Vaishya

See also: vaishya

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Sanskrit वैश्य (vaiśya).

Noun

Vaishya (plural Vaishyas)

  1. The third caste of traditional Indian society, comprising merchants and landowners.
  2. A member of this caste.
    • 2006, Karen Armstrong, The Great Transformation, Atlantic Books 2007, p. 307:
      To perform successfully in the marketplace, vaishyas had to be ambitious, to want worldly goods, and to compete aggressively with their rivals, and this "desire" bound them inexorably to the cycle of death and rebirth.

Translations

Further reading

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