eir origin which is partly responsible for the tendency to consider
them as several castes and not one. But its accuracy is doubtful. The
important Bania groups appear to be of Rajput stock. They nearly all
come from Rajputana, Bundelkhand or Gujarat, that is from the homes
of the principal Rajut clans. Several of them have legends of Rajput
descent. The Agarwalas say that their first ancestor was a Kshatriya
king, who married a Naga or snake princess; the Naga race is supposed
to have signified the Scythian immigrants, who were snake-worshippers
and from whom several clans of Rajputs were probably derived. The
Agarwalas took their name from the ancient city of Agroha or possibly
from Agra. The Oswals say that their ancestor was the Rajput king
of Osnagar in Marwar, who with his followers was converted by a Jain
mendicant. The Nemas state that their ancestors were fourteen young
Rajput princes who escaped the vengeance of Parasurama by abandoning
the profession of arms and taking to trade. The Khandelwals take
their name from the town of Khandela in Jaipur State of Rajputana. The
Kasarwanis say they immigrated from Kara Manikpur in Bundelkhand. The
origin of the Umre Banias is not known, but in Gujarat they are also
called Bagaria from the Bagar or wild country of the Dongarpur and
Pertabgarh States of Rajputana, where numbers of them are still
settled; the name Bagaria would appear to indicate that they are
supposed to have immigrated thence into Gujarat. The Dhusar Banias
ascribe their name to a hill called Dhusi or Dhosi on the border of
Alwar State. The Asatis say that their original home was Tikamgarh
State in Bundelkhand. The name of the Maheshris is held to be derived
from Maheshwar, an ancient town on the Nerbudda, near Indore, which
is traditionally supposed to have been the earliest settlement of the
Yadava Rajputs. The headquarters of the Gahoi Banias is said to have
been at Kharagpur in Bundelkhand, though according to their own legend
they are of mixed origin. The home of the Srimalis was the old town
of Srimal, now Bhinmal in Marwar. The Palliwal Banias were from the
well-known trading town of Pali in Marwar. The Jaiswal are said to take
their name from Jaisalmer State, which was their native country. The
above are no doubt only a fraction of the Bania subcastes, but they
include nearly all the most important and representative ones, from
whom the caste takes its status and character. Of the numerous other