Pravara (Lineage)
Pravara, “the line of ṛshi ancestors”
Grammar: masculine noun: the ṛshis from whom a family descends, named together with its gotra.
Meaning: the line of ṛshi ancestors of a family. With the gotra, it decides whom one may marry. It is distinct from Pravara, the brāhmaṇa of Aruṇāspada.
In the scriptures: in the teaching on vivāha (marriage) which Pushkara gives Paraśurāma, after the nakshatras good for choosing the bride and the groom, he says: one must not marry a kanyā of the same gotra and pravara. One may marry one who is beyond seven generations after the father and five generations after the mother (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 154).
In the Bhavishya Purāṇa: one learns one’s gotra and pravara from father, ācārya and śāstra. Karma done without knowing them gives the opposite fruit. Gotras have one, two, three, five and more pravaras (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 2, Chapter 9).
Related terms: Gotra · Sagotra · Vivāha · Ṛshi
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 154
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Madhyama Parva, Bhāga 2, Chapter 9