I somehow tend to give out some kinda impression that I am south Indian. And when I clarify that I am Gujarati, I get “Oh so you’re a Patel, is it?”. So I have decided to explain who I am. This post is in no way meant to prove any kind of hierarchy of Caste-ism. It is just plain information about the way of life of Nagars.
Yes, that’s what I am. I am a Nagar. [pronounced as ‘Naa-gar’]
Origins: The earliest reference of the Nagar community is in the‘Nagar Khand’ of Skand Puran, believed to be written between 300 and 770 AD.
It is believed that Nagars came across the borders to Kashmir and then they spread out in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Utter Pradesh, Bengal, Malva, and Gujarat.
Another belief that some historians have is that the Nagars are descendants of the Greek soldiers that married girls of Kashmiri pundits when Alexander invaded India.
Irrespective of the place of origin, Nagars finally settled in Vadnagar in Gujarat and then slowly spread out to other places. This led to naming the Nagars from the cities that they settled in. There are six primary factions : Vadnagra (Nagars from Vadnagar), Visnagra (Nagars settled in Visnagar), Sathodra (settled in Sathod), Chittroda (settled in Chittrod), Prashnora (settled in Prashnipur) and Krushnora (settled in Krishna village).
Symbols of Nagars:
* Kalam (Pen) representing intellectual proficiency
* Kadchhi (Ladle) representing culinary talent
* Barchhi (Small Spear) denoting valour,courage and willingness to stand for justice and rights of the weak and poor.
Music runs in the Nagar family.
Principal Deity: Lord Hatkeshwar (Shiva) is the ishtadev of all Nagars. It specifically refers to a Shivlingam.
The temple of Lord Hatkeshwar in Vadnagar is one of the most important ones for the Nagars.
Apart from this, all festivities in the Sanatan Dharm is shared by the Nagars. But the worship of Shiva remains a priority.
Famous Nagars : Narsinh Mehta
To be continued…
Jai Hatkesh
Shama Mehta 
Very informative post. I had no idea. But Nagar also means township, so is there any relation between Nagar-the people and the other meaning of the word Nagar (township) ?
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The way its pronounced is ‘Naa-gar’ and not as nagar. I don’t know why its spelt the way it is, but apparently everyone spells it that way. Maybe I will add devnagri to it. so yeh, as you can tell it does not relate to a township. 🙂
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