Gotra and Pravara, any Adarva Veda sect is available?

[Guest guest]

Dear all

 

Can any one please give the details of peole belonging to various vedas.

 

In Tamilnadu, predominantly of Krishna Yajurveda, followed by Samaveda (

Thalavarak shaka) and a few Rig Veda.

 

Is there any adarva vedhis left any where in India. Some 50 years back The

kanchi Paramacharya found one last pandit in Sinnar Gujrat. he sent some

students from TN to study Adarva Veda from him and now those people teach

in Tirumala Tirupathi Patasala teaching Adarva veda. However these people

belong to some other vedas but studying adarva vedas only available shaka to

keep it alive.

 

Can any Adarva veda people available still?  They have a different Gayatri

mantra i was told. I was told that any one aspiring to study adarva veda has to

have a second upnayanam before start studying adarva veda as the gayatri of that

veda is different.  ( ref Deivathin Kural of Kanchi Paramacharya)

 

Can any one give some details on this

 

Regards

Sankar

 

--- On Thu, 8/20/09, astrologer_mrutyunjay <astrologer_mrutyunjay

wrote:

 

 

astrologer_mrutyunjay <astrologer_mrutyunjay

Gotra and Pravara

 

Thursday, August 20, 2009, 11:35 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear friend,

 

The number and nomenclature of the Gotra may be unlimited.

 

But important thing to note that maximum permutation of

 

Pravara is

 

limited to 7x 7 = 49 only.

 

Even during the periods of rishis there were people who were not followers of

any of the Rishis...

 

so there are Gotras which

 

do not follow any of the 49 Pravara.

 

They are called non-arsha Gotra....

 

who were normally during the period of the Rishis

 

not the follower of the Vedic Culture...

 

as following Vedic Culture and lifestyle

 

as propounded by Gria Sutra

 

has never been a matter of compulsion since

 

time immemorial.

 

So do not get surprised if people are not able to tell

 

the name of their Pravara

 

or even if tell the name of Gotra...

 

which may not belong to...any Rishi.

 

In tribal areas of Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh ...

the tribal people

 

also have their own Gotra showing linkage to

 

common forefathers.

 

Although the name of Gotra they tell you may belong

 

to some special weapons; 'Dhanus Gotra'.... 'Parshu Gotra'

 

some special trees/flower names/ village/place ; 'Shalgram Gotra'

 

'Mahuaful Gotra' etc. etc.

 

Whether Arsha or non-Arsha, even Indian or non-Indian

 

people of all races and all ages have some interesting

 

penchant for tracing out thier lineage...finding out a common

 

linkage/ heritage to strengthen their existing their socio-cultural

 

bondage.

 

Regards,

 

Mrutyunjay Tripathy

(Consultancy out of group is not free)

 

, " sankaranarayanan k.s " <shankypriyan@

....> wrote:

>

> Dear all

>  

> The third kasyapa gothra should be read as Repa Kasyapa ( There is a

typographical error)

>  

> The gothras should be strictly followed. Now a days even in brahmins there are

arranged marriage among the same gotra. The pundits who conduct marriage

 give the girl for adoption to her own uncle before marriage, change gotra

and do the marriage.

> regards.

>  

> Please, Please understand that same gotra means brothers and sisters. Those

days i was told even the pandit for shrard bojan should be from the gothra of

father for father's shrard. For mother's shrard one from father's gothra and the

other from mother's per marriage gothra.

>  

>  

> regards

>  

> sankar

>  

> sankar

>

> --- On Tue, 8/18/09, Prashant Kumar G B <gbp_kumar@. ..> wrote:

>

>

> Prashant Kumar G B <gbp_kumar@. ..>

> FW: Useful info-The Gothra and the Pravara

> " jyotish remedies " <>, " jotish shastra "

<>, " JV " <jyotish-vidya>,

" JG " <>

> Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 4:29 PM

>

>

>  

>

>

>

> Dear Members,

> this is some useful info how our traditions, social structure flourished and

has almost lost, some individual has passed this to me so am passing it to all

who can understand and develop, sustain them

>

> in Short the Gotra classification is like what is there for all forms of life,

animals, plants do have a genre, family, species, family... classifications the

order may be a bit here and there, though it is still there within Brahmins, it

is there in all the 3 forward castes.

>

> in humans during the Festival of India in the USA during mid 80's THERE WAS A

STUDY OF concepts of Indian culture done there like gothra also when a person is

born in a family with a Gothra the DNA ha s unique type IN IT after all we r

scattered from some common source up above the generations where all ppl mixed

[married] and their changes can be still be seen in the distinctiveness of the

gothra/DNA

>

> and when women/girls got married as per tradition/Sapthasat hi by the fire

into a different gothra there was a ALTERED dna PATERN IT IS reported so too in

the case of ADOPTION by shastric rites.

>

> Please do not see this as a castist posting, I am looking at this only as a

scientific model used by our past generations, its practice, use may be decaying

over the decades, but concepts are v good. INTERESTING TO SAY the least. the

caste system is based on socio-ecconomic pattern, based on work, interests

persued, most of the great rishis like veda vyasa, valmiki have come from lower

casts purely by their dedication efforts have rishen to these heights

> so has Vishwamitra from a King [kshatraya to a rishi] so there is no caste

barrier in place but ppl have inserted for vested interests later.

>

> rest is food for thought

>

> Prashant

>

> -

> Dr Sesha Sai

> Perisepalli Venkata

> aanandaashramam@ gmail.com

> Saturday, August 15, 2009 12:44 AM

> The Gothra and the Pravara

>

> Adhyatmika Ratna,

> Sri Yaaga Vidya Praveena, Vedanta Visarada, Sahasradhika

> Yaagakarta

> Dr

> P V Sesha Sai Aswamedhayaaji

> Camp LOS ANGELES CA USA

> web " http://aswamedhayaa ji.com "

> web USA

> web HYPERLINKhttp: //aswamedhayaaji .com, e mail shodasisai (AT) gmail (DOT) com

shodasisai (AT) gmail (DOT) com http://ritualsandpr ocedures. blogspot. com

> 13th August 2009

> Phone 518 368

> 7956

> My dear friends and like minded persons

> In the recent past, when I came across people asking me and heard other some

Vedic scholars too †" what is “Pravara� and most of them knew

their Gothra and not their Pravara. It is not a

> complaint against lack of knowledge of them, but circumstances would not have

> given opportunity to know what a Gothra is and what a Pravara. It is not that

I

> know much about it, but there are great personalities in the mailing group who

> can surely enlighten on this subject, but to the extent of my source, I am

> presenting the topic for the benefit of all. This letter is also being posted

to the

> blog by name http://ritualsandpr ocedures. blogspot. com for further

references.

> What is a Gothra? More or less, it is nothing

> but a blood group, when the modern groups are a few in number, the ancient

sages

> of India arrived at a minutest point and bifurcated the blood group into a

> number of groups beyond the reach of the so called modern and so called

Scientific

> world. The word " gotra " means

> " lineage " and this word is of Sanskrit language. Among those of the

> Brahmins, gotras are reckoned lineally. Each gotra takes the

> name of a famous Rishi or sage who was the lineal fore bearer of that clan.

And

> each Gotra is addressed by the suffix 'sa' or 'asa' as relevant. The concept

of

> Gothra was the first attempt among Brahmins to classify themselves among

> different groups. At the beginning, these genetics identified themselves by

the

> names of various Rishis Angirasa, Atri, Gowthama, Kasyapa, Bhrigu, Vasista,

and

> Bhraradwaja - the first seven of these are often enumerated as Saptarishis. It

> is to be noted that Vishwamitra was initially a Kshatriya king, later chose

and

> rose to become an ascetic Rishi. There is a small confusion about the

> great sage Agastya also in this regard. Therefore there are nine group origins

> in the system as seen above. The

> branches thereafter started percolated down.

> Hence the gotra was applied to the grouping stemming from

> one of these Rishis as descendants. Over the years, the number of gotras

increased due to Descendants of original Rishi which also started new family

> lineage or new gotras.

> Pravara is the number of the most excellent Rishis who

> belonged to that particular gotra to which a person belongs. Gotra is the name

> of the founding father. In Vedic ritual, the importance of the pravara appears

> to be in its use by the ritualistic for extolling his ancestry and

proclaiming,

> in a manner as a descendant of worthy ancestors, one is fit and proper person

to

> do the act that he is performing. The sacred thread called as Upavita or

> Yagnopavita has close connection with the concept of pravaras related to

Brahmin

> gotra system. While tying the knots of sacred thread, an oath is taken in the

> name of each one of these three or five or seven or nine of the most excellent

> rishis belonging to one's gotra.

>

> The full affiliation of a Br�hmin consists of Gothra,

> Pravara, Sutra, and Sakha.

>

> For Example - A Brahmin named: Sastry: introduces

> himself as follows: I am: Sastry: of Shrivatsa gotra, of Āpastamba sutra,

of

> Taittiriya sh�kha of Yajurveda, of five pravaras named Bh�rgava,

Chy�vana,

> Āpnava, Aurva and J�mdagnya

> While the gotras were classified initially

> according to nine (?) Rishis, the

> Pravara was classified under the

> names of the following seven Rishis namely, Agastya, Angirasa, Atri,

> Bhrigu, Kashyapa, Vasista, Viswaamitra, According to the listing of authors

> included in the verses in Vedas, the rishi Jamadagni was a descendant of

> rishi Bhrigu while the rishis Gautam and Bharadwaja were the descendants of

rishi

> Angirasa.

> The pravara identifies the association of a person with

> three or sometimes five and some times seven and interestingly sometimes

> nine (as is seen in some places) also of the above-mentioned Rishis.

> For example, Kashyapa Gothram has 3 rishis associated

> with it viz. Kashyapa, Daivala and Aavatsaara

> Some of the

> known Gothras and Pravaras are appended hereunder for the benefit of the

readers

> and this is subject to further modification by the learned scholars in the

> relevant field. There are, however,

> innumerable combinations which are not codified at one place due to different

> reasons, and now I appeal to all the readers to place their comments on this

and

> add the known information in a blog created by me as http:ritualsandproc

edures.blogspot. com so that over a period of time, a

> separate book on this subject may get published for the benefit of future

> generations, as WE HAVE ALREADY STEPPED INTO AN AREA OF IGNORING ALL THESE

RICH

> TEXTS OF ANCIENT TRADITIONAL SCIENCES OF INDIA. I am also trying to procure

information

> relating to the Gothra in respect of different castes in India and IT IS TO BE

> NOTICED THAT EACH FAMILY IN INDIA HAS A GOTHRA IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR CASTE.

> 1. Bharadwaja : Angirasa, Baaryhaspatya, ,

> Bharadwaja

> 2. Rathitara : Angirasa, Baaryhaspatya,

> Rathitara

> 3. Vathula or Vathulasa : Bhargava,Vaitahavya ,

> Saavedasa

> 4. Srivasta or Srivastasa : Bhargava, Chyaavana,

> Aapnavaana, Aurva, Jaamadaghneya

> 5. Salankayana : Viswaamitra, Aghamarshana, Devarata

> 6. Shatamarshana: Angirasa, Powrukutsa,

> Traasatasya

> 7. Atreya: Atreya, Aarchanaasa, Syaavaasva

> 8. Kowsika: Vishwamitra, Aghamarshana, Kowsika

> 9. Kalabodhana/ Kalabhavasa (3 variations)

> 1. Kalabodhana: Viswaamitra, Agamarshana,

> Kalabodhana

> 2. Kalabodhana: Viswaamitra, Agamarshana,

> Kalabodhana

> 3. Kalabhavasa: Viswaamitra, Agamarshana,

> Kalabhavasa

> 10. Viswaamitra: Viswaamitra, Devarata, Owtala

> 11. Kaundinya: Vaasishta, Maitraavaruna,

> Kaundinya

> 12. Haritasa: Angirasa, Ambarisha, Yuvanasva,

> Haritasa

> 13. Gautamasa : Angirasa, Aayasya, Ausidyasa,

> Kaakshivata, Vamadeva, Grihadugda, Gautamasa †" seven rishis

> 14. Mowdgalya (3 Variations)

> 1. Angirasa, Bharmyasva, Mowdgalya

> 2. Tarkshya, Bharmyasva, Mowdgalya

> 3. Angirasa, Dhavya, Mowdgalya

> 15. Sandilya (3 Variations)

> 1. Kasyapa, Aavatsaara, Daivala

> 2. Kasyapa, Aavatsaara, Sandilya

> 3. Kasyapa, Daivala, Asitha

> 16. Naitruvakaasyapa: Kasyapa, Aavatsara,

> Naitruva

> 17. Kutsa: Angirasa, Maandhatra, Kowtsa

> 18. Kanva (2 Variations)

> 1. Angirasa, Ajameeda, Kanva

> 2. Angirasa, Kowra, Kanva

> 19. Paraasara: Vaasishta, Saaktya, Paraasara

> 20. Aagastya: Aagastya, Tardhachyuta, Sowmavaha

> 21. Gargi (2 Variations)

> 1. Angirasa, Barhaspatya, Bharadwaja, upadhyay

> 2. Angirasa, Sainya, Gaargya

> 22. Badarayana: Angirasa, Paarshadaswa, Raatitara

> 23. Kasyapa (3 Variations)

> 1. Kasyapa, Aavatsaara, Daivala

> 2. Kasyapa, Aavatsaara, Naidruva (Naitruva)

> 3. Kasyapa, Aavatsaara, Naidruva (Naitruva),

> Rebha, Raibha , Sandila, Saandilya

> 24. Sunkriti (2 Variations) or Saankritya

> Gothra

> 1. Angirasa, Kowravidha, Saankritya

> 2. Sadhya ,Kowravidha, Saankritya

> 25. Angirasa, Pourukutsya, Thraasadasya

> 26. Goutam/Gowtamasa Aangeerasa, Ayasya, Gowtamasa

> 27. AgniVaiwaswatha: Angirasa, Barhaspthya,

> Bharadwaja, Srukva, Agnivaiwaswatha

> 28. Sankhyayana: Vishwamitra, Aghamarshana,

> Devaratha

> 29. Vishwamitra, Shraumita, Kaamakayana,

> Devatarasa, Devaraata,

> 30. Kapi: Angirsa, Amahaiya, Orukshaya,

> This may not be

> just taken only Brahmin sect, the Vysya or the Agarwal community is still more

> perfection as they take a bride out of their gothra as well out of the

maternal

> side gothra too.

>

> Perhaps this may

> be the reason; the Agarwal community is still maintaining their tradition

almost

> nearer to perfection.

>

> The Kshatriya

> too, more particular of observing Gothra while one among the four caste system

in the name of

> Sudra also rely upon the same system of observing

> Gothra or identifying themselves to a particular Gothra. Unfortunately the

“Sudra� is mistaken as

> an inferior set of human beings in the society, but they are not

> so, surely

> they are the backbone of the entire society. A king should have soldiers, a

Brahmin

> should have students, a Vysya should have demand for their trade and therefore

> all sects like the so called Brahmin, Kshtriya, Vysya and Sudra are all inter

> dependant and can never be isolated.

>

> The caste system was solely on

> their individual professions and there is no superiority or inferiority

amongst

> each of themand this is the basic

> fact. Unfortunately this concept is

> misconceived and misinterpreted for the mean individual reasons of a few

select

> individuals which have caused damage to the entire system and to speak further

> to HINDUISM itself.

>

> Well, the topic

> is not a point of discussion for this paper, but the learned scholars, who are

> receiving this mail, may contribute still better on the Gothra system and they

> can upload their individual comments to the aforementioned blog so that the

> viewers of future years will have all types of information on this

> subject.

>

> Thanking you all

> for your patient reading.

> I shall be back

> again soon.

> Yours affly

> HARA HARA

> MAHADEVA

> DR P V SESHA SAI

> ASWAMEDHAYAAJI

>

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Sankaranarayanan,

 

The issue of Gotra is very complex with a lot of misunderstandings also involved

as Tripaty ji has pointed out.

 

The original Gotra system was also called " Kula " - family or lineage - a word

now used in a very lucid manner.

 

Since ages, due to ignorence, people got this mixed and now very few people know

their gotra correctly.

 

This term also was used to distinguish between people of each village or

profession and that where the confusion occured. after a few generations, nobody

was sure how did they got linked to particular sect or its significance.

 

It is my understanding that vedic lineage need not be entirely based on gotra

alone because people of same vedic lineage is found in different gotra of the

same caste and vise versa.

 

So either you may have to go by veda branch AND by gotra system and try to find

a relation between them.

 

The list below is not complete.

 

for ex: I belong to Vasishta- Maitra varuna - Kaundanya Gotra one of the

original gotra as ordained by Lord Parasurama. we are Rigvedis and belong to

Gowda Saraswath Brahmin Community. We Still worship the deities given by Lord

Parasurama as our " Kula devathas " . So you can imagine the antiquity of the

deity. Here also I find that people of different gotras do have the same deity

as their " Kula devatha " Our community originaly where shaivaites and became

vaishnavites after Shreemad Madhwacharya. My own (Gotras) Kula devatha is

Ramanath (Lord Mahadev), though being a vaishnavite. So we worship both Vishnu &

Mahadev equally. There shaktyeites as well. To my knowledge, we are the only

community in India who use / inscribe the 4 Vishnu Mudras during Sandhya

Vandhana or permanently as " taptha mudra " and another one on the forehead and

Narayana Mudra. There could also other madhva paramparites doing this.

 

yet, in most part of India, the " Kula devatha " is the deity worshiped by their

family, may be by grand father or great grand father etc. Then again, some

consider the presiding of the village as their Kula devatha wherein actually it

is " Grama devatha "

 

I had done some studies on this some time back out of curiocity and a lot of

people where asking about their kula devathas.

 

I shall try to present an article on it later. presently preparing two other

articles on astrology.

 

It might takes ages of study in the actual field and may be DNA testing to have

a concrete picture about all the sects.

 

Whether the present Caste system existed as it is centuries back, itself is a

question. This doubt came to my mind only when I visited Vaitheeswaran Koil to

know about Nadi Jyotisha. It is surprising that though they attribute them to

different rishis, none of them are brahmins. Why?. One cannot simply accept the

argument that they might looted the manuscripts from powerfull & respected

brahmins there. Interestingly I also happened to see a version of Sage Agathya

Nadi where Prashna Marga was quoted. we know that prasna marga was written some

1000 years back only. The planatory positions they give in some cases does not

tally with either the present system or Surya sidhantha (As per kundalee). So

they must have using some other method of computation.

 

A.G.Suresh Babu Shenoy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

, " sankaranarayanan k.s "

<shankypriyan wrote:

>

> Dear all

>  

> Can any one please give the details of peole belonging to various vedas.

>  

> In Tamilnadu, predominantly of Krishna Yajurveda, followed by Samaveda (

Thalavarak shaka) and a few Rig Veda.

>  

> Is there any adarva vedhis left any where in India. Some 50 years back The

kanchi Paramacharya found one last pandit in Sinnar Gujrat. he sent some

students from TN to study Adarva Veda from him and now those people teach

in Tirumala Tirupathi Patasala teaching Adarva veda. However these people

belong to some other vedas but studying adarva vedas only available shaka to

keep it alive.

>  

> Can any Adarva veda people available still?  They have a different Gayatri

mantra i was told. I was told that any one aspiring to study adarva veda has to

have a second upnayanam before start studying adarva veda as the gayatri of that

veda is different.  ( ref Deivathin Kural of Kanchi Paramacharya)

>  

> Can any one give some details on this

>  

> Regards

> Sankar

>

> --- On Thu, 8/20/09, astrologer_mrutyunjay <astrologer_mrutyunjay wrote:

>

>

> astrologer_mrutyunjay <astrologer_mrutyunjay

> Gotra and Pravara

>

> Thursday, August 20, 2009, 11:35 AM

>

>

>  

>

>

>

> Dear friend,

>

> The number and nomenclature of the Gotra may be unlimited.

>

> But important thing to note that maximum permutation of

>

> Pravara is

>

> limited to 7x 7 = 49 only.

>

> Even during the periods of rishis there were people who were not followers of

any of the Rishis...

>

> so there are Gotras which

>

> do not follow any of the 49 Pravara.

>

> They are called non-arsha Gotra....

>

> who were normally during the period of the Rishis

>

> not the follower of the Vedic Culture...

>

> as following Vedic Culture and lifestyle

>

> as propounded by Gria Sutra

>

> has never been a matter of compulsion since

>

> time immemorial.

>

> So do not get surprised if people are not able to tell

>

> the name of their Pravara

>

> or even if tell the name of Gotra...

>

> which may not belong to...any Rishi.

>

> In tribal areas of Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh ...

> the tribal people

>

> also have their own Gotra showing linkage to

>

> common forefathers.

>

> Although the name of Gotra they tell you may belong

>

> to some special weapons; 'Dhanus Gotra'.... 'Parshu Gotra'

>

> some special trees/flower names/ village/place ; 'Shalgram Gotra'

>

> 'Mahuaful Gotra' etc. etc.

>

> Whether Arsha or non-Arsha, even Indian or non-Indian

>

> people of all races and all ages have some interesting

>

> penchant for tracing out thier lineage...finding out a common

>

> linkage/ heritage to strengthen their existing their socio-cultural

>

> bondage.

>

> Regards,

>

> Mrutyunjay Tripathy

> (Consultancy out of group is not free)

>

> , " sankaranarayanan k.s "

<shankypriyan@ ...> wrote:

> >

> > Dear all

> >  

> > The third kasyapa gothra should be read as Repa Kasyapa ( There is a

typographical error)

> >  

> > The gothras should be strictly followed. Now a days even in brahmins there

are arranged marriage among the same gotra. The pundits who conduct marriage

 give the girl for adoption to her own uncle before marriage, change gotra

and do the marriage.

> > regards.

> >  

> > Please, Please understand that same gotra means brothers and sisters. Those

days i was told even the pandit for shrard bojan should be from the gothra of

father for father's shrard. For mother's shrard one from father's gothra and the

other from mother's per marriage gothra.

> >  

> >  

> > regards

> >  

> > sankar

> >  

> > sankar

> >

> > --- On Tue, 8/18/09, Prashant Kumar G B <gbp_kumar@ ..> wrote:

> >

> >

> > Prashant Kumar G B <gbp_kumar@ ..>

> > FW: Useful info-The Gothra and the Pravara

> > " jyotish remedies " <>, " jotish

shastra " <>, " JV " <jyotish-vidya@ .

com>, " JG " <>

> > Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 4:29 PM

> >

> >

> >  

> >

> >

> >

> > Dear Members,

> > this is some useful info how our traditions, social structure flourished and

has almost lost, some individual has passed this to me so am passing it to all

who can understand and develop, sustain them

> >

> > in Short the Gotra classification is like what is there for all forms of

life, animals, plants do have a genre, family, species, family...

classifications the order may be a bit here and there, though it is still there

within Brahmins, it is there in all the 3 forward castes.

> >

> > in humans during the Festival of India in the USA during mid 80's THERE WAS

A STUDY OF concepts of Indian culture done there like gothra also when a person

is born in a family with a Gothra the DNA ha s unique type IN IT after all we r

scattered from some common source up above the generations where all ppl mixed

[married] and their changes can be still be seen in the distinctiveness of the

gothra/DNA

> >

> > and when women/girls got married as per tradition/Sapthasat hi by the fire

into a different gothra there was a ALTERED dna PATERN IT IS reported so too in

the case of ADOPTION by shastric rites.

> >

> > Please do not see this as a castist posting, I am looking at this only as a

scientific model used by our past generations, its practice, use may be decaying

over the decades, but concepts are v good. INTERESTING TO SAY the least. the

caste system is based on socio-ecconomic pattern, based on work, interests

persued, most of the great rishis like veda vyasa, valmiki have come from lower

casts purely by their dedication efforts have rishen to these heights

> > so has Vishwamitra from a King [kshatraya to a rishi] so there is no caste

barrier in place but ppl have inserted for vested interests later.

> >

> > rest is food for thought

> >

> > Prashant

> >

> > -

> > Dr Sesha Sai

> > Perisepalli Venkata

> > aanandaashramam@ gmail.com

> > Saturday, August 15, 2009 12:44 AM

> > The Gothra and the Pravara

> >

> > Adhyatmika Ratna,

> > Sri Yaaga Vidya Praveena, Vedanta Visarada, Sahasradhika

> > Yaagakarta

> > Dr

> > P V Sesha Sai Aswamedhayaaji

> > Camp LOS ANGELES CA USA

> > web " http://aswamedhayaa ji.com "

> > web USA

> > web HYPERLINKhttp: //aswamedhayaaji .com, e mail shodasisai (AT) gmail (DOT) com

shodasisai (AT) gmail (DOT) com http://ritualsandpr ocedures. blogspot. com

> > 13th August 2009

> > Phone 518 368

> > 7956

> > My dear friends and like minded persons

> > In the recent past, when I came across people asking me and heard other some

Vedic scholars too †" what is  " Pravara� and most of them knew

their Gothra and not their Pravara. It is not a

> > complaint against lack of knowledge of them, but circumstances would not

have

> > given opportunity to know what a Gothra is and what a Pravara. It is not

that I

> > know much about it, but there are great personalities in the mailing group

who

> > can surely enlighten on this subject, but to the extent of my source, I am

> > presenting the topic for the benefit of all. This letter is also being

posted to the

> > blog by name http://ritualsandpr ocedures. blogspot. com for further

references.

> > What is a Gothra? More or less, it is nothing

> > but a blood group, when the modern groups are a few in number, the ancient

sages

> > of India arrived at a minutest point and bifurcated the blood group into a

> > number of groups beyond the reach of the so called modern and so called

Scientific

> > world. The word " gotra " means

> > " lineage " and this word is of Sanskrit language. Among those of the

> > Brahmins, gotras are reckoned lineally. Each gotra takes the

> > name of a famous Rishi or sage who was the lineal fore bearer of that clan.

And

> > each Gotra is addressed by the suffix 'sa' or 'asa' as relevant. The concept

of

> > Gothra was the first attempt among Brahmins to classify themselves among

> > different groups. At the beginning, these genetics identified themselves by

the

> > names of various Rishis Angirasa, Atri, Gowthama, Kasyapa, Bhrigu, Vasista,

and

> > Bhraradwaja - the first seven of these are often enumerated as Saptarishis.

It

> > is to be noted that Vishwamitra was initially a Kshatriya king, later chose

and

> > rose to become an ascetic Rishi. There is a small confusion about the

> > great sage Agastya also in this regard. Therefore there are nine group

origins

> > in the system as seen above. The

> > branches thereafter started percolated down.

> > Hence the gotra was applied to the grouping stemming from

> > one of these Rishis as descendants. Over the years, the number of gotras

increased due to Descendants of original Rishi which also started new family

> > lineage or new gotras.

> > Pravara is the number of the most excellent Rishis who

> > belonged to that particular gotra to which a person belongs. Gotra is the

name

> > of the founding father. In Vedic ritual, the importance of the pravara

appears

> > to be in its use by the ritualistic for extolling his ancestry and

proclaiming,

> > in a manner as a descendant of worthy ancestors, one is fit and proper

person to

> > do the act that he is performing. The sacred thread called as Upavita or

> > Yagnopavita has close connection with the concept of pravaras related to

Brahmin

> > gotra system. While tying the knots of sacred thread, an oath is taken in

the

> > name of each one of these three or five or seven or nine of the most

excellent

> > rishis belonging to one's gotra.

> >

> > The full affiliation of a Br�hmin consists of Gothra,

> > Pravara, Sutra, and Sakha.

> >

> > For Example - A Brahmin named: Sastry: introduces

> > himself as follows: I am: Sastry: of Shrivatsa gotra, of Āpastamba

sutra, of

> > Taittiriya sh�kha of Yajurveda, of five pravaras named Bh�rgava,

Chy�vana,

> > Āpnava, Aurva and J�mdagnya

> > While the gotras were classified initially

> > according to nine (?) Rishis, the

> > Pravara was classified under the

> > names of the following seven Rishis namely, Agastya, Angirasa, Atri,

> > Bhrigu, Kashyapa, Vasista, Viswaamitra, According to the listing of authors

> > included in the verses in Vedas, the rishi Jamadagni was a descendant of

> > rishi Bhrigu while the rishis Gautam and Bharadwaja were the descendants of

rishi

> > Angirasa.

> > The pravara identifies the association of a person with

> > three or sometimes five and some times seven and interestingly sometimes

> > nine (as is seen in some places) also of the above-mentioned Rishis.

> > For example, Kashyapa Gothram has 3 rishis associated

> > with it viz. Kashyapa, Daivala and Aavatsaara

> > Some of the

> > known Gothras and Pravaras are appended hereunder for the benefit of the

readers

> > and this is subject to further modification by the learned scholars in the

> > relevant field. There are, however,

> > innumerable combinations which are not codified at one place due to

different

> > reasons, and now I appeal to all the readers to place their comments on this

and

> > add the known information in a blog created by me as http:ritualsandproc

edures.blogspot. com so that over a period of time, a

> > separate book on this subject may get published for the benefit of future

> > generations, as WE HAVE ALREADY STEPPED INTO AN AREA OF IGNORING ALL THESE

RICH

> > TEXTS OF ANCIENT TRADITIONAL SCIENCES OF INDIA. I am also trying to procure

information

> > relating to the Gothra in respect of different castes in India and IT IS TO

BE

> > NOTICED THAT EACH FAMILY IN INDIA HAS A GOTHRA IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR CASTE.

> > 1. Bharadwaja : Angirasa, Baaryhaspatya, ,

> > Bharadwaja

> > 2. Rathitara : Angirasa, Baaryhaspatya,

> > Rathitara

> > 3. Vathula or Vathulasa : Bhargava,Vaitahavya ,

> > Saavedasa

> > 4. Srivasta or Srivastasa : Bhargava, Chyaavana,

> > Aapnavaana, Aurva, Jaamadaghneya

> > 5. Salankayana : Viswaamitra, Aghamarshana, Devarata

> > 6. Shatamarshana: Angirasa, Powrukutsa,

> > Traasatasya

> > 7. Atreya: Atreya, Aarchanaasa, Syaavaasva

> > 8. Kowsika: Vishwamitra, Aghamarshana, Kowsika

> > 9. Kalabodhana/ Kalabhavasa (3 variations)

> > 1. Kalabodhana: Viswaamitra, Agamarshana,

> > Kalabodhana

> > 2. Kalabodhana: Viswaamitra, Agamarshana,

> > Kalabodhana

> > 3. Kalabhavasa: Viswaamitra, Agamarshana,

> > Kalabhavasa

> > 10. Viswaamitra: Viswaamitra, Devarata, Owtala

> > 11. Kaundinya: Vaasishta, Maitraavaruna,

> > Kaundinya

> > 12. Haritasa: Angirasa, Ambarisha, Yuvanasva,

> > Haritasa

> > 13. Gautamasa : Angirasa, Aayasya, Ausidyasa,

> > Kaakshivata, Vamadeva, Grihadugda, Gautamasa †" seven rishis

> > 14. Mowdgalya (3 Variations)

> > 1. Angirasa, Bharmyasva, Mowdgalya

> > 2. Tarkshya, Bharmyasva, Mowdgalya

> > 3. Angirasa, Dhavya, Mowdgalya

> > 15. Sandilya (3 Variations)

> > 1. Kasyapa, Aavatsaara, Daivala

> > 2. Kasyapa, Aavatsaara, Sandilya

> > 3. Kasyapa, Daivala, Asitha

> > 16. Naitruvakaasyapa: Kasyapa, Aavatsara,

> > Naitruva

> > 17. Kutsa: Angirasa, Maandhatra, Kowtsa

> > 18. Kanva (2 Variations)

> > 1. Angirasa, Ajameeda, Kanva

> > 2. Angirasa, Kowra, Kanva

> > 19. Paraasara: Vaasishta, Saaktya, Paraasara

> > 20. Aagastya: Aagastya, Tardhachyuta, Sowmavaha

> > 21. Gargi (2 Variations)

> > 1. Angirasa, Barhaspatya, Bharadwaja, upadhyay

> > 2. Angirasa, Sainya, Gaargya

> > 22. Badarayana: Angirasa, Paarshadaswa, Raatitara

> > 23. Kasyapa (3 Variations)

> > 1. Kasyapa, Aavatsaara, Daivala

> > 2. Kasyapa, Aavatsaara, Naidruva (Naitruva)

> > 3. Kasyapa, Aavatsaara, Naidruva (Naitruva),

> > Rebha, Raibha , Sandila, Saandilya

> > 24. Sunkriti (2 Variations) or Saankritya

> > Gothra

> > 1. Angirasa, Kowravidha, Saankritya

> > 2. Sadhya ,Kowravidha, Saankritya

> > 25. Angirasa, Pourukutsya, Thraasadasya

> > 26. Goutam/Gowtamasa Aangeerasa, Ayasya, Gowtamasa

> > 27. AgniVaiwaswatha: Angirasa, Barhaspthya,

> > Bharadwaja, Srukva, Agnivaiwaswatha

> > 28. Sankhyayana: Vishwamitra, Aghamarshana,

> > Devaratha

> > 29. Vishwamitra, Shraumita, Kaamakayana,

> > Devatarasa, Devaraata,

> > 30. Kapi: Angirsa, Amahaiya, Orukshaya,

> > This may not be

> > just taken only Brahmin sect, the Vysya or the Agarwal community is still

more

> > perfection as they take a bride out of their gothra as well out of the

maternal

> > side gothra too.

> >

> > Perhaps this may

> > be the reason; the Agarwal community is still maintaining their tradition

almost

> > nearer to perfection.

> >

> > The Kshatriya

> > too, more particular of observing Gothra while one among the four caste

system in the name of

> > Sudra also rely upon the same system of observing

> > Gothra or identifying themselves to a particular Gothra. Unfortunately the

 " Sudra� is mistaken as

> > an inferior set of human beings in the society, but they are not

> > so, surely

> > they are the backbone of the entire society. A king should have soldiers, a

Brahmin

> > should have students, a Vysya should have demand for their trade and

therefore

> > all sects like the so called Brahmin, Kshtriya, Vysya and Sudra are all

inter

> > dependant and can never be isolated.

> >

> > The caste system was solely on

> > their individual professions and there is no superiority or inferiority

amongst

> > each of themand this is the basic

> > fact. Unfortunately this concept is

> > misconceived and misinterpreted for the mean individual reasons of a few

select

> > individuals which have caused damage to the entire system and to speak

further

> > to HINDUISM itself.

> >

> > Well, the topic

> > is not a point of discussion for this paper, but the learned scholars, who

are

> > receiving this mail, may contribute still better on the Gothra system and

they

> > can upload their individual comments to the aforementioned blog so that the

> > viewers of future years will have all types of information on this

> > subject.

> >

> > Thanking you all

> > for your patient reading.

> > I shall be back

> > again soon.

> > Yours affly

> > HARA HARA

> > MAHADEVA

> > DR P V SESHA SAI

> > ASWAMEDHAYAAJI

> >

> >