Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s12.361

v1.c3.s12.361

Gotra occurs several times in the Rigveda¹ in the account of the mythic exploits of Indra. Roth² interprets the word as ‘cowstall,’ while Geldner³ thinks ‘herd’ is meant. The latter sense seems to explain best the employment which the term shows in the later literature as denoting the ‘family’ or ‘clan,’ and which is found in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad.⁴