Manava Dharmashastra 3.184.3

3.184.3

ādipuruṣaḥ saṃjñākārī vidyāvittaśauryādāryādiguṇayogena khyātatamaḥ, yena kulaṃ vyapadiśyate | evaṃ tarhi sarveṣāmeva brāhmaṇādīnāmavāntaragotrabhedāḥ santīti | smaranti ca yādṛśaṃ puruṣaṃ tatsantānajāḥ puruṣā ‘vayamamuṣya kule jātā’ ityatastenaiva vyapadeśo yuktaḥ | na hi ‘somapā vayamiti’ kaścidgotratvena somapānsmarati, yathā bhṛgurgārgyagalavān | brāhmaṇānāṃ ca taireva gotravyapadeśo yuktaḥ | tāni hi mukhyāni gotrāṇi | rūḍhirūpeṇa tatra gotraśabdaḥ pravarttate | na hi teṣāṃ gotratve etallakṣaṇamasti ‘ādipuruṣaḥ saṃjñākārī gotramiti’ | anāditvādetadgotrāṇāṃ, brāhmaṇādijātivat | na hi parāśarajanmata ūrdhvaṃ pārāśaravyapadeśaḥ keṣāṃcidbrāhmaṇānām | evaṃ sati ādimattā vedasya prasajyeta | ato nityatvādetasya gotravyapadeśasyodakatarpaṇādau tadeva gotraṃ śrayitavyam | ye tu saṃjñākāriṇaste na nityāḥ, idānīṃtanāḥ | na ca nitye saṃbhavatyanityasomapādānaṃ vaidike karmaṇi yuktam | ato brāhmaṇairyathāgotraṃ gārgyāya gargagotrāya vā svadhā idaṃ udakamastviti evamādiśabdenoddeśaṃ kṛtvā tato nāmoccārya udakadānādi kartavyam | kṣatriyādīnāṃ naitādṛśo gotravyavahāro vidyate | na hi yathā brāhmaṇo gotraṃ niyataṃ smarati, evaṃ kṣatriyādayaḥ | tasmātteṣāṃ laukikameva gotram-ādipuruṣaḥ saṃjñākārī khyātatama iti | atastena gotreṇa śrāddhādau vyapadiśyante ādimatā'pi nāmadheyenaiva | na tu teṣāṃ kṣatriyāṇāṃ havirbhugitya|digotratayā śrāddhādau vyapadeśamarhanti |

‘Somapā’ as the name of their gotra;—in the manner in which people regard the names of ‘Bhṛgu’, ‘Garga’ and

‘Gālaya.’ It is by these latter names that the gotras of Brāhmaṇas should be known; as these are the principal gotras; the name ‘gotra’ applying to them by convention, and not by virtue of their fulfilling the condition mentioned in the above-mentioned definition that ‘the first progenitor, imparting his name to the family, is its gotra;’ in fact, ‘Bhṛgu,’ &c., have been known as ‘gotra’ from beginningless time, and their use in this sense is as much without beginning as the use of the caste-names, ‘Brāhmaṇa,’ and the rest. Prior to Parāśara’s birth, no Brāhmaṇas could have been named after him; hence, if the ‘gotra’ consisted in the first progenitor, &c., then the Veda (which makes mention of Parāśara as gotra) would have a beginning in time. Thus, then, since the use of the name ‘gotra’ is beginningless, it is this ‘gotra’ that is to be used in the pouring of water-libations. The persons imparting their names to families are not beginningless; they are modern; and at a Vedic rite, so long as one can make use of eternal names, there can be no justification for pronouncing names that have had a beginning in time. For these reasons, what the Brāhmaṇa should do when offering the libation of water, &c„ is to pronounce the appropriate ‘gotra- name’—such as ‘may this offering go to the Gargya,’ or ‘to one belonging to the Garga-gotra’—and then pronounce the name of the person.

Among the Kṣatriya and the other castes, however, there is no such usage regarding gotra. These latter do not retain the memory of their ‘gotra’ in the same manner as the Brāhmaṇas do. Hence, for them, the ‘gotra’ must be something pertaining to this world; and it is for these that the ‘gotra’ consists of the ‘first progenitor, the most renowned, who imparts his name to the family:’ hence it is that they are referred to in Śrāddha, etc., by this gotra-name, even though it is one that has had a beginning in time. These, Kṣatriya, etc., are not worthy of being called by such titles as ‘Havirbhuk,’ and the like.

Our answer to this is as follows:—It has to be considered here what is it that is called ‘gotra,’ As a matter of fact, the ‘gotra’ of a family is its first progenitor who imparts his name to it, being the most renowned person by virtue of his possessing such qualities as learning, opulence, bravery, nobility and the like; and it is after him that the family becomes named. Thus it is that among Brāhmaṇas and others, there are sub-divisious of gotras. The personage whom his descendants remember with such feelings as ‘we are the descendants of such and such a person,’ would thus be the one after which that particular family should be named. As a matter of fact, however, no men are found to think of themselves as being ‘Somapā’ and thus regarding