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Similar Kshatriya, Brahmin, Shudra | ||
Vaishya is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order.
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Traditional duties
Hindu religious texts assigned Vaishyas to traditional roles in agriculture and cattle-rearing but over time they came to be landowners, traders and money-lenders. The Vaishyas, along with members of the Brahmin and Kshatriya varnas, claim dvija status ("twice born", a second or spiritual birth) after sacrament of initiation as in Hindu theology. Indian traders were widely credited for the spread of Indian culture to regions as far as southeast Asia.
Historically, Vaishyas have been involved in roles other than their traditional pastoralism, trade and commerce. According to historian Ram Sharan Sharma, the Gupta Empire was a Vaishya dynasty that "may have appeared as a reaction against oppressive rulers". Harsha, the 7th century king of northern India, was also of the Vaishya Varna.
Modern communities
The Vaishya community consists of several jāti or subcastes, notably the Agrahari, Agarwals, Barnwals, Gahois, Kasuadhans, Khandelwals, Telis, Lohanas, Maheshwaris, Oswals, Roniaurs, the Arya Vaishyas of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, the Vaishya Vanis of Konkan and Goa, and the Modh of the west.