Buddha: His Life, his Doctrine, his Order c11.s2.13

c11.s2.13

From these data it appears to me to follow with great probability, that according to that view of custom which is disclosed by the Buddhist and Jainist texts, every family of the Khattiya as well as of the Brâhmana caste bears the gentile name of one of the Vedic Brahman-gottas. If in the case of kings like Bimbisâra or Pasenadi such a gotta cannot be pointed to, the reason of this seems not to be that they had no gotta name, but rather that the appellation mahârâja or deva was looked on as more respectful and consequently more correct than Vâsettha or Gotama.