Clan of Agrawal

Before considering gotras, we should understand what a gotra refers to. Typically, a gotra refers to a lineage, a clan, or a family. It denotes the patrilineal descent from a common ancestor. Gotras are often associated with Hindu society and are used to trace familial relationships, especially in matters of marriage and lineage.

Marriages between boys and girls of the same gotra, family, lineage, or village were not permitted. Boys and girls belonging to the same gotra would marry into different gotras, into different families, to maintain social and familial diversity.

Now let's consider the concept of caste and community along with gotra. In places where people do not marry within their gotra but marry outside their own gotra, they often prefer to marry within their own caste or community. They are hesitant to marry into another caste or community.

For example, Agarwals generally prefer not to marry outside their caste or community. Additionally, within their own gotras, they prefer not to marry within closely related gotras such as Basal-Bansal, Goyal-Goyal, or Garg-Garg.

As far as the Agarwal gotras are concerned, we have a total of 18 gotras. The All India Agarwal Sammelan has officially recognized the following 18 gotras.

This conference recognizes the ancient and prevalent forms of the 18 gotras in the Agarwal community and also standardizes their spellings in both Hindi and English. The conference requests Agarwals to use these standardized forms for writing and speaking the names of the gotras. Similarly, the spelling "(AGARWAL)" is also accepted.

We also have Gangal Bandhu here. This term is another form of the Goyan gotra, which the conference also recognizes. Similarly, the term Agarwal is written in various forms in both Hindi and English. The conference has granted recognition only to the form "Agarwal" (Agarwal).

At the place of the 18 gotras of the Agarwals, they are referred to as "sādhe sattar" (literally, seventy and a half). It is said that while Maharaja Agrasen had initiated 17 yajnas, the 18th yajna was halted midway. Since this yajna couldn't be completed, it was considered only half done, hence the term "sādhe sattar.

In Maharaja Agrasen's republic, there were 18 "ganas" (states). The head of each "gana" served as the patron of a specific yajna. Each yajna was presided over by a particular sage. The name of the sage presiding over a yajna was given to the patron of that yajna as their gotra. For example, in the case of the Jips yajna, the presiding sage was Garg Muni, and the gotra of the patron of that yajna was determined as Garg.

Some people believe that Maharaja Agrasen had 18 sons, and these 18 gotras are named after them. However, it is not appropriate to accept this belief because in ancient Indian culture, prior to the Islamic faith, marriages between cousins or siblings' children were not permitted.

In the Agarwal community, the preservation of gotras has been a significant tradition. During marriage ceremonies, the father traditionally passes down his gotra to his son. This practice has been ongoing for more than five thousand years, ensuring avoidance of same-gotra marriages. However, nowadays, apart from gotra, Agarwal sons and daughters are also marrying their cousins (taus and chachas) and siblings. While such marriages might be few, accepting these examples, if some siblings marry each other in the future, who can stop them?

Marriages between cousins (uncles' and aunts' children) or siblings' children do not occur, and marriages take place preferably outside the gotra or clan, to the extent possible, even if it means marrying someone from a distant location. For example, in the country of Fiji, where the Indian population is sufficient, it is often referred to as "Little India". When the issue of marriage and gotra arose for the Indian diaspora there, they devised their gotras based on the names of ships (boats) used to travel from India. They adopted the name of the ship they arrived on as their gotra. People who arrived on the same ship did not marry within their own ship families; instead, they began marrying into families arriving on other ships. In this way, they created new lineages for their gotras. Consequently, people from the same community, family, or lineage avoid marrying within their own group and instead marry into different lineages, families, or communities.

From a scientific perspective, marriage should ideally occur with diversity, not within the same lineage. It should be distant rather than close. Hence, it is said, "Duhita Doore Hita," meaning it is beneficial for a daughter's marriage to be distant. Marriage should not be based on equal age, education, complexion, height, weight, family, lineage, village, or gotra, as doing so can lead to physical and mental health issues for both men and women. Their offspring may also become weak, cowardly, lazy, and arrogant. Therefore, it is essential for us to pay special attention to and abide by the boundaries of our gotras when marrying.