Angirasa (or Angiras) is one of the most ancient of the Saptarishi and a mind-born son of Brahma. He is regarded as a primal fire-priest and the eponymous ancestor of a vast family of sages that includes Brihaspati, Bharadwaja, Gautama, Garga, and many others. Numerous hymns in the Rigveda are attributed to Angirasa and his descendants. He is closely associated with the discovery or recovery of the hidden light (the cows of the Panis) and with the early development of sacrificial ritual.
Because so many important later gotras descend from him, Angirasa functions both as an independent gotra and as the first name in the pravara of many other lineages (Bharadwaja, Gautama, Garga, etc.). The Angirasa gotra proper is therefore the stem from which a large part of the Brahminical gotra system radiates. It carries the prestige of being one of the original priestly and visionary lineages of the Vedic age.
Build a family tree with everyone's actual names, photos and relationships.
Name of one of the Saptarishi, traditionally regarded as a primal fire-priest figure and ancestor of several major Brahmin lineages, including Bharadwaja and Gautama.
No. Gotra and surname are separate systems. Families with many different surnames, across many regions and communities, can share the same gotra, and families with the same surname can belong to different gotras.
Many communities traditionally avoid marriage between people of the same gotra, based on the idea that they share a common patrilineal ancestor. Exact customs vary widely by community and region.