Difference between GOTRA system of Kayastha and Brahmins

• By the term exogamous sub-division (GOTRA) is meant a group from within it's male members cannot take their wives.

• They fall into the following exogamous sub divisions (GOTRAS)

1) Kashyap 2) Krip / Kripacharya 3) Deval 4) Waighruva 5) Bhargava 6) Shandra 7) Paingya Atri 9) Vishwamitra 10) Garga 11) Bharadwaj 12) Goutam 13) Jamadagni 14) Vasishta 15) Bhrigu 16) Agasti 17) Raibha 18) Bhagur 19) Sankhyayan 20) Maitrayan 21) Gandhamadan 22) Vyghra 23) Kapil 24) Pulah 25) Samir 26) Varun

• The gotras however, do not indicate that a family using any one of the Gotra is a descendant of the particular "Rishi" whose name it uses, but it indicates that the ancestor of the family has accepted the particular Rishi as his Guru, and therefore adopted the same Gotra. This caste is purely Kshatriya and is therefore on of the three regenerate classes viz. Brahmans, Kshatriya and Vaishya who are authorized to perform the "UPNAYANA" ceremony obligatory upon the aforesaid "DWIJA" twice born classes.The practice of not allowing marriage between families of same Gotra is therefore observed out of reverence to the Rishis who were made Preceptors "GURU" at the time for the "UPNAYANA" ceremony by the ancestor of the families.

• The system of adopting Gotras and Prowarnas by the members of this caste is based on the reverence to the Rishis. The Brahmans, when they say that they are of particular Gotra, means that the Rishi whose name they cite is their common ancestor, but when a CHANDRASENIYA KAYASTHA PRABHU cite a Gotra, he only indicates that a particular Rishi, whose name he cites, was adopted to be the GURU of his family by one of his ancestors in times gone by. It may therefore be said that this caste has taken a loan of the GOTRAS. Allowing marriages between families of the same Gotras of the Kshatriya class, therefore a wrong which does not go to the root of any mandatory precept of the religion. This caste is therefore liberally connived at such instances of error, on the analogy of the principle of Factum ralet in law. When a mistake of this kind is detected, people of the caste are inclined to warn themselves not to repeat it.