Every Hindu has a Family Goddess

[Aupmanyav]

Read it in some article.
Is that true?

At least it is true in the case of Kashmiri Brahmins. Our community has three Goddesses - Jwala, Ragnya and Sharika. My family Goddess is Jwala and that of my in-laws is Ragnya (the Queen). Jwala does not mind non-veg food, Ragnya follows middle path, though raw meat is offered to her on Navami. Sharika is strictly veg.

Sharika Devi Temple, Srinagar

Ragnya Devi, Ksheer Bhavani Tulamula - it is a swampy area)

Jwala Devi, Pulwama, Kashmir (the Srinagar temple was burnt. I think the temple has been renovated)

Jwala Devi, Srinagar

 

[SomeRandom]

Possibly a regional thing?

 

[sayak83]

Read it in some article.
Is that true?

At least it is true in the case of Kashmiri Brahmins. Our community has three Goddesses - Jwala, Ragnya and Sharika. My family Goddess is Jwala and that of my in-laws is Ragnya (the Queen). Jwala does not mind non-veg food, Ragnya follows middle path, though raw meat is offered to her on Navami. Sharika is strictly veg.

Sharika Devi Temple, Srinagar

Ragnya Devi, Ksheer Bhavani Tulamula - it is a swampy area)

Jwala Devi, Pulwama, Kashmir (the Srinagar temple was burnt. I think the temple has been renovated)

Jwala Devi, Srinagar

Only a " Goddess"?
My family have venerated Devi Kali for generations. Our close relatives are currently in charge of the family Kali temple in the city that is over 180 years old.
But many in Bengal are Vaishnavas as well. So there the God will be Krishna or Vishnu.

 

[Aupmanyav]

A Goddess from among the three is a must. As for Gods, Kashmiri brahmins traditionally worship Shiva. No bar on worshiping other Gods and Goddeses.

 

[mangalavara]

At least it is true in the case of Kashmiri Brahmins. Our community has three Goddesses - Jwala, Ragnya and Sharika.

Possibly a regional thing?

My family have venerated Devi Kali for generations.

As a 'whitey' of a non-Hindu background who adheres to Sanātana Dharma, if I were to marry a woman from a non-Hindu background who embraces Sanātana Dharma, we would not have a kula-devī from any generation back. Would we be able to adopt one and teach her worship to our children even if we are outside of a Hindu country?

 

[sayak83]

As a 'whitey' of a non-Hindu background who adheres to Sanātana Dharma, if I were to marry a woman from a non-Hindu background who embraces Sanātana Dharma, we would not have a kula-devī from any generation back. Would we be able to adopt one and teach her worship to our children even if we are outside of a Hindu country?

Obviously. You can adopt any dev or devi as your family deity. You can also associate with any temple too and fund/organize festivities associated with the deity in question in case maintaining a personal shrine is too difficult.

 

[Vinayaka]

Beautiful old temples, Aup.

 

[SomeRandom]

As a 'whitey' of a non-Hindu background who adheres to Sanātana Dharma, if I were to marry a woman from a non-Hindu background who embraces Sanātana Dharma, we would not have a kula-devī from any generation back. Would we be able to adopt one and teach her worship to our children even if we are outside of a Hindu country?

I’m a born Hindu and I don’t know what my kula-devi is, honestly. If we even have one. (Family is from Fiji.)
But you can adopt whichever one speaks to you. As far as I’m concerned

 

[Aupmanyav]

As a 'whitey' of a non-Hindu background who adheres to Sanātana Dharma, if I were to marry a woman from a non-Hindu background who embraces Sanātana Dharma, we would not have a kula-devī from any generation back. Would we be able to adopt one and teach her worship to our children even if we are outside of a Hindu country?

Yeah, sure. After all, some ancestor of mine chose our family Goddess. Two things go back to generations. 1. Kula Devi or Kula Devta. It can be either. 2. Lineage (Gotra, lit: of the same cow pen). I am in the line of the Sage older Upamanyu (Bhoot Upamanyu), though I cannot vouch for it. Sage Upamanyu has written verses in RigVeda and is mentioned in Bhagawat Purana as having blessed Lord Krishna. He was a "Kamboja", perhaps from North-West region of Pakistan (Uttara Patha, the Northern Road).
At the time of any religious ritual, marriage, birth, death, etc., we have to mention our Kula Devi, Gotra, names of our great grandpa, grandpa, father. Marriage cannot be arranged between two families of the same gotra, they are brothers and sisters at least for three generation or in some communities seven generations or it is absolutely prohibited in other communities.
Gotra can be obtained by adoption. If a person adopts you, then you also will belong to the Gotra of that person.
Kambojas - Wikipedia, Upamanyu - Wikipedia, Aupamanyava - Wikipedia
The last one is historial and was a Vedic grammarian. I have simplified the spelling in my nick.

 

[shivsomashekhar]

For my family - since multiple generations - the Kula Devathai is Murugan (Tiruttani)

It is not always female. Here is the list of all family gods in Taminadu. I am sure there are a lot more than listed here -
Kuladevata - Wikipedia

 

[Jainarayan]

I'm an Italian-American whitey adoptee of Hinduism, so there is no family history. I have no gotra for archana, though I know my nakshatra. However, despite no family history I'm going to say my kuladevī is Saraswatī because I am musically inclined. I love music, always have, I play guitar and some bass (because I like it not because I'm good at it ) and played some keyboard in the past.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Warrior clans (Rajputs) normally have a Mother Goddess, Durga or some other visualization of her.

 

[Aupmanyav]

I have no gotra for archana, though I know my nakshatra.

For 'archana' (Lit. pleading) or daily puja, Gotra and the other details (name of father, grandpa, great grandpa, zodiac, place of worship, time, etc.) are not required.

Suggestion: Who is the earliest ancestor whose name you know? That is how I have the Upamanyu gotra. That is done among many communities in India. For example, a descendant of Padma Singh of the warrior clan may have 'Padmavat' as his gotra. Like in Russia and Central Asia, a descendant of Rakhman will be a Rakhmanov.

 

[Vinayaka]

For my family - since multiple generations - the Kula Devathai is Murugan (Tiruttani)

It is not always female. Here is the list of all family gods in Taminadu. I am sure there are a lot more than listed here -
Kuladevata - Wikipedia

I've been to Tiruttani. You're a lucky soul.

 

[Vinayaka]

I'm an Italian-American whitey adoptee of Hinduism, so there is no family history. I have no gotra for archana, though I know my nakshatra. However, despite no family history I'm going to say my kuladevī is Saraswatī because I am musically inclined. I love music, always have, I play guitar and some bass (because I like it not because I'm good at it ) and played some keyboard in the past.

The priests here often use 'siva' as the gotra, since he has a lineage also. I use 'Subramuniya'.

 

[JustGeorge]

At the temple, we're usually just asked our names in place of Gotra(as we don't have one).

 

[Vinayaka]

At the temple, we're usually just asked our names in place of Gotra(as we don't have one).

What are your nakshatras? Mine is moola, and Boss's is punarvasu.

 

[JustGeorge]

What are your nakshatras? Mine is moola, and Boss's is punarvasu.

Mine is Hasta, and husband's is Uttara Phalguni.

 

[Jainarayan]

I delved a bit into jyotish and came up with...
Janmarashi - Kumbha.
Janma Naskshatra - Shatabisha.
Suryarashi - Mithuna. Now, this one is interesting. In the western zodiac I am a Cancer but in the Vedic I am Gemini. The Vedic zodiac is actually astronomically correct. The western is called tropical, while the Vedic is sidereal (sid-ee-ree-al). Whatever the western zodiac says your sign is, in the Vedic zodiac it is one before it.

Horoscope Obsessed? It Might Be Time To Read Up On Vedic Astrology Too

 

[SomeRandom]

I'm an Italian-American whitey adoptee of Hinduism, so there is no family history. I have no gotra for archana, though I know my nakshatra. However, despite no family history I'm going to say my kuladevī is Saraswatī because I am musically inclined. I love music, always have, I play guitar and some bass (because I like it not because I'm good at it ) and played some keyboard in the past.