History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c23.243

v2.c23.243

Usually however a person is referred to in the Vedic literature by two names. In some cases it is his own name and a gotra name e. g. Medhyātithi Kāṇva (Ṛg. VIII. 2. 40), Hiraṇyastūpa Āṅgirasa (Ṛg. X. 149. 5), Vatsaprī Bhālandana (Tai. S. V. 2. 1. 6), Bālāki Gārgya (Bṛ. Up. II. 1. 1), Cyavana Bhārgava (Ait. Br. 39. 7). In other cases a man is referred to by his own name and another name derived from a country or locality e. g. Kaśu Caidya (Ṛg. VIII. 5. 37), Bhīma Vaidarbha (Ait. Br. 35. 8), Durmukha Pāñcāla (Ait. Br. 39. 23), Janaka Vaideha (Bṛ. Up. III. 1. 1), Ajātaśatru Kāśya (Bṛ. Up. II. 1. 1). In some cases a matronymic is added to a person's name e. g. Dīrghatamā Māmateya (Ṛg. I. 158. 6), Kutsa Ārjuniye (son of Arjunī, Ṛg. IV. 26. 1, VII. 19. 2, VIII. 1. 11), Kakṣīvat Auśija (son of a woman called Uśik, Ṛg. I. 18. 1, Vāj. S. III. 28),⁵⁵⁴ Prahlāda Kāyādhava (son of Kayādhū, Tai. Br. I. 5. 10), Mahīdāsa Aitareya (son of Itarā, Chān. Up. III. 16.7). In the vaṁśa added at the end of the Bṛ. Up. there are about forty sages with matronymic names. The practice of mentioning a man by reference to his mother's name or to his mother's father's gotra was continued till later times, as will be shown later on. The most usual method, however, of referring to a person in the Ṛg. and also in other Vedic works was to state his name along with another derived from his father's name. For example, Ambarīṣa, Ṛjrāśva, Sahadeva and Surādhas are all called Vārṣāgira (son of Vṛṣāgir, Ṛg. I. 100. 17); king Sudās is called Paijavana (son of Pijavana, Ṛg. VII. 18. 22), Devāpi is Ārṣṭiṣeṇa (son of Ṛṣṭiṣeṇa, Ṛg. X. 98. 5-6), Śaṁyu Bārhaspatya (Tai. S. II. 6. 10), Bhṛgu Vāruṇi (Ait. Bṛ. 13. 10 and Tai. Up. III. 1), Bharata Dauṣṣanti (Śatapatha XIII. 5. 4. 11, Ait. Bṛ. 39. 9), Nābhānediṣṭha Mānava (Ait. Br. 22. 9).