Gotra
In Hindu culture, the term gotra is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally the gotra forms an exogamous unit, with the marriage within the same gotra being prohibited by custom, being regarded as incest. The name of the gotra can be used as a surname, but it is different from a surname and is strictly maintained because of its importance in marriages among Hindus, especially among castes. Pāṇini defines gotra as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram, which means "the word gotra denotes the descendance, apatya , of a couple consisting of a pautra , a son and a bharti, a mother, i.e. a daughter-in-law." When a person says "I am Vipparla-gotra", he means that he traces his descent from the ancient sage Vipparla by unbroken male descent.
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