[Advaita-l] Fw :Pourakutsa gotra abhivadya

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Tue, 19 Aug 2008, M U wrote:

> Oh learned ones!
>  

> While discussing on "Gotras" would someone help me understand why a 
> woman's gotra is told to be changed to her husband's gotra

Is it?  With the pitr paksha approaching (even though I am not eligible 
to perform shraddhas as I am not the elder of my family,) I have been 
reviewing the details of my purvajanas and that includes the gotras of 
maternal ancestors too.  It seems to me you would have to know this 
information in order to avoid the sagotra and sapinda relationships which 
are considered to be incestuous as per shastras.

It is a curious commentary on the relative importance given to such 
matters that when I first enquired about it, I readily discovered my kai. 
great-grandmothers gotra but I had some difficulty in learning her actual 
name!  For me and the other members of the young generation, she was just 
motA bA (great-grandmother) and even the older relatives called her that 
or by a "house" nickname.  Only a very few people used her given name.

> (and surname)
> after marriage?

As for surname there is no deep reason as far as I can tell. Most castes 
and tribes only traditionally use one or a few surnames so their married 
women never had to change. Others are patrilineal and some are 
matrilineal.  It is a matter of custom.

-- 
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>