From 1000 BC onwards there was a brahminical practice to classify people in terms of gotras. The main feature of the gotras explained below:

a. Each gotra was named after a Vedic seer.

b. All those who belonged to the same gotra were regarded as his descendants.

c. At the time of the marriage, the women were expected to give up the gotra of their fathers and take up the gotra of their husbands.

d. The members of the same gotra could not marry.

The evidence that we get from the Satavahana inscription regarding the inheritance of gotra are:

a. The inscription provided information which allows historians to get the family ties including marriages.

b. Many women who married Satavahana rulers had continued with their father's gotras and did not change to their husband's gotra.

c. Many women had also belonged to the same gotra which was against the concept of exogamy.