Gotra list
गोत्र सूची
A gotra is a family line traced through the father to a common ancestor, most often one of the ancient rishis such as Kashyapa or Bharadvaja. In most Hindu communities children take their father's gotra. Many communities don't arrange a marriage within the same gotra, which is why a marriage biodata gives it near the top.
Below are the main gotras as the old texts group them under their rishis, the gotras of the Agrawal community, the rules families follow, and how to write your own and your mother's gotra on a biodata. Every community keeps its own list, so check with the elders in your family before relying on any one of them.
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The rishis behind the gotras
The oldest lists trace the gotras to seven rishis, the saptarishi, with Agastya often counted as an eighth.
- Atri (अत्रि)
- His line gives the Atreya gotra, often written Atri or Atrey on biodatas.
- Bharadvaja (भारद्वाज)
- Written Bharadwaj or Bhardwaj. Garg, the Sanskrit Gargya, is one of the gotras in his group.
- Gautama (गौतम)
- Written Gautam. His group, part of the wider Angiras line, includes Angirasa and Aushanasa.
- Jamadagni (जमदग्नि)
- The father of Parashurama. His group, part of the Bhrigu line, includes Vatsa, written Vats or Vatsa.
- Kashyapa (कश्यप)
- Written Kashyap. His group includes Shandila, written Shandilya or Sandilya.
- Vasishtha (वशिष्ठ)
- Written Vashishtha or Vashisht. His group includes Parashara and Upamanyu, the Aupamanyava of the old lists.
- Vishvamitra (विश्वामित्र)
- Written Vishwamitra. His group includes Kaushika, written Kaushik or Koushik.
- Agastya (अगस्त्य)
- Often counted as the eighth rishi, with a gotra of his own name.
The main gotras, group by group
The Brahmin gotra lists in the old sutras put each gotra in a group headed by a rishi. Spellings follow the Sanskrit.
| Group | Gotras |
|---|---|
| Bhrigu (Jamadagni) | Bhargava, Chyavana, Aurva, Jamadagnya, Vatsa |
| Bhrigu, other lines | Bhargava, Daivodasa, Vainya, Partha, Shaunaka, Gartsamada |
| Gautama | Angirasa, Gautama, Kakshivata, Dairghatamasa, Aushanasa |
| Bharadvaja | Angirasa, Barhaspatya, Bharadvaja, Gargya |
| Angiras, other lines | Angirasa, Ambarisha, Mandhatra, Kautsa, Kanva, Maudgalya, Sankritya, Shaktya |
| Atri | Atreya |
| Vishvamitra | Vaishvamitra, Daivarata, Madhuchhandasa, Kaushika, Gathina, Aindra |
| Kashyapa | Kashyapa, Avatsara, Asita, Shandila, Daivala |
| Vasishtha | Vasishtha, Maitravaruna, Aupamanyava, Parasharya, Shaktya, Sankritya |
| Agastya | Agastya |
From the gotra lists of the sutras, as set out in the Gotra-Pravara-Manjari. Families write the same names in many ways, such as Kaushik for Kaushika or Shandilya for Shandila.
The Agrawal gotras
Agrawals traditionally speak of seventeen and a half gotras, though lists don't agree on every name. The list published by the Akhil Bhartiya Agrawal Sammelan includes these:
- Airan
- Bansal
- Bindal
- Garg
- Goyal
- Goyan (Gangal)
- Jindal
- Kansal
- Kuchhal
- Madhukul
- Mangal
- Mittal
- Nangal
- Singhal (Singla)
- Tayal
- Tingal
Gotras in other communities
Gotras aren't only a Brahmin custom. Many Kshatriya, Vaishya and other Hindu communities have them, as do some Jain and Sikh families, often under names of their own, such as got among Jat and Punjabi families. A community's gotras may trace back to a rishi, a founding ancestor or a place.
Among Tulu-speaking families of coastal Karnataka, the gotra passes from the mother instead of the father. If your community does it differently from the rest of this page, go by your community.
Sagotra: the same-gotra rule
Sagotra means "of the same gotra". Because a gotra is one family line, many communities see two people of the same gotra as related, and don't arrange such a marriage. Some also avoid the gotra of the mother's father, and a few look at further gotras as well.
The law doesn't forbid it. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 bars marriage between sapinda relatives and within the prohibited degrees of relationship, but says nothing against the same gotra. Following the rule is a choice each family makes for itself.
Which gotras to write on a biodata
- Your own gotra
- Your father's gotra, the one you were born into. Both sons' and daughters' biodatas give the gotra of their father's family.
- Your mother's gotra
- Her father's gotra, which is also your maternal uncle's, so it is often called the mama's gotra (मामा का गोत्र). Write it if your community avoids the mother's gotra too.
- Your grandmothers' gotras
- Some families also list the gotras of both grandmothers, because their community avoids those as well. Ask your elders which ones your family checks.
- Kuldevi or kuldevta
- Not a gotra, but often written beside it, especially in Rajasthani, Gujarati and Maharashtrian families.
If you don't know your gotra
- 1Ask the oldest relatives on your father's side. Most families remember it, even if no one has written it down.
- 2Look through old papers: wedding cards, puja records and horoscopes often name the gotra.
- 3Ask the family priest, or the priest at your family's temple, who may keep notes on the families he serves.
- 4Some families have their line recorded by the priests at Haridwar or other pilgrimage towns, who keep family registers going back many generations.
- 5If nothing turns up, many families use Kashyap by custom. On a biodata you can also leave gotra out.
Ways to write it
Copy a line that fits and change the names.
- Gotra: Kashyap
- Gotra: Bharadwaj · Mother's gotra: Vashishtha
- Gotra (self): Garg · Gotra (mama): Mittal
- गोत्र: कश्यप
- गोत्र: भारद्वाज · मामा का गोत्र: वशिष्ठ
- गोत्र: गौतम · आईचे गोत्र: अत्रि
Gotra in our biodata maker
Gotra is one of the personal details on our form, just after caste, and its heading turns into गोत्र in Hindi and Marathi. For your mother's gotra, use "Add a field" under the personal details and name it Mother's gotra, or मामा का गोत्र. Biodatas started from our Muslim and Christian pages leave the field out.
Questions
What is a gotra?
A family line traced through the father to a common ancestor, usually a rishi. People of the same gotra are taken to share that ancestor.
Can people of the same gotra marry?
Under the law, yes: the Hindu Marriage Act doesn't forbid it. Many communities avoid it by custom, so families who follow the rule check gotras before going further.
How many gotras are there?
There is no fixed number. The old lists trace the main gotras to seven or eight rishis, with dozens of gotras under them, and each community has its own list. Agrawals, for example, count seventeen and a half.
Which gotra should a girl write on her marriage biodata?
Her father's gotra, the one she was born into, and her mother's gotra too if your community checks it.
What does mama ka gotra mean?
Your mother's gotra before marriage, which is her father's and so also your maternal uncle's. Families who avoid the mother's gotra ask for it.
What gotra do I write if I don't know mine?
Ask the elders or the family priest first. If no one knows, many families use Kashyap by custom, or you can leave gotra off the biodata.
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