Vedas, the religious text of the Hindus are voluminous.

They are realized Truth, revealed by the Seers, who grasped them from Ether by intuition..

They talk about Reality, suggest and set forth methods to Realize the Self.

These are meant for Humanity and any one can follow them.

Considering the volume, the Rishis have organised them into various branches.

It takes a minimum of 12 years to learn the Vedas!

That too, one Veda among the Four, Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva.

And we have Yajur Veda, which has Shukla and Krishna Yajur.

As to the methods, though in essence the same, there are minor differences in detail so that people of different dispositions may follow.

Hinduism understands that there are  as many dispositions as are Human Beings, they have tried to suit the groups these texts to suit the groups which have common dispositions.

Each Veda has four parts.

Samhitas are hymns addressed to Gods.

The Samhitas and the Brahmanas form the Karma–Kanda segment of the Vedas.

They are concerned with the ceremonial rites and rituals.

Aranyakas are concerned more with knowledge ,Gnana and this is mainly for the semi retired from day to day activities.

Upanishads form the concluding portion of the Vedas and they enquire into the nature of Reality.

Aranyakas and Upanishads form the knowledge aspect of the Vedas,Gnana Kanda.

For details please read my articles on Vedas.

Each Veda a sections.branches, called Shakas.

‘A shakha (Sanskrit śākhā, “branch” or “limb”), is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school. An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a śākhin. The term is also used in Hindu philosophy to refer to an adherent of a particular orthodox system’

Details of Shakas for Each Veda provided towards the close of the article.

These Shakas are explained in the Sutras,Aphorisms, and they have commentaries,Bhashyas on them as well.

Sutras first appear in the Brahmana and Aranyaka layer of Vedic literature. They grow in the Vedangas, such as the Shrauta Sutras and Kalpa Sutras. These were designed so that they can be easily communicated from a teacher to student, memorized by the recipient for discussion or self-study or as reference.

A sutra by itself is condensed shorthand, and the threads of syllable are difficult to decipher or understand, without associated scholarly Bhasya or deciphering commentary that fills in the “woof”.

Now to who should follow which Veda branch and Sutra?

Gotra or lineage is linked to these.

Gotra indicates the Rishi from whom one descended from, the Pravara lists the famous Rishis from the Gotra.

• Under Gotra, some branches may not be found here.for example, there are two lineage for Kasyapa.They are Kaasyapa, Avasthaara, Naitruva and there is Naithruva kassyapa Gotra as well.
• For more details om gotra check Brahmin Gotra List
• Eka Rishi and rare Gotras List
• * Some North Indian Texts do not include Apasthamba Sutra as Apasthamba wrote his Sutra by integrating Vedic texts and Tamil practices.
• Compiling the list is an arduous task as one has t check nline, books and also has to get information from Vedic scholars,for whom the tradition is Oral.
• Suggestions to improve with authentic sources, welcome.

These are the basics of Gotra, Shaka and Sutra link.

If one finds it difficult,one may trace them if they have any of the three, that is Gotra, Shaka, Sutra.

Rig Veda Shaka.

Śaunaka‘s Caraṇa-vyuha lists five shakhas for the Rig Veda, the Śākala, Bāṣkala, Aśvalāyana, Śaṅkhāyana, and Māṇḍukāyana of which only the Śākala and Bāṣkala and very few of Asvalayana are now extant. The Bashkala recension of the Rigveda has the Khilani which are not present in the Shakala text but is preserved in one Kashmir manuscript (now at Pune). The Shakala has the Aitareya-Brahmana, The Bashkala has the Kausitaki-Brahmana.

Shukla

Krishna

Sama Veda

Śaunaka‘s Caraṇa-vyuha lists twelve shakhas for the Sama Veda out of a thousand that are said to have once existed, but that of these only one or perhaps two are still extant. The two Samaveda recensions are the Jaiminiya and Kauthuma.

The Kauthuma shakha has the PB, SadvB, the Jaiminiya shakha has the Jaiminiya Brahmana.

Atharva Veda

Only one shakha of an original nine is now extant for the Atharvaveda. The nine sakhas were Paippalada, Tauda, Mauda, Shaunakiya, Jajala, Jalada, Brahmavada, Devadarsa and Chaarana-Vaidya.

The Shaunaka is the only shakha of the Atharvaveda for which both printed texts and an active oral tradition are known to still exist.

For the Atharvaveda, both the Shaunakiya and the Paippalada traditions contain textual corruptions, and the original text of the Atharvaveda may only be approximated from comparison between the two.

References , Citations and acknowledgements.

http://anudinam.org/2012/05/11/abhivadaye/http://anudinam.org/2012/05/11/abhivadaye/

The above is an excellent site with authentic information, especially for Sri Vaishnavas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakha#Rig_Veda

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutra