Namadhari Nagartha

NAMADHARI NAGARTHA
The Nagartha are Hindu. Nagarthas are merchants by Profession, Naga means Jewels and selling of this called as Jewel merchants Actually speaking Nagartha means Jewel merchants
They are bankers, contractors, grain merchants and jewelers, now a day you can find many of them employed in government Officials and Software professionals too.
Namdharis are easily recognized by their practice of wearing Single Nama on their forehead
Nagartha is usually name the term Ayodhyanagaradavaru since they came from Ayodhya long time ago and now this name is less frequently used.
They have two broad sub groups Namely:
Namdhari and Lingadhari ( Shivachara Nagartha ) and are distributed in the Bangalore, Kolar, Tumkur and Mysore districts of Karnataka.
Nagartha's are recongnised as different Names in different regions Namely:
Namadhari Nagartha / Ayodhyanagaradavaru (Karnataka)
Beri Nagartha (Andhra Pradesh)
Ayiravaishyar (Tamil Nadu)
They style themselves Vysyas and the claim is generally accepted. The honorific suffix added to their personal names is Setty.
Nagarthas do not admit members of others castes into theirs. They are strict Vegetarians.
Namadhari Nagarthas eat only in the houses of Brahmans and Lingadhari Nagartas in the houses of Jangams and Aradya Lingayats only.

They wear the sacred thread, and worship both Vishnu and Shiva. They neither take Flesh nor Alcohol.
As they maintain that they are true Vaisyas, they closely imitate the Brahmanical ceremonies of marriage and death.
Two groups of the Namdhari and Lingadhari are endogamous. Marriage is prohibited within the same clan.
The Nagartha are successful bankers in the private sector also in software profession.
They have their community organization which look after the education of their children. Their educational level is not low and they have adopted many of the development programmes initiated by the Government under various schemes.
Nagartha also called Savira gotradavaru (Ayiravaishyar in Tamil )
Sivachar marrying of a Namadhari woman and when this happens her tongue is burned with the Shiva linga for sake in olden days. It is stated that the Sivachar Nagarathas never give their daughters in marriage to the Namadhari.
But now in this 21st Century Marriages are happening between both the castes Shivachar Lingayathas and Namadhari Nagarthas.
Its believed that Shivachar lingayathas or Nagartha Lingayathas are very close to Namadhari Nagarthas. Since both the castes will follow almost same rules and regularities in culture.
Namdhari Nagartha having Registered Sanga Samsthe in Bangalore and were planned to add this caste into OBC to get the reservations in Government.
The National Commission for Backward Classes Government of India has been rejected and states that this caste is no more come under OBC.
Since all are well educated and their ceremonies are almost common in Brahmins or Lingayathas.

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