History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v2.c26.235.3

v2.c26.235.3

His argument is : just as, though all persons are men, some are called brāhmaṇas, so among brāhmaṇas certain persons are known by immemorial usage (or convention) as belonging to certain gotras like Vasiṣṭha and the sūtra-kāras lay down that a certain gotra has certain pravaras; so the word gotra is applied to Vasiṣṭha and other sages by *rūḍhi* (by convention or long-standing usage). It cannot be supposed that a person called Parāśara was born at a certain time and then his descendants came to be called Parāśaras. In that case the Veda would not be *anādi* (beginningless), as it is supposed to be, since it mentions Parāśara, Vasiṣṭha &c. So gotra is *anādi* like the brāhmaṇa caste and the Veda. The word is also secondarily used to denote a person, who is very illustrious on account of his learning, wealth, valour or generosity, who thereby gives a name to his descendants and then becomes the founder of the family. This is *laukika gotra*. But this is not the meaning of gotras which brāhmaṇas have. The secondary meaning may apply to the word gotra when used in the case of kṣatriyas'.¹¹³¹ The Mit. on Yāj. I. 53 says 'gotra is that which is known from tradition handed down in the family.'¹¹³² Each gotra is associated with one, two, three or five sages (but never four or more than five) that constitute the pravara of that gotra.¹¹³³ The gotras are arranged in groups, e. g. there are according to the Āśvalāyana-śrauta-sūtra four subdivisions of the Vasiṣṭha gaṇa, viz.