The Nagartha or Nagarta are
Vaishya
Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Vedic Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of Varna hierarchy.
The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, takin ...
as per
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
caste
A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
of south
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
of
merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
s or
agriculturalists.
The Nagartha caste contains two main divisions, Vaishnavas or
Namadhari
Namadhari is a term used for people of all castes who follow Sri Vaishnava tradition, sport vermillion nama (a veritcal mark) on their foreheads and consider Sri Ramanujacharya as their guru. There are a number of different Namadhari castes like Na ...
Nagarthas and Shiv or Lingadhari Nagarthas.
References
Merchant castes
Social groups of Karnataka
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