RAS question
In the Vedic period, the term 'Gotra' signifies:
Correct answer: (C) A clan or lineage group.
In Vedic and Brahmanical social usage, gotra signified a clan or lineage group whose members were treated as descendants of a common Vedic seer.
Explanation
Gotra did not mean a sacrifice or a political assembly in this context. The word originally related to a cowpen, but in Vedic social usage it came to denote lineage, usually traced to a common rishi. NCERT states that, from about 1000 BCE onwards, a Brahmanical practice classified people, especially Brahmanas, by gotra: each gotra was named after a Vedic seer, and those belonging to it were regarded as his descendants. This made gotra more than a label; it became a rule-bearing kinship category. NCERT also links gotra to marriage regulation, noting that women were expected to adopt the husband's gotra after marriage and that members of the same gotra could not marry.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) A sacrifice in the Vedic context was called yajna or havan, while gotra is explained as a kinship or descent category.
- (B) Although the word's literal origin relates to cows or a cowpen, the relevant Vedic social meaning developed into a clan or lineage identity.
- (D) Tribal assemblies were known as sabha and samiti, whereas gotra classified people by descent from a named Vedic seer.
Concept
This tests Vedic social institutions, especially kinship, lineage and marriage rules. It recurs in RAS because gotra links ancient social vocabulary with larger themes of family, exogamy and Brahmanical norms.