What does gotra mean?
The Sanskrit word गोत्र (gotra) originally meant a cowshed or herd, and over time came to mean a family line: everyone descended in the male line from one ancestor. Each gotra is named after the rishi at the top of that line. Children take their father's gotra, and in many families a woman takes her husband's gotra at marriage.
The same gotra names are used across many communities and regions, so a gotra is not a caste. Two families with the same gotra may have nothing else in common.
The major gotras
| Gotra | In Hindi | Traced to |
|---|---|---|
| Kashyap Kashyapa, Kasyapa | कश्यप | Kashyapa |
| Shandilya Sandilya, Sandilyasa | शाण्डिल्य | Shandilya |
| Bharadwaj Bhardwaj, Bharadvaja | भारद्वाज | Bharadvaja |
| Vatsa Vats, Vatsya | वत्स | Vatsa |
| Atri Attri, Athreya | अत्रि | Atri |
| Gautam Gautama, Gotam | गौतम | Gautama |
| Parashar Parashara, Parasar | पराशर | Parashara |
| Kaushik Kaushika, Koushik | कौशिक | Vishwamitra (Kaushika) |
| Kaundinya Koundinya, Kondinya | कौण्डिन्य | Kaundinya |
| Garg Garga, Gargya | गर्ग | Garga |
| Vishwamitra Viswamitra, Vishvamitra | विश्वामित्र | Vishwamitra |
| Mudgal Mudgala, Maudgalya | मुद्गल | Mudgala |
| Vashishtha Vasishtha, Vashisht | वशिष्ठ | Vashishtha |
| Jamadagni Jamdagni, Jamadagnya | जमदग्नि | Jamadagni |
| Angirasa Angiras, Angirasa | आंगिरस | Angiras |
| Bhrigu Bhargava | भृगु | Bhrigu |
| Harita Haritasa, Haritha | हारीत | Harita |
| Agastya Agasthya, Agasti | अगस्त्य | Agastya |
| Upamanyu Upmanyu | उपमन्यु | Upamanyu |
| Kapil Kapila | कपिल | Kapila |
Many more gotras exist, and traditions group them under these rishis in different ways. If yours isn't listed, the same rules below still apply.
Can you marry within the same gotra?
By tradition, many Hindu families avoid it: people of the same gotra are treated as descendants of one ancestor, like distant siblings.
Indian law does not ban same-gotra marriage. The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 doesn't mention gotra at all. What it does prohibit is marriage between sapindas (close relatives within five generations on the father's side and three on the mother's) and certain listed relatives such as first cousins, unless an established custom allows it. Here's what the sapinda rule covers.
Does the same gotra mean you're related?
A shared gotra means your families trace their father's line to the same rishi, many centuries ago. It doesn't mean two people are closely related today: millions of unrelated people share every major gotra. The reverse matters more. Gotra only follows the father's line, so first cousins through your mother usually have a different gotra. A different gotra doesn't prove you're unrelated. Why gotra only sees half the family tree.
If you want to know whether the two of you are actually related, through any branch of the family, a DNA relatedness check answers it directly.