Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

History

Chapter

Ancient India: Kinship, Caste and Class

Question:
Which of the following statements about Gotras is correct?
Options:
Each gotra was named after a Vedic seer, and all those who belonged to the same gotra were regarded as his descendants.
Women were expected to give up their fathers Gotras and adopt that of their husband on marriage according to Brahmanical rules.
Both 1 and 2
None of the above
Correct Answer:
Both 1 and 2
Explanation:
One Brahmanical practice, evident from c. 1000 BCE onwards, was to classify people (especially Brahmanas) in terms of gotras. Each gotra was named after a Vedic seer, and all those who belonged to the same gotra were regarded as his descendants. Two rules about gotra were particularly important: women were expected to give up their father’s gotra and adopt that of their husband on marriage and members of the same gotra could not marry.