Vamsha
Topic: Society in Early India: Kinship, Varna-Jati, Women · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 3 "Kinship, Caste and Class - Early Societies"
Meaning
Vamsha is the Sanskrit word for lineage, the line of descent going back from a person to an ancestor. Early texts use it along with kula (family) and jnati (the wider network of relatives). Under the ideal of patriliny, a vamsha was traced from father to son. Ruling families used their vamsha to show their right to rule.
Example
The Kauravas and Pandavas both belonged to the Kuru vamsha. Their war in the Mahabharata was really a fight over who would succeed to the Kuru throne. After the Pandavas won, patrilineal succession was proclaimed.
Don't confuse with
- Gotra: a patrilineal group named after a Vedic rishi (seer). Gotra rules governed marriage. A vamsha is a family's actual line of descent, often a royal one.
- Kula: the family itself, not the long line of ancestors.