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| ==Traditional duties== | ==Traditional duties== | ||
| Hindu religious texts assigned Vaishyas to traditional roles in ], ] and trade, but over time they came to be ] |
Hindu religious texts assigned Vaishyas to traditional roles in ], ] and trade, but over time they came to be ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K85NA7Rg67wC&pg=PA24 |page=24 |title=The First Great Political Realist|authorlink=Roger Boesche |first=Roger |last=Boesche|isbn=978-0-73910-607-5 |date=1 March 2003 }}</ref> Therefore making it their responsibility to provide sustenance for those of higher class, since they were of lower class.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Worlds together Worlds Apart Volume 1|last=Pollard. E., Roserngerg. C., Tignor, R. L.|first=|publisher=W.W. Norton &Company, Inc.|year=2015|isbn=978-0-393-91847-2|location=New York, NY|pages=142}}</ref> The Vaishyas, along with members of the ] and ] varnas, claim '']'' status ("twice born", a second or spiritual birth) after sacrament of initiation as in Hindu theology.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n84OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA112 |page=112 |title=Western Sociologists on Indian Society: Marx, Spencer, Weber, Durkheim, Pareto |first=Gurmukh Ram |last=Madan |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-71008-782-9}}</ref> Indian and Nepali traders were widely credited for the spread of ] to regions as far as ] and Tibet respectively.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xn-6yMhAungC&pg=PA361 |page=361 |title=Asia in western and world history |first1=Ainslie Thomas |last1=Embree | authorlink1 = Ainslie Embree|first2=Carol |last2=Gluck | authorlink2 = Carol Gluck|isbn=978-1-56324-265-6 |date=1 January 1997 }}</ref> | ||
| Historically, Vaishyas have been involved in roles other than their traditional ], trade and commerce. According to historian ], the ] was a Vaishya dynasty that "may have appeared as a reaction against oppressive rulers".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=i_sIE1sO5kwC&pg=PA69 |title=Early medieval Indian society: a study in feudalisation |first=Ram Sharan |last=Sharma |authorlink=Ram Sharan Sharma |publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2003 |origyear=2001 |page=69 |accessdate=26 January 2012|isbn=978-8-12502-523-8 }}</ref> | Historically, Vaishyas have been involved in roles other than their traditional ], trade and commerce. According to historian ], the ] was a Vaishya dynasty that "may have appeared as a reaction against oppressive rulers".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=i_sIE1sO5kwC&pg=PA69 |title=Early medieval Indian society: a study in feudalisation |first=Ram Sharan |last=Sharma |authorlink=Ram Sharan Sharma |publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2003 |origyear=2001 |page=69 |accessdate=26 January 2012|isbn=978-8-12502-523-8 }}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 08:45, 24 May 2018
Vaishya is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order in Nepal and India.
Traditional duties
Hindu religious texts assigned Vaishyas to traditional roles in agriculture, cattle-rearing and trade, but over time they came to be landowners, traders and money-lenders. Therefore making it their responsibility to provide sustenance for those of higher class, since they were of lower class. 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 and Nepali traders were widely credited for the spread of Hindu culture to regions as far as southeast Asia and Tibet respectively.
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".
Modern communities
The Vaishya community consist of several jāti or subcastes, including but not limited to the Agrahari, Agrawals, Barnwals, Gahois, Kasuadhans, Khandelwals, Lohanas, Maheshwaris, Oswals, the Arya Vaishyas, the Vaishya Vanis of Konkan and Goa, and the Modh of the west.
References
- Boesche, Roger (1 March 2003). The First Great Political Realist. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-73910-607-5.
- Pollard. E., Roserngerg. C., Tignor, R. L. (2015). Worlds together Worlds Apart Volume 1. New York, NY: W.W. Norton &Company, Inc. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-393-91847-2.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Madan, Gurmukh Ram (1979). Western Sociologists on Indian Society: Marx, Spencer, Weber, Durkheim, Pareto. Taylor & Francis. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-71008-782-9.
- Embree, Ainslie Thomas; Gluck, Carol (1 January 1997). Asia in western and world history. p. 361. ISBN 978-1-56324-265-6.
- Sharma, Ram Sharan (2003) . Early medieval Indian society: a study in feudalisation. Orient Blackswan. p. 69. ISBN 978-8-12502-523-8. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- Hasan, Amir; Rizvi, Baqr Raza; Das, J. C. (2005). Singh, Kumar Suresh (ed.). People of India: Uttar Pradesh , Volume 42, Part ?. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 66. ISBN 978-81-73041-14-3.
- Bhanu, B. V.; Kulkarni, V. S. (2004). Singh, Kumar Suresh (ed.). People of India: Maharashtra, Part One. Vol. XXX. Mumbai: Popular Prakashan, for Anthropological Survey of India. p. 46. ISBN 81-7991-100-4. OCLC 58037479. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
External links
Media related to Vaishya at Wikimedia Commons- Introduction to caste system of India
- All India Vaish Federation
