The Gotra or the Lineage System

Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash

Does the Gotra or the lineage system exist for everybody?

Yes. It applies to everybody and why should we stop at that? It is there for every creature on Earth.

An example of this is the Aranya Kandam of Valmiki Ramayanam.

In the fourteenth Sarka of Aranya Kandam, the birth of all the birds, beasts, trees, etc. are narrated.

It starts like this:

First there were seventeen Prajapathis that were born initially.

They were in the order

1. Kardhama
2. Vishrudha
3. Sesha
4. Samashraya
5. Bahuputhira
6. Sthanu
7. Marici
8. Atri
9. Kradhu
10. Pulasthiya
11. Angirasa
12. Prasedas
13. Pulahar
14. Daksha
15. Vivasvan
16. Arishtanemi and lastly
17. Kashyapa

Daksha Prajapathi had sixty daughters and he gave eight of his daughters to Kasyapa Prajapathi, in marriage.

The eight were

1. Aditi
2. Diti
3. Dhanu
4. Kalika
5. Tamira
6. Krodhavasa
7. Manu
8. Anala

Kasyapa Prajapathi was very pleased with his wives and was full of devotion and thanks towards his father-in-law.

He then turned towards his wives and said they would beget children like him who would support all three worlds.

What are the three worlds? The three worlds are Earth, Atmosphere, and Sky.

Of these, Aditi gave birth to twelve suns, eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, and two Aswini Devas.

Diti gave birth to Asuras, who were powerful and they initially ruled this earth with all its forests and oceans.

Dhanu begot a son called Aswagreeva and Kalika begot Naraka, a son and a daughter by the name of Kalika.

Tamira begot five daughters named Krounchi, Paasi, Shyeni, Dhritarashtri, and Suki.

Krounchi begot owls, Paasi begot Chicken.

Shyeni begot Eagles and Vultures.

The beautiful Dhritarashtri begot Swans and birds.

Suki begot a girl called ‘Nathai’.

Nathai begot Vinatha.

Krodhavasa begot ten girls called

1. Mirugi
2. Mirugamandhai
3. Hari
4. Bathramadhai,
5. Madhangi
6. Saardhuli
7. Swetha
8. Surabhi
9. Surasa and
10. Kadhru.

All the animals that you see in forests, villages, and towns are all children of Mirugi.

Bears and a deer called Srumara are all born unto Mirugamandhai

Hari begot Lions, monkeys, etc.

Bathramadha begot Iravathi, who begot the celebrated white elephant called Iravatham.

All other types of elephants were born to Madhangi.

Saardhuli begot is a type of monkey and also tigers.

Swetha brought forth elephants that protect the Earth in all directions.

Surabhi begot two daughters Rohini and Gandharvi.

Rohini begot all the cows and Gandharvi begot horses.

Surasa begot all the snakes that would raise their head and Kadhru begot all the snakes that would not raise their head.

Manu brought forth mankind.

Anala begot all the trees that are in the forest and fields.

Kadhru begot the celebrated snake Adisesha, which is the resting place of Mahavishnu.

Vinatha begot Garuda, the bird that ate the snakes. She also begot Arunan. Arunan was the charioteer of the Sun God.

Jatayu further said that he was born to Arunan and he had one elder brother called Sambathi.

The list is big but it indicates that all the beings in this world had an origin from a great rishi.

Rama initially viewed Jatayu with suspicion because that was a forest area and he had encountered rakshasas who were masters in deception and powerful fighters.

Neither he nor Lakshmana had heard anything said by their father about his friend Jatayu and hence to satisfy himself about the identity of the person he asked his lineage.

An interesting aspect here is Ravana the villain in this Epic was also the son of a Prajapathi, called Pulasthya.

So, the origin of both good and evil forces are all from respectable persons.

Daksha Prajapathi who gave eight daughters to Kasyapa Prajapathi also gave 27 daughters to the Moon. 27 are the days the moon takes to once complete its orbit around the Earth. Each day he is seen with one Star.

The same Daksha Prajapathi also gave his most celebrated daughter by name ‘Sathi’ to Lord Shiva.

Due to some incidents that angered her she left her body and took birth in the house of Himavan or the Himalayas as Uma. Since she was the daughter of Himalaya Parbhat, she was also called ‘Parvathi’.

From this above story, we come to know that all people have a lineage and we must find out our lineage from our elders.

Rama, Lakshmana and Sita lived in Panchavati, under the watchful eyes and care of Jatayu.

It was Jatayu who would rush to the rescue of Sita when she was abducted by Ravana. Jatayu would offer a tough fight to him and killed his charioteers.

Ravana had to descend from his chariot and cut the wings of the bird to take her back with him to Lanka.

It was he who told about the fate of Sita and revealed the identity of her abductor, Ravana to Rama.

Rama then offers pinda to the bird and as part of pinda, he kills a fat deer cuts its flesh, and offers the same to eagles, the family to which Jatayu belonged.

Rama was not able to do last rites to his father but he did last rites to the friend of his father who was also his benefactor.

Jatayu’s brother Sambati, would guide the monkey army of Rama to Lanka saying that he saw her under an Ashoka tree.

Both the brothers did a yeoman service to Rama.