Gotra
| Key Term | gotra |
|---|---|
| In Tibetan Script | རིགས་ |
| Wylie Tibetan Transliteration | rigs |
| Devanagari Sanskrit Script | गोत्र |
| Romanized Sanskrit | gotra |
| English Standard | potential |
| Karl Brunnhölzl's English Term | disposition |
| Richard Barron's English Term | spiritual affinity |
| Term Type | Noun |
| Source Language | Sanskrit |
| Basic Meaning | innate potential; inborn trait |
| Definitions | |
| Synonyms | kula; vaṃśa |
| Grammatical / Etymological Analysis | Following Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra III.4cd and its Bhāṣya, the hermeneutical etymology of gotra is often explained as meaning guṇottāraṇa, with the syllable go in gotra standing for guṇa ("qualities") and the syllable tra representing uttāraṇa ("delivering," "setting free"). Thus, the got is the disposition from which qualities arise and increase or which sets them free... Gotra can also mean "what protects qualities" (guṇatraya)." - Karl Brunnhölzl, When the Clouds Part, pp. 95-96. |