Gothras in Brahmins and Iyers

GOTHRAS IN BRAHMINS

·        The word Brahmin means many things to many people, resulting in confusion. 

·        One of the reasons for this confusion is Sanskrit language.  Many words in Sanskrit have many meanings.  Depending upon the context one has to take the meaning of the word.

·        The word Brahmana (hereinafter "Brahmin") means the one who knows God, one who has the knowledge of God, one who has the knowledge of Vedas, an intellectual, a priest, a teacher, a professor, a person belonging to Brahmin caste, a superior person, a text related to Vedas, and so on. 

·        Accordingly, priests in a mosque, church, a synagogue, a gurudwara etc. must all because they are all obviously, priests, supposed to have the knowledge of God and because they are intellectuals.

·        However, they may not have the knowledge of the Vedas and they may not belong to the Brahmin caste and certainly, they may not be vegetarians.

·        The word "gotra" means "lineage" in the Sanskrit language. Among those of the Brahmin caste, gotras are reckoned patrilineally. Each gotra takes the name of a famous Rishi or sage who was the patrilineal forebearer of that clan. And each Gotra is addressed by the suffix 'sa' or 'asa' as relevant. Many lines of descent from the major rishis were later grouped separately.

·        Jamadagni, Bharadvâja, Gautama, Atri, Vasishtha, Kashyapa and Agastya are the primary 7 rishis or saptharishi; Vishvâmitra is the 8^th rishi but was a khsatriya king by birth and became rishi by deeds and thoughts. The progeny or offspring (apatya) of these 8 sages is declared to be gotras.

·        The major gotras were divided into ganas (subdivisions) and each gana was further divided into groups of families.

·     The term gotra was then frequently started being applied to the ganas and to the sub-ganas.

The full affiliation / description of a brāhamana consists of (1)gotra, (2)pravaras (3)sutra (of Kalpa), (4)shakha.

Every 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 sub-gana that is now commonly referred to as gotra. Over the years, the number of gotras increased due to:

1.    Descendants of original rishi also started new family lineage or new gotras,

2.    By inter marriage with other sub-groups of the same caste, and

3.    Inspired by another rishi whose name they bear as their own gotra.

·      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 ritualist for extolling his ancestry and proclaiming, "as a descendant of worthy ancestors, I am a fit and proper person to do the act I am performing."

Some examples of pravara rishis

Gothra	pravara	rishaya
1.    Athreya	Athreya Archanaanasa, syavaaswa	traya risheya
2.    Naidruva kasyapa	Kasyapa, Avathsara, Naidruva	traya risheya
3.    Gargeya	Aangeerasa, Chainya, Gargya	traya risheya
Gargeya	Aangeerasa, Barhaspathya, Baradwaja, Chainya	Gargya    pancharisheya
4.    Koundinya	Vasishta, Maithra varuna, Koundinya	traya risheya
5.    Koushika	Vaiswamithra, Aagamarshana, Koushika	traya risheya
6.    Gowthama	Aangirasa-aayasya-gowthama	traya risheya
7.    Baradwaja	Aangeerasa, Barhaspathya, Bharadwaja	traya risheya
8.    Haritha	Aangeerasa, Ambareeksha, Younaswa	traya risheya
9.    Sounaka	Garthsamadha	Ekarsheya
10. Chandilya	Kasyapa, Aavathsara, Naidruva, Reba,	Saptha risheya
Chandilya	Raibha, Choundilya, Chandilya	Saptha risheya

·     During the sutra period, roughly between 1000 BC to 200 BC, Brahmins became divided into various Sakhas 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 Brahmins.

·    The teachings of these distinguished rishis are called sutras.  Every Veda has its own sutras.

·     The 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 mixed prose and verse. 

·      These sutras are based on divine Vedas and are manmade and hence are called Smritis, meaning “recollected or remembered.” These Srutis include not only the 4 Vedas (the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda), but also their respective Brahmanas.

Iyers:

·      The term 'Iyer' is derived from 'Iyya' which means 'Sir' in Tamil and which might have been derived from 'Arya' of Sanskrit, which means a 'gentleman'. Iyers are Tamil speaking Brahmins originating from South India. The earliest group of Brahmins to come to Tamil Nadu is largely known as Gurukuls. They have been here from very ancient times and were primarily invited to be temple priests in the early Chola period. Many of them were great Vedic scholars. They conducted the coronation of the kings and acted as their spiritual advisors and Gurus. They also acted as the Gurus to the villages and the towns where the temples were located. They advised people on various matters including fixing of auspicious time for commencing important ventures. Many of them were the great exponents of Vedic Astrology and Ayurvedic Medicine.

·      They are supposed to be followers of Baudhyana sutra and are divided as 'Kanchipuram', 'Tiruvalangadu' and 'Thirukazhakundram' Gurukuls. It is interesting that all the three are the names of ancient towns and temples around Kanchipuram. This clearly indicates that the earliest migration was to Kanchipuram.

·     Kanchipuram is one of the two most ancient cities of India, the other being Varanasi (Kashi). The linkage between the Varanasi (Kashi) and Kanchi has existed from earliest times and has been facilitating the migration of priests between the North and the South. It is possible that Kanchipuram, Tiruvangadu and Tirukalikundram were the first destinations for the Gurukuls who arrived.

·        Iyers were initially confined to the state of Tamil Nadu they stayed and worked there till they were redeployed to other interior temples and towns. A few centuries back, some of them migrated and settled down in various parts of Kerala. They integrated themselves into their new homeland and built up an identity of their own.

·     The first wave of Iyers settled down in Palakkad district at the beginning of the medieval period. Migrations to the Travancore and Cochin regions took place mostly in the 16th and 17th centuries AD. Most of the Diwans or Prime Ministers of the princely states of Travancore and Cochin were Tamil Brahmins. The migration of Tamil Brahmins to Travancore was accelerated by the invitation of the Maharaja of Travancore to participate in the Murajapam festival of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple. This created a settlement of Pattars in Trivandrum, around Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Their slang is different from the Iyers settled in Palakkad, and is more close to the Thiruvananthapuram slang which prevailed in the city. 

·      The people of Tamil Nadu identified them as Palakkad Brahmins or Palakkad Iyers while the people of Kerala referred to them as Pattars. The word 'pattar' is derived from the word 'bhattar', a Sanskrit word indicating Brahmins.

·     The mother tongue of all iyers is no doubt Tamil but the form of Tamil that a Kerala Iyer speaks is modified to a large extent by their constant interaction with Malayalam. Malayalam which has very large number of words owing allegiance to Sanskrit and which is endowed by the most phonetic alphabets among the Indian languages has influenced the way that a Kerala Iyer speaks and even recites Sanskrit Slokas.

·     An Iyer considers that cleanliness is more important than Godliness. He is able to live a very religious life side by side with adapting himself to modern life. The Kerala Iyers have preserved the traditional festivals as celebrated by them in Tamil Nadu and have added have added a few festivals from Kerala. But the hallmark of their celebration is its sober nature. Much of the fan fare associated with festivals in Tamil Nadu is absent in Kerala.

·     The modern Iyer spends a part of his earnings in repair and upkeep of the temples and institutions in his village knowing really well that it is only a matter of years when there may not be any more Iyers in his village. He makes it a point to go to his village every year during temple festivals in his village. He is very liberal outside but once he reaches his hearth, the religious beliefs of his forefathers descend on him.

·     He brings up his children, telling them that the only property that he can leave to them is education. Because of this, generation to generation there is progress in his family status and this has produced the very pleasant individual who is at peace within him and makes great contributions to his society and its culture.