Multiple generations of a family, often several married brothers and their families, sharing one household, income, and set of daily responsibilities under a common elder.
रहन-सहन · Rahan-Sahan
Traditionally headed by the eldest member, a joint family pools resources and divides domestic labor among its members, with grandparents typically playing an active role in raising grandchildren and elders cared for at home rather than separately, an arrangement historically treated less as choice than as the default shape of family life.
Urbanization and migration have shifted many households toward nuclear families living apart, but the joint family ideal remains visible in how major life events, weddings, festivals already covered in this site's Utsav & Parva chapter, and religious observances are still organized around the extended family gathering together.