The Vaishya mainly consisted of merchants and landowners. They were the commoners of Indian society and could be compared to the middle class of today's society. Even though they were one of the lowest castes, they were the most important caste to society. Since they were people who were mainly merchants, they were the backbone of the economy and without the Vaishya, Indian civilization would not be able to thrive and the civilization could possibly collapse.
The Vaishya originally focused on agriculture, farming, and trade. As the caste system developed, the Vaishya changed from agriculture to focus on trades such as merchants and other skilled trades. Vaishya are generally somewhat wealthy, although not as wealthy as Kshatriyan aristocrats. The Vaishya valued education, like the Kshatriya, especially in religious education to understand the world around them and hoped that they could be born twice. If they could be seen as worthy of being born twice, they believe their life had meaning.
The Vaishya helped spread the idea of Buddhism throughout Asia and would use their wealth to build temples and other building in hopes of benefiting the society and to be as seen as good enough to be born twice. The Vaishya are seen as the most important castes in Indian societies because the Vaishya is similar to the majority of people today and without them, civilizations could not thrive as they did.
The Vaishya originally focused on agriculture, farming, and trade. As the caste system developed, the Vaishya changed from agriculture to focus on trades such as merchants and other skilled trades. Vaishya are generally somewhat wealthy, although not as wealthy as Kshatriyan aristocrats. The Vaishya valued education, like the Kshatriya, especially in religious education to understand the world around them and hoped that they could be born twice. If they could be seen as worthy of being born twice, they believe their life had meaning.
The Vaishya helped spread the idea of Buddhism throughout Asia and would use their wealth to build temples and other building in hopes of benefiting the society and to be as seen as good enough to be born twice. The Vaishya are seen as the most important castes in Indian societies because the Vaishya is similar to the majority of people today and without them, civilizations could not thrive as they did.