AGARWAL

also spelt as Agarwala , important mercantile caste in India, belonging to the group of -merchants, bankers, land-owners, and shopkeepers generically termed 'bania' in northern and western India. The Agarwal community traces its history to its founder, Maharaja Agrasena, who ruled over the city of Agroha, Haryana, around 5,000 years ago. This belief is testified by the mention of the republican state of Agrayan in a couplet of the great epic Mahabharata. According to caste tradition, because they are descended from a naga, or snake god, its members do not harm snakes and also observe a special form of snake worship. The caste goddess is Lakshmi, the deity of wealth. The Gauda branch of northern Indian Brahmins act as priests for the Agarwals, who are quite orthodox in their conduct and diet. The majority are Vaishnavas, worshippers of Vishnu, but a small percentage also adheres to Jainism.