Garga (or Garga Bharadvaja) was a distinguished sage of the Angirasa–Bharadwaja lineage, traditionally regarded as a descendant of Bharadwaja. He is celebrated as an early authority on Jyotisha (Vedic astrology and astronomy) and is the traditional author of the Garga Samhita, a text that combines astronomical material with an elaborate account of Krishna’s life. In the Bhagavata Purana and related literature, Garga is the sage who performs the secret naming ceremony of Krishna and Balarama in Vrindavana at the request of Nanda Maharaja, giving the child the name Krishna.
The Garga (or Gargya) gotra is therefore both a scholarly and a devotional lineage. Its pravara commonly includes Angirasa–Sainya–Garga or a longer form that incorporates Bharadwaja. The gotra is found among Brahmins and is especially well known in communities that preserve strong traditions of astrology and Krishna-bhakti.
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Name of a revered sage and astronomer, traditionally credited with early contributions to Vedic astrology (jyotisha).
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.