Vaishya is the traditional merchant, trading and agricultural varna of the Hindu caste hierarchy, historically associated with commerce, craft production and land cultivation, ranked below the priestly Brahmin and warrior Kshatriya categories but above the Shudra labor category in the classical fourfold varna scheme. Vaishya identity is claimed today by numerous regionally distinct communities across India, including several prominent business and trading communities, and, as with the other varna categories, the historical fourfold scheme is understood by scholars as a normative classical ideal that never mapped cleanly onto the much larger number of actual regional jatis (sub-castes).
Facts
Group TypeSourced to the subject's own account Typical RegionSourced to the subject's own accountSouth Asia (India and Nepal) 1 Primary LanguageSourced to the subject's own accountRegional Indian languages 1 Subsistence ModeSourced to the subject's own accountTraditionally trade, commerce, agriculture and moneylending occupations within the varna system. 1 Open Questions
Population Estimateno reliable modern population figure exists 1 Sourced to the subject's own accountNo caste-wise Indian census has been published since 1931, and Vaishya identity is claimed by numerous regionally distinct trading and agricultural communities never aggregated into one reliable total. Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.