GOTHRA SAGES.
Compiled by Sri Gopalakrishna Ramaiyer,
(Retired AGM, BSNL) Tambaram, Chennai.
Introduction.
There are 49
established Lead Hindu Gothras (or Gothram). All members of a particular Gothra
are believed to possess certain common characteristics by way of nature or
profession.
The term Gothra was
used in its present sense for the first time in the Brahmanas. It was
systematised by about the 4th century BC 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 Manvanthara. We are in the seventh
Manvanthara now.
Many of the seven sages
have been repeated and replaced. In the first manvanthara the saptharshies were
Marichi, Atri, Angeerasa, Pulasthia,Pulaha Kratu
and Vasistha. They are believed to be the mind-born sons of Brahma.
According to the Baudhâyanas'rauta-sûtra
Vishvâmitra, Jamadagni, Bharadvâja, Gautama, Atri, Vasishtha, Kashyapa and
Agastya are 8 sages; the progeny of these eight sages is declared to be Gothras.
Index
Section
I)
1. Gouthama Gothra 2.
Garga Gothra 3. Agasthia Gothra 4. Bhargava Gothra 5. Bharadwaja & 6.
Atri Gothra.
Section
II) 1. Haritha Gothra. 2. viswamithra Gothra 3. Vasistha
Gothra 4. Vadula Gothra 5. Upamanyu
Gothra 6. Shounaka Gothra & 7. Sankrithi Gothra.
Section III) 1.
Moudgalya Gothra 2. Sandilya Gothra 3. Salakhyana Gothra
4. Raivata Gothra 5. Koundinya Gothra 6. Mandaya Gothra 7. Maitreya
Gothra & 8. Katayana Gothra.
Section IV)
1. Dhanwantari Gothra 2. Jamadagni Gothra 3. Kanva Gothra &
4. Kātyāyana Gothra.
Section
I
1.
Gouthama Gothra 2. Garga Gothra 3. Agasthia Gothra 4. Bhargava Gothra 5.
Bharadwaja & 6. Atri Gothra.
1. Gouthama Gothra.
Gautama Maharishi is
one of the Saptarishis of the current Manvantara (seventh). He was one of the
Maharishis of Vedic times, known to have been the discoverer of Mantras --
'Mantra-drashtaa', in Sanskrit
The Rig Veda has
several suktas that go with his name. He was the son of Rahugana, belonging to
the line of Angiras. The Devi Bhagavatam says that the river Godavari is so
named because of its association with Gautama. He had two sons by name Vamadeva
and Nodhas, both themselves discoverers of Mantras
There is a hymn called
Bhadra in the Sama Veda which again is ascribed to Gautama Maharishi. His wife
is Ahalya,
The Puranas speak of
the story wherein it is described how Gautama won the hand of Ahalya by
perambulating the divine cow.
The Chief priest of
King Janaka of Mithila, by name Shatananda, was the son of Gautama and Ahalya.
Gautama's sixty-year long penance is mentioned in the Shanti parva of the
Mahabharata
The Narada purana
describes the story of the 12-year famine during which Gautama fed all the
Rishis and saved them.
The Brahmaanda-purana
mentions that this Gautama initiated one of the sub-branches of the Raanaayani
branch of Sama Veda.
Some famous disciples
of Gautama were Praachina-yogya, Shaandilya, Gaargya, and Bharadwaja.
According to the
Ramayana, Rishi Gautama once went to take bath in the river Ganges early
morning. The king of the devas, Indra, was fascinated with Gautam's wife,
Ahalya. Indra came in the form of Gautam and made love to Ahalya ..
Gauatama was also the
author of Dharma-sutra known as Gautama Dharma sutra [2] [3]. It is in fact the
earliest Dharma Sutra
Sage
Gautama was the most ancient sage of all Brahmin lawgivers. He was quoted
by Baudhayana and belonged to Samaveda School.
Gautama's teachings are called Gautamasutra or Gautamasmriti.
Gautamas Brahmins are
originally settled in Brij region of North India
2.
Garga Gothra
Garga is the son of
Rishi Bharadwaja and Suseela . Gargya
(son of Garga) is the author of
some of the Sukthas of the Atharvana Veda. Sage garga was the family priest of
the family of Nanda (the foster-father of Krishna). He named child
as "Krishna" after receiving the name by meditation. Garga is
the author of Garga Samhita.
The Brihat Parasara
Hora Sastra In this sastra in chapter 21, Parasara quotes Garga and Brahma on
the effects of the 10th bhava (house).
Sri Prasanna Parvathi
Sametha Gargeshwari temple near Mysore is named after the Garga where
Ardhanareeswara appeared before him.
3.
Agsthaia Gothram
Agastya
was a Vedic sage. Agastya and his clan are also credited to have
"authored" many mantras of the Rig Veda Agastya is also the author of
Agastya Samhita In some reckonings, Agastya is the greatest of the Seven Sages
or Saptarshis. The word is also written as Agasti. A-ga means a mountain, Asti,
thrower
Agastya the Rishi, was
born of Gods Varuna, from Urvashi .Another reference to him
is in the Mahabharata in Sauptikaparva as the teacher of Guru Drona.
As with all other
Hindus, it was necessary for Agastya to marry and sire a son, in order to
fulfill his duties to the Manus. Once he resolved upon doing this, Agastya
pursued an unusual course of action.
By his yogic powers, he
created a female infant who possessed all the special qualities of character and
personality that would be appropriate in the wife of a renunciate. At this time,
the noble and virtuous king of Vidarbha was childless and was
undergoing penances and prayers for the gift of a child. Agastya arranged for
the child he had created to be born the daughter of that noble king of Vidarbha.
The child was named
"Lopamudra" by her parents. Agastya approached the king and sought the
hand of his daughter when she was grown up. She was utterly intent upon
exchanging the palace of her father the king for the forest-hermitage of
Agastya. Lopamudra and Agastya were duly married and lived a life of
extraordinary felicity. It
is believed that they had two sons - Bringi & Achuthan. In Mahabharata (Vana
Parva: Tirtha-yatra Parva), there is mention of his penance at Gangadwara
(Haridwar), with the help of his wife, Lopamudra (the princess of Vidharba) [1].
Agastya is famous for being the first siddhar in the siddhars tradition.
He created many medicines, and jadhakam( Agasthia nadi?), mandhrikam and he said
all of them.
Two of his students and
disciples were Therayar and Tholkappiar.
According to
Akilattirattu Ammanai, the religious book of Ayyavazhi, Agastya was created from
the mind of lord Siva in order to offer boons to Kaliyan (See:Boons offered to
Kaliyan). As per the order of Siva, Agastya offered many boons including all
worldly knowledge to him.
Sage Agastya appeared
to Rama when he was despondent at the impending war with Ravana and instructed
him in the use of Aditya Hridayam, a hymn praising the Sun God. Agastya also
composed Saraswati Stotram.
4.
Bhargava Gothram
Maharishi Bhrigu was
one of the seven great sages, one of the Saptarshis in ancient India, one of
many Prajapatis (the facilitators of Creation) created by Brahma (The God of
Creation), the first compiler of predictive astrology, and also the author of
Bhrigu Samhita, the astrological (Jyotish) classic written during the Vedic
period, Treta yuga, most probably around 3000 BC.
Bhrigu is a ManasaPutra
(wish-born-son) of Lord Brahma, who simply wished him into existence, to assist
in the process of creation, for this reason he is also considered one of the
Prajapatis.
He is married to
Khyati, the daughter of Daksha. He has two sons by her, named Dhata and Vidhata.
He had one more son,
who is better known than Bhrigu himself - Shukra. The sage Chyavana
coming in the pravara of Srivatsa Gothra is also his son.
Sage Bhrigu finds
mention in the Vayu Purana, where he shown present during the great Yagna of
Daksha Prajapati (his father-in-law).
The Bhrigus, also known
as Bhargavas, are a clan of sages descending from the ancient fire-priest
Bhrigu. They instituted the ritual of offering the juice of the Soma plant to
the old deities This treatise is said to contain over 5 million horoscopes, in
which he wrote down the fate of every being in the universe.
Bhrgu lineage: Bhrgu
was the son of Brahma. (Mahabharata, Pauloma Parva)
Bhrgu descendants:
Bhargavas: Bhrugu was the father of Sukracharya, the grandfather of Devayani and
the great-grandfather of Yayati and the great-great-grandfather of Yadu.
Indra's daughter Jayanti was married to Bhrgu's son Sukracharya (who also
called Kavya). (Devi Bhagavatham).
Bhrgu was the
grandfather Rchka (Richika), great-grandfather of Jamadagni,
great-great-grandfather of Parasurama. Rchka was the son of Cyavana.
(Mahabharata).
Cyavana was the son of
Bhrgu' through wife Pauloma, who
married Sukanya.
Bhrgu and Bharadwaja
had discussions on many subjects. (Mahabharata).
5.
Bharadwaja Gothra
The Marut Devatas found
sage Bharadwaja near ganga river, raised him and taught him about the Vedas. He
was adopted by Bharata, the son of Sakuntala and Dushyanta.
He performed a yajna so
that his foster father Bharata would have another son (Bhumanyu) and handed that
kingdom back to him.
He was a disciple of Gauthama Maharshi as well as of Valmiki. He was a
first hand witness to the incident of the Krauncha birds.
He married Suseela and
had a son called Garga. His son Dronacharya was born as a result of his
attraction to an Apsara Ghrtaci. He trained Drona in use of weapons. Drona also
learnt the use of weapons from Agnivesha, Parasurama's student and from
Parasurama himself.
Bharadwaja had a
daughter called Devavarnini. She was given in marriage to Visravas and was the
mother of Kubera.
Yajnavalkya, the author
of the Satapatha Brahmana was a descendant of Bharadwaja.
Bharadwaja was a host
to Dasaratha's son Bharata when he was en route to meeting Sri Rama, to
persuade him to return to Ayodhya.
Bharadwaja had a debate
with Bhrugu about the caste system and he said that physiologically there was no
difference between members of any caste. He performed the Putrakameshti yajnam
for Divodasa, so that he could get a son.
Bharadwaja's Vedic
mantras were placed in the sixth Mandala of the Rig Veda by Veda Vyasa.
Dharmasutra and
Srautasutra were written by Bharadwaja. The manuscript of the latter was in
Pandu script and is available with the Visvavidyalaya of Bombay(Mumbai).
As per the Rktantra,
pratisakhya of the samaveda, Brahma taught grammar to Brhaspati who taught it to
Indra, who in turn taught it to Bharadwaja.
He was one of the great
sages (rishis) descendant of rishi Angirasa, whose accomplishments are detailed
in the Puranas.
6.
Atri Gothra.
In Hinduism, Attri is a
legendary bard and scholar, and a son of Brahma, and one of the Saptarishis in
the seventh, i.e the present Manvantara .
Attri is also a
rishi present in all manvantras. He was among the three main seers who
propounded the sacred thread (after Brihaspati) which has three strands
symbolising Creation (Brahma and the letter A), sustenance (Vishnu and the
letter U) and Dissolution (Shiva{m} and the letter M).
Atri Gothra is from the lineage of Brahmarsi Atri and Anusuya Devi.
Brahmarsi Atri is the seer of the fifth mandala (book) of the Rigveda. He had
many sons, including Soma, Datta, and Durvasa.
Atri's wife is Anasuya
or Anusiya devi, a daughter of Kardama Prajapati and an embodiment of chastity.
Rama, the son of
Dasaratha, visited Atri Maharishi's Ashram during his fourteen years of stay in
the forest. It was Atri who showed the way to Dandakaranya forest to Rama, after
showering his hospitality on him.
There were also other great Rishis in that line:
Mudgala, Uddaalaki, Shaakalaayani, Chaandogya, etc.Attri-samhita and
Attri-smriti are two works attributed to Attri.
a. Haritha Gothra. b.
viswamithra Gothra c.Vasistha Gothra d.Vadula Gothra e. Upamanyu Gothra
f.shounaka Gothra g. sankrithi Gothra.
Section
II
1.
Haritha Gothra. 2. viswamithra Gothra 3. Vasistha Gothra 4. Vadula Gothra
5. Upamanyu Gothra 6. Shounaka Gothra & 7. Sankrithi Gothra.
1.
HARITHA GOTHRA.
Harit/Harita was one of
the great kings of Suryavansha. Brahmins with Harita Gothra are the descendants
of Harit The Pravara of this Gothra is Angiras, Ambarisha, Yuvanaswa. Ambarisha
and Yuvanaswa were also great kings of Suryavansha and ancestors of Lord Rama.
In the Vishnu Purana it
is said, "The son of Ambarísha, the son of Mándhátri, was Yuvanáśwa;
his son was Harita, from whom the Angirasa Háritas were descended"[1].
Sri Ramanuja was also
of Harita Gothra.
2.
VISWAMITHRA GOTHRA
Brahmarshi Vishvamitra
is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient times in India. He is
also credited as the author of most of Mandala 3 of the Rigveda
The story of
Vishvamitra is narrated in the Balakanda of Valmiki Ramayana[1]. The Mahabharata
adds that Vishvamitra's relationship with Menaka resulted in a daughter,
Shakuntala whose story is narrated in the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata.
Vishvamitra was a king
in ancient India, also called Kaushika ("the descendant of Kusha"). He
was a valiant warrior and the great-grandson of a great king named Kusha. The
Valmiki Ramayana, prose 51 of Bala Kanda, 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. It is taken for granted readers are familiar to viwamithra much
than other sages.
The Vishnu Purana and
Harivamsha chapter 27 (dynasty of Amaavasu) of Mahabharatha narrates the birth
of Vishwamitra.
3.
Birth of Viswamithra
According to Vishnu
Purana[2], kushika married a damsel belonging to Puru-kutsa dynasty and had a
son by name Gadhi who had a daughter named Satyavati(not to be confused with
Satyavati of Mahabharata).
Satyavati was married
to an old Brahman known as Richika who was foremost among the race of Bhrigu.
Richika desired a son having the qualities of a Brahman, and so he gave
Satyavati a sacrificial offering (charu) which he had prepared to achieve this
objective. He also gave Satyavati's mother another charu to make her conceive a
son with the character of a Kshatriya at her request. But Satyavati's mother
privately asked Satyavati to exchange her charu with her. This resulted in
Satyavati's mother giving birth to Vishvamitra, the son of a Kshatriya Gadhi
with the qualities of a Brahman; and Satyavati gave birth to Jamadagni, the
father of Parasurama, a Brahman with qualities of a Kshatriya.
After many trials and
undergoing many austerities, Vishvamitra at last obtained the title of
Brahmarishi from Vasishta himself
During this time he had
a daughter named Shakuntala (who appears in the Mahabharata) with Menaka, an
apsara in the court of Indra. Son of Shakuntala became a great emperor. He came
to be known as Emperor Bharata and it is in his name that the land of India got
its name Bharat.
Menaka
episode and bith of Sakunthala.
Viswamithra earlier
name was Kousika. Kaushika knows that Menaka genuinely loves him, so with great
sorrow he curses her just to be parted from him forever. Kaushika's love of
Menaka is considered to have been intense and passionate beyond estimation.
Rambha
episode.
This is brought to
light to Kaushika when he angrily curses Rambha, an apsara sent by Indra to
seduce Kaushika again, to become a stone for a thousand years.
Trisanku
episode
When a proud King
Trisanku asked his guru, Vasishta, to send him to heaven in his own body, the
guru responded that the body cannot ascend to heaven.
King Trisanku then
asked Vasishta's seven sons to send him to heaven. The sons, outraged that
Trisanku should not come to them when their father had refused, cursed him to be
a chandala, or untouchable.
Having taken pity on
Trishanku, he willingly exhausted all the punya he gained from his tapas, to
enable him to ascend to the heavens. Angered, Visvamitra used his yogic powers
and ordered Trisanku to rise to heaven. Miraculously, Trisanku rose into the sky
until he reached heaven, where he was pushed back down by Indra.
Enraged even more by
this, the powerful Visvamitra then commenced the creation of another heaven for
Trisanku.
Trisanku, however, did
not enjoy Trisanku Svarga, he remained fixed in the sky and was transformed into
a constellation.
In the process of
forming a new universe, Vishvamitra used up all the tapas he had gained from his
austerities. Therefore after the Trisanku episode, Vishvamitra had to start his
prayers again to attain the status of a Brahma Rishi, to equal Vashistha.
Harishchandra's
Sacrifice( not much known).
While undertaking a
penance, Kaushika helps a boy named Shunashepa who has been sold by his parents
to be sacrificed at Harishchandra's yagna to please Varuna, the God of the
Oceans. The king's son Rohit does not want to be the one sacrificed, as was
originally promised to Varuna, so young Sunashep is being taken. A devastated
and terrified Sunashepa falls at the feet of Kaushika, who is deep in
meditation, and begs for his help.
Kaushika teaches secret
mantras to Sunashepa. The boy sings these mantras at the ceremony, and is
blessed by Indra and Varuna, and Harishchandra's ceremony is also completed.
In the Indian epic
Ramayana, Vishvamitra is the preceptor of Rama, prince of Ayodhya and the
seventh Avatara of Vishnu, and his brother Lakshmana.
There are two Gothras,
or lineages, bearing the name of Visvamitra.
Visvamitra
Gothra off shoots
People belonging to the
Visvamitra Gothra consider Brahmarishi Visvamitra as their ancestor.
There is an off-shoot
of "Vishvamitra Gothra" called "Chakita Vishvamitra Gothra more
likely, explanation, is that a group of descendants decided to split from the
main group and started their own branch of this line.
People belonging to
Kaushika (Kaushik/ Kousika/Kousikasa/Koushika/Kausika) Gothra take Rajarishi
Kausika as their root.
Kausika was one of the
names of Visvamitra.11 Royal clans of 96 clan of Marathas belong to Kaushik
Gothra including the illustrious house of Shivaji and Rashtrakutas
Some brahmins in South
Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh also have Kaushik/Koushik as a family
Gothra. Some of the kumauni region brahmin like Bhatt also belongs to Kaushik
Gothra.
4.
VASISTHA GOTHRA
Vasistha, in Hindu
mythology was one of the Saptarishis (Seven Great Sages Rishi) in the seventh,
i.e the present Manvantara,[1] and the Rajpurohit / Rajguru of the Suryavamsha
or Solar Dynasty. He was the manasaputra of Brahma. He had in his possession the
divine cow Kamadhenu, and Nandini her child, who could grant anything to their
owners.
Arundhati is the name
of the wife of Vashisht Vashisht is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of
the Rigveda. Vashisht and his family are glorified in RV 7.33.
Sage Vashishtha was
Ram's guru and the Rajpurohit of "Ikshwaku" dynasty. He was a peace
loving, selfless, intelligent and great Rishi. He had established Gurukula
(residential college) on the banks of river "Saraswati", where he and
his wife "Arundhati" were taking care of thousands of students stayed
there and studied there and Vashishtha Rishi was the chief principal.
Regarding sage VASISTHA
not much familiar points are only told.
It is taken for granted readers are familiar to VASISTHA too
much than other sages.
DILEEPA
EPISODE
King Dileepa was a king
of the Raghuvamsha dynasty. He had a wife named Sudakshina, but they had no
children. For this reason, Dileepa visited the sage Vashisht in his ashram, and
asked him for his advice. Vashisht replied that they should serve the cow
Nandini, child of Kamadhenu, and perhaps if Nandini was happy with their
service, she would grant them with a child .after worship he got a son.
YOGAVASISTHA
Members seeing the
serial "Engae brahminan" in Jeya TV may be recollecting the compliment of
book Yogavasistha to Ashok during his upanayanam. Yoga Vasistha is an ancient
scripture narrated by sage Vasistha to Rama. A unique and an extremely profound
discourse, that provides innumerable insights and secrets to the inner world of
consciousness. This extremely huge scripture (English translation about 6.5 Mb)
covers all the topics that relate to the spiritual study of a seeker.
Rama, the eldest son of
Dasaratha, after completing a pilgrimage of holy places returns to the palace.
After his return, he is constantly found wandering lost in thought and
completely disenchanted with the worldly life and the pleasures of the kingdom
Vasistha asks for Rama to be brought before him.
Rama is then brought to
the palace and Dasaratha asks him what is bothering him. Rama then explains his
disenchantment with worldly things and expresses sadness at the miserable life
as a worldly man.
The ensuing answer to
Rama's questions forms the entire scripture that is Yoga Vasistha.
After the flood of the
matsya avataram, Vasishtha and his wife Arundhati may have had a hermitage on the banks of the river Saraswati,
but they spent a lot of time at Ayodhya, the capital of the Kosala kingdom
.
Arundhati was a lot
younger than Vasishtha. While at Ayodhya, Vasishtha not only taught Sri Rama,
but was an advisor to his father, Dasaratha as well. Vasishtha was a
contemporary of King Nimi (Janaka's Poorvaja (previous born)) and Gautama
Mahrashi.
5.
VADULA GOTHRA
Vadula was a Rishi who
gave his name to a Gothra, or a line of descent, commonly amongst Brahmins.
Vadula Maharishi was reportedly prone to great distraction, which some ascribe
to deep, consciousness-expanding meditation.
NOTE:- Nothing more
than this I could collect of this sage. I request learnt members to add
to my write up .
6.
UPAMANYU GOTHRA
The Kambojas are a very
ancient Kshatriya tribe of the north-western parts of the Indian subcontinent,
of what now forms north-eastern Afghanistan and southern parts of Tajikstan.
Upamanyu was one such Rsi of Kamboja lineage who finds frequent mention in
ancient Indian texts like Rig Veda, several Puranas and the epic Mahabharata.
Upamanyu is the name of
a Vedic Rsi who finds reference in Book I, Hymn 102. 9 of the Rig Veda [4], Siva
Purana, Linga Purana, Kurma Purana and also in Adi Parava [7] as well as in
Anushasana Parava of epic Mahabharata [8] [9].
Upamanyu's Guru was
so pleased with him that he blessed him with instant memory and told him
that he will know the Vedas and Dharamshashtras (other religious texts)
automatically without any effort.
Scholars including S.
K. De, N. Chaudhury write that 'Upamanyu was also the epic promulgator of the
Shaivism.
His hermitage was in
the mountains of Himalayas [13]. His father was the sage Vyaghrapada [14
Upamanyu, a pupil of Ayoda Dhaumya also received his Vedic educ
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