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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