
groups such as Sri Vaishnavas, Badhavas and #radhyas.
6iyogi 0rahmins : 6iyogi 0rahmins are those 0rahmins who too) up
various secular vocations including military activities and gave up
religious vocation, especially the priesthood. 6iyogi 0rahmins depend
and emphasiEe on modern education. +hey were ministers in the courts
of )ings and feudatories. Bany of them were village accountants.cler)s,
)aranams (#ndhra$ or patwaris (+elangana$, until recently. +he 6iyogis
are considered to be eligible for priestly service. 0ut they will never
either accept a religious gift or parta)e of Sraaddha food (food given to
0rahmins duiring the death related rituals$.
#ccording to Aogendranath 0hattacharya, 6iyogi name is derived from
oga, which means religious contemplation or meditation, as opposed
to aga, which means religious sacrifice. 6iyogin in Sans)rit also means
PemployedP or PappointedP and accordingly, it is probable that they are
so'called because they accept secular employment. 6iyogi 0rahmins
include eminent personalities li)e Veeresalingam &andu)uri,
Radha)rishnan Sarvepalli, Ven)atgiri Varahagiri, &D Rao, 2ra)asam
+anguturi, Ven)atanarasimharao 2amulaparti (2V$, General &. V.
&rishnarao etc. #s the times have changed, even Vaidi)a 0rahmins
should earn money to protect the 8harma, despite the traditional ban
on earning money. +hat was one of the main reasons for the e(istence
of 6iyogi 0rahmins. +here are many subcastes in Vaidi)i 0rahmins as
well:
#mong the Vaishnavities, the strict vegetarians and highly educated
people also are given the appro(imate status of brahmins in #ndhra
2radesh. +hey adhere to either the medieval +en)alai or Vada)alai and
#gaama scriptures +hese Vaishnavite 0rahmins are spread mainly in
&arnata)a and #ndhra, and to some e(tent in +amilnadu also .
+he great Vaishnavite reformers li)e Ramanu!acharya, Ramananda
(north 1ndia$, Badhva (all over south 1ndia$, Vallabhacharya (found
among velanadu, gu!arat, ra!asthan and C2$, 6imbaar)a, etc. 6ot all
the followers of these Vaishnavite reformers are 0rahmins. Some of
these Vaishnavites include #charis and velanadu vaidee)ulu. +hese
Vaishnavas are also )nown as #ndhra Vaishnava. Bany of the famous
temple establishments li)e +irupati and #hobilam are run per
vaishnavite agamic canons.
R-**! 3hat are the praised activities of Ramanu>achar%a4
#'33. +he big hearted Raamanu!a fought against caste distinctions and
gathered under his doctrine, people from all wal)s of life and caste and
religion and occupation and said henceforth they shall be )nown as one
community. +hus he created the Vaishnava community, and told them
to always wor) for reform of society.
+he great Raamanu!a specifically included among his followers sc/s,
tribals, immigrant foreign soldiers, arabs and tur)s, destitutes women,
!ains, etc. #ll the same it appears they made sure that the brightest
were selected as Sri Vaishnavites, evangeliEers of vaishnavism, without
any regard to their former caste or other origins %ne characteristic
method used by the gurus was community dinners, where everybody
sat together without distinction. +his went a long way towards reduction
of old discriminations.
#s a conseFuence there are e(pert coo)s who easily handle very large
scale coo)ing among them.
R-*(! Bo Cains have >oined ,aishanvisam4
#'34. 1t seems many !ains also merged with vaishnavites, !ust li)e in an
earlier era buddhists shifted to various sects of saivism +he vaishnavite
communities in #ndhra 2radesh have a mar)ed bent towards education,
literature and performing arts li)e music and dance.
R-*+! 3hat is the period of 5adwachar%a4
#'37. +he Badhvaas date from the recent reform activities of
Badhvacharya (somewhere in the 34th century$ also of the vaishnava
sampradaya , and they were prominent in the last days of Vi!ayanagar
(3;@@/s$. # famous guru of the line was Raghavendraswami. (+hey are
found all over )arnata)a, south Baharashtra, +amilnadu as well as
#ndhra.
R-*<! 3ho were the earliest group of rahmins came to
Tamilnadu4
#'39. +he earliest group of 0rahmins to come to +amil 6adu is largely
)nown as Guru)uls. +hey have been here from very ancient times and
were primarily invited to be temple priests in the early *hola period.
Bany of them were great Vedic scholars. +hey conducted the
coronation of the )ings and acted as their spiritual advisors and Gurus.
Bany of them were the great e(ponents of Vedic #strology and
#yurvedic Bedicine. The% are supposed to be followers of
audh%ana sutra and are divided as 1-anchipuram1,
1Tiruvalangadu1 and 1ThirukaQhakundram1 Gurukuls! 1t is
interesting that all the three are the names of ancient towns and
temples around &anchipuram. +his clearly indicates that the earliest
migration was to &anchipuram.
R-*=! 3ho are -ashmri rahmins4 Are the% branhched from
Saraswath rahmins4
#'3;. #ccording to accepted traditions in the rest of the country,
&ashmiri 0rahmins are believed to be a branch of the Saraswat
0rahmins who were so called because they were believed to have
settled along the course of an ancient river in the 6orth'West 1ndian
*ontinet (1ndo'2a) region$ called Saraswati. When this river dried up,
these 0rahmins migrated. # large section of this uprooted community
was settled in the Western &on)an coast of the present state of
Baharashtra. %thers moved further 6orth into the Valley of &ashmir.
+he first 2rime Binister of the 1ndian Cnion, 2andit Aawaharlal 6ehru,
belongs to the 2andit community of )asmiri 0rahmins. +he 6ehru
dynasty ruled the Cnion for almost half a century.
R-*?! 3ho are Tuluva rahmins4
#'3<. +he ancient +ulu nadu e(tended from Go)arna in the north, all
along coastal &arnata)a up to &asargod in the south. +his included both
coastal Cttara &annada district as well as all of 8a)shina &annada
district. %ver many centuries the principal language of +ulu nadu was
+ulu. +oday +ulu is spo)en only south of River &alyanpur in Cdupi and
8a)shina &annada districts of &arnata)a. +his is the heartland of +ulu
nadu today. While Cdupi is the religious center of +ulu nadu, Bangalore
is the commercial hub.
R-*)! 7ther than ,iswamithra can %ou sa% a few non rahmin
sages4
#'3=. 1n the past, however, through rigorous courses and tests some
non'0rahmins became Rishis, e.g., &ings li)e Viswamitra,
Vishnuvardhana, Radheerga, Veerahavya etc. became Rishis and
established their own Vedi) schools and new 0rahmin branches.
R-*A! 3hat is the relation with Sanskrit for rahmins4
#'3>. +he Sans)rit is an ancient language that became irrelvant to
1ndians in general, and 0rahmins in particular. 1t is the language of
0rahmins. -owever, whenever, 0rahmins migrated to lands, they
adopted to the local language and customs and adopted local Gods, yet
maintained their Sans)rit language, the Vedas, traditions and culture.
R-*F! 3hat was the reason Ean>alwakia came out from
vaisampa%ana 4
#'3?. %nce upon a time, an assembly of 0rahmins was arranged in
presence of Dord 0rahma. #ll the 0rahmin teachers and professors were
invited. 1t was declared that who ever among the invited fails to attend
the 0rahmin assembly would be considered to have committed the sin
of murder of a 0rahmin (0rahmahatya$.
For some unavoidable circumstances, 2rofessor Vaisampayana could
not attend this meeting and acFuired the sin of 0rahmahatya. -e
assembled all his disciples and reFuested them to share the burden of
the sin of murder.
%ne of his disciples was a!naval)ya. -e was a great intellectual and
was very powerful due to his )nowledge. -e came forward and
suggested that he would ta)e all the sin and manage it with his powers
and reFuested Vaisampayana to let go other disciples.
Vaisampayana was enraged at this reFuest. -e considered this reFuest
as arrogance of agnaval)ya and completely out of line. *onseFuently,
he ordered a!naval)ya to give up all the learning that he learned from
Vaisampayana and leave his school immediately. a!naval)ya followed
the orders of the professor and discarded all the learning, which
immediately evaporated into the solar dimension. #nd he became
poorer in his )nowledge and hence in powers and luster. a!naval)ya
went to the Sun God and reFuested the Sun to teach him a!urveda.
+he Sun God agreed to teach and as)ed him to follow him in the form a
horse during his continuous travel across the s)ies and learn. +hus
a!navla)ya became a Va!asaneya, one who learned as a horse and a
branch formed called Va!asaneya sa)ha. +his a!urveda learned by
a!navl)ya as a horse from the Sun God is called Su)laa!urveda and
the earlier one that was learned from Vaismpayana was &rishna
a!urveda.
R-(G! Bo gothra s%stem started during Ea>urveda period4
#'4@. +here is a thin)ing li)e that .+he gotra system is part of a system
of classification or identification of various 0rahmin families in ancient
times. +he gotra classification too) form probably sometime during the
a!ur Veda period, after the Rig Veda period. 1t is believed that the
gotras (now account to a total of 9?$ started to consolidate some
around 3@'> *entury 0.*.
+he present day gotra classification is created from a core of > rishis
(+he Saptha rishis r #ga #gastya$. +he Seven rishis are Gautama,
0hardwa!a, Vishwamitra, Aamadagni, Vasistha, &ashyapa and #tri.
Seven Rishis (Saptarshi$ are recogniEed as the mind born sons of the
creator 0rahma. +hey desired offspring and received it. #ll present day
0rahmin communities are said to be descendants of these > Rishis.
%ver the years the number of gotras incresed due to:
8escendents of these Rishis also started new family lineage or new
gotras (&aundinya was a descendent of Vasihta, Vishwamitra was a
descendent of &aushi)a and Vatsa was a descendent of Aamadagni$.
1nspired by a saint whose name they bear as their own Gotra.
+he lines of descent from the ma!or rishis are originally divided into
Ganas Isub divisionsJ and each Gana is further divided into families.
-owever, subseFuently the term gotra is freFuently applied to the
ganas and to the families within the ganas interchangeably.
R-(*! 8ow do -ula devata principle originated4
#'43. +hese Rishis belonged to different sects li)e Sha)ti, Shavites and
Vishnavites and had different deities for worship. Such deities came to
be )nown as the &uladevatas.
R-((! 3hat was the purpose of Gothra orgination4
#'44. +he gotras of GS0s is believed to be originated from the ten
Rishis. 0haradwa!, &ausi)a, Vatsa, &aundinya, &ashyapa, #tri, Vashista,
Aamadagni, Gautam and Vishwamitra (&amshi$
The gotra s%stem was instituted for the purposes of identif%ing
one1s ancestors and pa% respects during various invocations
and other rituals to honor their fathers, fore'fathers and so on, up
to their respective Rishis.
This was later e;tended to other aspects of the rahmin life,
such as 5arriage and temple worship!
1n present days, marriage will not be allowed within the same gotra in
order to avoid impure matrimony. +his thin)ing is in tune with the
modern day genetic paradigms of hybrid vigor.
R-(+! 8ow man% famous gothrams are there4
#'47. +here are more than 34@ Gothras )nown amongst the 0rahmins.
Cnder the Sapta'Rishi grouping, each Rishi/s lineage has its own sub'
lineage or grouping with Single, three, five or Seven Rishis, which are
referrred to in the 2ravaram. ou can get the Rishis group, sub'lineage
of the Sapthra'Rishis and the Gothra 2ravaram from this page!
R-(<! 3hat is the specialit% of Angirasa, -anva and hargava4
#.49. #mong the Gothra analysis of 2ravaras, one can see the
#an)irasa Rishi appears 34 times including multiple versions.
#an)irasa is the Rishi with whom more than half of the #tharva Veda
samhitas are associated.
#n analysis of the Rishis associated with the Veda Bantras will give info
on the other Rishis associated with the Gothras and their lineage.
Sage &anva is the foster father of Sa)untala celebrated by &aalidasa.
0hargava referes to the lineage of 0hrigu Baharishi, the foster father of
Baha Da)shmi worshipped as 0hargavi.
R-(=! 3hat is the gothram of 'athamuni4
#'4;. 6atha Buni, #alavandar (aamuna Buni$ belong to
Shatamarshana Gothram.
R-(?! 3hich sage appears in Rama%an in addition to ,asista
and ,iswamithra4
#'4<. 0haradwa!a appears in Raamayanam.
R-()! 3ho are the four sons of rahma4
#'4=. 0rahma according to 2uranas had 9 sons: #tri, 0hrigu,Vasishta
and #n)iras.
R-(A! 3hat was the gothra of Sreerama #Sri Ram$4
#'4>. Dord Rama was Raghu Vansha. +his was because Dord Rama/s
great'grandfather Raghu became famous.
# Gotra relates directly to the original seven or eight Rishis of the
Vedas. 1n this sense, Dord Rama did not have a Gotra, and in rituals his
Gotra would be the Gotra of his 0rahmin priest. +his practice is still
common today as it was in ancient times according to earliest -indu
sources.
+herefore, Gotra has always been only a 0rahmin lineage that descends
from seven or eight rishis associated with the Saptarishi or the seven
stars of the Great 0ear constellation as according to original -indu
Vedic system.
R-(F! Though gothras were for all was it particular to keep the
ra% b% rahmins4
#'4?. es. +he word PGotraP means Pray.P 1n 0rahmin tradition, it is the
duty of the Brahmin to keep his particular ray alive by doing
daily rituals that he may transmit the power of that ray to others for
the benefit of man)ind.
R-+G! Bo 2amil% deit% known as kula deivam or kula devata is
related to Gothra4
#'7@. 6% 6% 6%. # common mista)e is to consider gotra to be
synonymous with clan or &ula. # )ula is basically a set of people
following similar rituals, often worshipping the same God (the &ula'
8evata ' the God of the clan$. &ula has nothing to do with lineage or
caste. 1n fact, it is possible to change one/s &ula, based on his faith or
1shta'deva. 6ote'1 had the e(perience of meeting many gothra
0rahmins coming to my &uladeivam Aadayudayar temple in
&allidai)urichi.
R-+*! Bo sudras see gothra for marriage4
#'73. Shudras also have gotras, and follow it in marriages. For e(ample
a weaver falls under Bar)andeya gotra. Bar)andeya was )nown be a
Baharishi and had <@ sons. Barriages are held within Bar)andeya but
never in same family name. So, every weaver falls under one of these
gotra. Barriages within the gotra (PswagotraP marriages$ are banned
under the rule of e(ogamy in the traditional matrimonial system. 2eople
within the gotra are regarded as )in and marrying such a person would
be thought of as incest.
R-+(! B7 Gothra is partilineal or matrilineal too4
#'74. 1n some communities, where gotra membership passed from
father to children, marriages were allowed between uncle and niece,
while such marriages were forbidden in matrilineal communities, li)e
Balayalis and +uluvas, where gotra membership was passed down from
the mother.
R-++! Bo -anchipuram was one of the oldest cities4
#'77 es. &anchipuram is one of the two most ancient cities of 1ndia,
the other being Varanasi (&ashi$. +he lin)age between the Varanasi
(&ashi$ and &anchi has e(isted from earliest times and has been
facilitating the migration of priests between the 6orth and the South.
R-+<! Bo -anchipuram was the orginal destination for priests
from north4
#'79. 1t is possible that &anchipuram, +iruvangadu and +iru)ali)undram
were the first destinations for the Guru)uls who arrived. +hey stayed
and wor)ed there till they were redeployed to other interior temples
and towns.
R-+=! 3here do rahmin communities flourished and how it was
e;panded4
#'7;. Vedas mention a mighty river called the Sarasvati where Brahmin
communities flourished, where the Indus Valley civilization flourished
and dispersed when the Saraswati river dried up around 1!! B"#$
Dong before, during the Ramayana period 0rahmins migrated to
8anda)aranya (8anda)a Forest$ in the south with Viswamitra, the
author of several hymns in Rigveda including Gayatri mantra.
R-+?! Bo Rigveda is declared as part of world heritage b%
@'9S:74
#'7<. es, C6,S*% declared, Rig Veda as part of the World -eritage.
R-+)! 3hat are the dail% practices of a rahmin4
#'7=. 8aily practices of 0rahmins include sandhyavandana (prayers to
Gayatri and Sun God$, prayer to ishtadaiva or ilavelpu (personal God$,
yoga, non'violence, vegetarianism etc. ,verything in the daily life of a
0rahmin is a ritual.
-owever, special rituals include marriage, ritual conception and
consummation of the wedding, rituals of childbirth, naming ceremony,
first feeding ceremony, the childOs first tonsure, upanayana (the sacred'
thread ceremony ' initiation into vedic learning and ritual$, ritual baths,
cremation rituals, shraaddha, etc. #ll of these rituals are very
important for a practicing 0rahmin.
+raditional 0rahmin accepts Vedas as apaurusheyam (not man'made$,
but revealed truths and of eternal validity or relevance and hence the
Vedas are considered Srutis that which have been heard and are the
paramount source of 0rahmin traditions and is believed to be divine.
R-+A! According to Panini and odha%ana what is the
e;planation of gothra4
#'7>. 1n general, gotra denotes all persons who trace descent in an
unbro)en male line from a common male ancestor. 2anini defines gotra
for grammatical purposes as / apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram/ (1V. 3.
3<4$, which means /the word gotra denotes the progeny (of a sage$
beginning with the son/s son. When a person says / 1 am &ashypasa'
gotra/ he means that he traces his descent from the ancient sage
&ashyapa by unbro)en male descent. #ccording to the
0audhKyanas/rauta'sLtra VishvKmitra, Aamadagni, 0haradvK!a,
Gautama, #tri, Vasishtha, &ashyapa and #gastya are > sagesM the
progeny of these eight sages is declared to be gotras.
+he offspring (apatya$ of these eight are gotras and others than these
are called / gotrKvayava /. +he gotras are arranged in groups, e. g. there
are according to the ssvalKyana'srautasLtra four subdivisions of the
Vasishtha gana, viE. Cpamanyu, 2arKshara, &undina and Vasishtha
(other than the first three$. ,ach of these four again has numerous sub'
sections, each being called gotra. So the arrangement is first into
ganas, then into pa)shas, then into individual gotras.
+he first has survived in the 0hrigu and sngirasa gana. #ccording to
0aud, the principal eight gotras were divided into pa)shas.
R-+F! 8ow pravaras are told4 Bo different t%pes of pravaras are
there4
#'7?. +he pravara of Cpamanyu is Vasishtha, 0haradvasu,
1ndrapramadaM the pravara of the 2arKshara gotra is Vasishtha,
ShK)tya, 2KrKsharyaM the pravara of the &undina gotra is Vasishtha,
BaitrKvaruna, &aundinya and the pravara of Vasishthas other than
these three is simply Vasishtha.
It is therefore that some define pravara as the group of sages
that distinguishes the founder (lit. the starter) of one gotra
from another.
There are two kinds of pravaras, ) sishya!prasishya!rishi!
parampara, and ") putrparampara.
Gotrapravaras can be e)arsheya, dwarsheya, triarsheya, pancharsheya,
saptarsheya, and up to 3? rishis .
&ashyapasa gotra has at least two distinct pravaras in #ndhra 2radesh:
one with three sages (triarsheya pravara$ and the other with seven
sages (saptarsheya pravara$.
R-<G! Some argument is there that in gothra were different
sish%a pravaras are there marriage is permissible with in the
gothra! 8ow far it is correct4
#'9@. +his pravara may be either sishya'prasishya'rishi'parampara or
putra parampara.
3hen it is sish%a-prasish%a-rishi-parampara marriage is not
acceptable if half or more than half of the rishis are same in
both bride and bridegroom gotras!
0f it is putraparampara, marriage is totall% unacceptable even if
one rishi matches!
R-<*! Bo Sutra is a later development after forming Gothras4
3hat are the different t%pes of sutras4
#'93. es. Sutra 2eriod: 8uring the sutra period, roughly sometime
during 3@@@ 0* to 4@@ 0*, 0rahmins became divided into various
Sa)has or branches, based on the adoption of different Vedas and
different readings and interpretations of Vedas
Sects or schools for different denominations of the same Veda were
formed, under the leadership of distinguished teachers among
0rahmins.
+he teachings of these distinguished rishis are called sutras.
,very Veda has its own sutras. +he sutras that deal with social, moral
and legal precepts are called dharma sutras, whereas those sutras that
deal with ceremonials are called Srauta sutras and domestic rituals are
called gruhya sutras.
Sutras are generally written in prose or in mi(ed prose and verse.
+hese sutras are based on divine Vedas and are manmade and hence
are called Smritis, meaning Vrecollected or remembered.W
+here are several 0rahmin law givers such as %ngirasa, %pastham&ha,
%tri, Brihaspati, Boudhayana, Daksha, 'autama, (arita, )atyayana,
*ikhita, +anu, ,arasara, Samvarta, Sankha, Satatapa, -sanasa,
Vasishta, Vishnu, Vyasa, .a/navalkya and .ama$
R-<( 3ho was sage haradwa>a4
#'94. 0haradwa!a was one of the great sages (rishis$ descendant of rishi
#ngirasa, whose accomplishments are detailed in the 2uranas.
0haradwa!a rishi was the father of 8ronacharya and the grandfather of
#shwatthama
-e was one of the Saptarshis (Seven Great Sages Rishi$ in the present
BanvantaraM with others being #tri, Vashishtha, Vishvamitra, Gautama,
Aamadagni, &ashyapa I3J.
R-<+! 3hat is the orgin of Gothra4
#'97. +he word PgotraP means PlineageP in the Sans)rit language.
#mong those of the 0rahmin caste, gotras are rec)oned patrilineally.
,ach gotra ta)es the name of a famous Rishi or sage who was the
patrilineal forebearer of that clan. #nd each Gotra is addressed by the
suffi( /sa/ or /asa/ as relevant.
+he concept of Gotra was the first attempt among 0rahmins to classify
themselves among different groups. #t the beginning, these gentes
identified themselves by the names of various rishis (#ngirasa, #tri,
Gautam, &ashyapa, 0hrigu, Vasishtha, &utsa, and 0haradva!aM the first
seven of these are often enumerated as Saptarishis$.
-ence the gotra was applied to the grouping stemming from one of
these rishis as his descendants
Bany lines of descent from the ma!or rishis were later grouped
separately. #ccordingly, the ma!or gotras were divided into ganas
(subdivisions$ and each gana was further divided into groups of
families. +he term gotra was then freFuently started being applied to
the ganas and to the sub'ganas.
,very brahmin claims to be a direct patrilinial descendant of one of the
founding rishis of a certain gana or sub'gana. It is the gana or su&0gana
that is now commonly referred to as gotra$
%ver the years, the number of gotras increased due to:8escendants of
original rishi also started new family lineage or new gotras and 1nspired
by another rishi whose name they bear as their own gotra.
R-<<! Bo Gothra and Pravara are related to 4
#'99. Surely . 2ravara is the number of the most e(cellent ('cf.
reference, Sans)rit',nglish 8ictionary,Bonier'Williams$ rishis who
belonged to that particular gotra to which a person belongs.
Gotra is the name of the founding father. 1n vedic ritual, the importance
of the pravara appears to be in its use by the ritualist for e(tolling his
ancestry and proclaiming, Pas a descendant of worthy ancestors, 1 am a
fit and proper person to do the act 1 am performing.P
+he sacred thread ya!nopavita worn on upanayana has close connection
with the concept of pravaras related to brahmin gotra system. While
tying the )nots of sacred thread, an oath is ta)en in the name of each
one of these three or five of the most e(cellent rishis belonging to one/s
gotra.(1s there any such ractise.G +elling mantra'an!opaveetham
paramam pavithram pra!apathaeN golden thread, silver thread
followed by cotton thread is worn 1 thin) 1 want your enlightenment$
1t may be noted some gothras have variations of pravara sages. When
the variation is more intermarriage from the same gothra is permitted
provided the pravars are shisya pravaras.
+he full affiliation of a brXhamana consists of (3$ gotra, (4$ pravaras (7$
sutra (of &alpa$, (9$ sha)ha.
# brahmana named /t/ introduces himself as follows : 1 am /t/, of
Shrivatsa gotra, of upastamba sutra, of +aittiriya shX)ha of a!urveda,
of five pravaras named 0hXrgava, *hyXvana, upnavan, #urva and
AXmdagnya (+his e(ample is based upon the e(ample given by
2attXbhirXm Shastri in the introduction to VedXrtha'2Xri!ata, cf. ref.$.

Gotra lineages and Rishi details

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Gothra Pattika - Gothra Pravaram - Gotra names and related

Rishi vargam - Abhivathanam

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