Shloka 18
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
कर्मतो<न्यानि गोत्राणि समुत्पन्नानि पार्थिव । नामधेयानि तपसा तानि च ग्रहणं सताम्,पृथ्वीनाथ! पहले अंगिरा, कश्यप, वसिष्ठ और भृगु--ये ही चार मूल गोत्र प्रकट हुए थे। अन्य गोत्र कर्मके अनुसार पीछे उत्पन्न हुए हैं। वे गोत्र और उनके नाम उन गोत्र-प्रवर्तक महर्षियोंकी तपस्यासे ही साधु-समाजमें सुविख्यात एवं सम्मानित हुए हैं
karmato 'nyāni gotrāṇi samutpannāni pārthiva | nāmadheyāni tapasā tāni ca grahaṇaṃ satām ||
Parāśara said: “O king, other lineages (gotras) arose later according to people’s deeds and functions. Their very names, established through the austerities of the founding sages, came to be accepted and honored among the virtuous.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that social lineages and their recognized names are not merely arbitrary; they are understood to arise in relation to karma (deeds/roles) and gain legitimacy through the tapas (spiritual merit) of the founding sages, hence being honored by the righteous.
Parāśara is instructing a king in the Śānti Parva on the origin and social recognition of gotras, explaining how later gotras emerged and why their names became accepted among respectable people.