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{{short description|One of the four divisions of the Hindu varna (caste) system}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Hinduism small}}
[[File:Sage Jajali is honoured by the Vaishya Tuladhara.jpg|thumbnail|A Vaishya]]

'''Vaishya''' is one of the four [[Varna (Hinduism)|varnas]] of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy.

The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, taking care of cattle, trade and other business pursuits.

==Traditional duties==
Hindu religious texts assigned Vaishyas to traditional roles in [[agriculture]] and [[Cattle|cattle-rearing]], but over time they came to be [[landowners]], [[Merchant|traders]] and [[money-lenders]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K85NA7Rg67wC&pg=PA24 |page=24 |title=The First Great Political Realist|author-link=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.|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 [[Brahmin]] and [[Kshatriya]] varnas, claim ''[[dvija]]'' 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 traders were widely credited for the spread of [[Indian culture]] to regions as far as [[Greater India|southeast Asia]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/asiainwesternwor00ains |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/asiainwesternwor00ains/page/361 361] |title=Asia in western and world history |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |first1=Ainslie Thomas |last1=Embree | author-link1 = Ainslie Embree|first2=Carol |last2=Gluck | author-link2 = Carol Gluck|isbn=978-1-56324-265-6 |date=1 January 1997 }}</ref>

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".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i_sIE1sO5kwC&pg=PA69 |title=Early medieval Indian society: a study in feudalisation |first=Ram Sharan |last=Sharma |author-link=Ram Sharan Sharma |publisher=Orient Blackswan |year=2003 |orig-year=2001 |page=69 |access-date=26 January 2012|isbn=978-8-12502-523-8 }}</ref>

Vaishyas are usually vegetarian due to the concept of [[ahimsa]].<ref>{{ cite book | url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304870850_Civilizing_Tastes_From_Caste_to_Class_in_South_Indian_Foodways | title = Civilizing Tastes: From Caste to Class in South Indian Foodways| date = 2013 | first = James | last = Staples}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commonscat-inline}}
* [http://www.vaishfederation.in All India Vaish Federation]

[[Category:Vaishya community| ]]

Vaishya - Revision history

imported>LotteV1991: /* top */Correct me if wrong, but I don't think linking to the page one is already on is necessary.