Vaisya

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Vais·ya

(vī′shə, vīsh′yə)

A member of the second-lowest of the four major castes of traditional Indian society, comprising farmers, herders, merchants, and businessmen.

adj.

Of or relating to the class of Vaisyas.

[Sanskrit vaiśyaḥ, settler, homesteader, from viśaḥ, house; see weik- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Vaisya

(ˈvaɪsjə; ˈvaɪʃjə)

(Hinduism) the third of the four main Hindu castes, the traders

[C18: from Sanskrit, literally: settler, from viś settlement]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Vais•ya

(ˈvaɪs yə, ˈvaɪʃ-)

n., pl. -yas.

a member of the Hindu mercantile and professional class, above the Shudras and below the Kshatriyas. Compare Brahman (def. 1).

[1785–95; < Skt vaiśya]

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Noun	1.	Vaisya - a member of the mercantile and professional Hindu caste; the third of the four main castes vaisya - the third of the four varnas: the commoners or yeoman farmers or mercantile and professional category Hindoo, Hindu, Hindustani - a native or inhabitant of Hindustan or India
	2.	vaisya - the third of the four varnas: the commoners or yeoman farmers or mercantile and professional category varna - (Hinduism) the name for the original social division of Vedic people into four groups (which are subdivided into thousands of jatis) Vaisya - a member of the mercantile and professional Hindu caste; the third of the four main castes

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Varna Purusartha Asrama brahmana dharma, moksa all four ksatriya dharma, artha brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha vaisya artha, kama brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha sudra kama grhastha This and similar correlations are drawn out of thin air; they do not correspond to any ideas found in the ancient sources.

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Any change in socio-political environment impacted the 'Vaisya' category most.

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The caste system featured four varnas; the Brahman were born from the mouth, the Kshatriya varna was born from the arms, the Vaisya were born from the thighs and the Sudra were born from the feet.

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The four primary caste in India are: Brahmins, the priestly class; Kshatriya, warriors and gentry class; Vaisya, farmers and merchant class; Shudra, labourers, serfs and servants; and Dalits (outcastes), sweepers.

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Vaisya agricultural investment would follow a little later making skilful use of the conquered people as their labour-force.

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(7) The four primary castes in order of social status were Brahmins (the priests), Kshatriya (warriors and nobility), Vaisya (farmers, traders and artisans), and Shudra (tenant farmers and servants).

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The four main caste stratifications are known as Brahmin, Chhetri, Vaisya and Sudras.

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Fa Xian, a Chinese Buddhist monk who travelled across India in 400 CE, recorded in his travelogue that: The heads of the Vaisya [merchant] families in them establish in the cities houses for dispensing charity and medicine.2

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The author puts forward more such original facts and theories--as for example the numerous images of Vishnu as Trivikrama of the 11th century, which show the ascendancy of the Vaisya sect, as mentioned in the well known iconographical text Aparajitapriccha; or that the fierce icons of Yuganaddha may have been used to inspire the people to fight against foreign invaders.