I SHALL now tell how those Brahmans who are ignorant of their own gotra and pravara are to take the pravara and marriage restrictions of their own teacher (since they stand as sons to their teacher). As there is doubt on this point, the all-wise Apastamba and the rest resolve the doubt by saying:

‘Now a man whose family connections are not known should proclaim himself the descendant of his teacher, and he recites his teacher's pravara.’

Here, ‘family connections’ means gotra or pravara: the man who does not know this accurately is ‘one whose family connections are not known’, e.g. Satyakama, etc. Thus, Satyakama Jabala, having requested the teacher Gautama for admission as a pupil, and having been received into Gautama's protection, was asked by the latter: ‘Of what gotra are you, friend?’ And he replied: ‘Sir, I do not know to what gotra I belong.’ A man, therefore, who in this fashion is ignorant of his family connections should proclaim himself the descendant of his teacher, i.e. he should proclaim his teacher's gotra, or his pravara, in due order. ‘He recites his teacher's pravara’—this means the same thing.

But it is objected: ‘Is this not prohibited by scriptural passages such as “if a man recites the drseya of another, that rsi takes the sacrifice and the enjoyment”?’

No: since the sonship of a pupil is best, surpassing even a son of one's own body. As Apastamba says: ‘Thus the teacher piles up precepts of virtue for him, he never harms him; for from knowledge he begets him. That is the best birth; father and mother beget merely the body.’ And Baudhayana says: ‘Those whom he begets, those whom he initiates, those whom he teaches, those for whom he sacrifices–all those become his sons.’ And since this is so, pupils do not marry within the gotras of their teachers, because of having the same gotra and pravara.

Sacrificial matters

Baudhayana says:

‘We shall explain the Narasamsa(-rule): Atreyas, Vadhryasvas, Vadhulas, Vasisthas, Kanvas, Sunakas, Samkrtis, Yaskas, and Rajanyas and Vaisyas all are said to be Narasamsas. Tanunapat belongs to the other gotras. Ksatriyas and Vaisyas have their purohita's pravara–thus it is known.’