According to a legend prevalent among Nais, they are descended from Nabhi, who in puranic literature is king of the Ikshvaku dynasty.

[26] In Tamil region some members of the barber caste practiced medicine and used to be called Ambathan.

Sain, who was the contemporaries of Kabir, the Bhakti poet who challenged the hegemonic values and hierarchy of the caste system, has become the most revered symbol of pride and identity formation of the Nais.

In order to assert their cultural autonomy in 1992 Akhil Bharatiya Sain Bhaktipith Trust was set up on the occasion of the Ujjain mahakumbh mela headed in Pushkar.

[34] Such attempts by relatively lower castes to lay claim on higher varna status is termed as Sanskritisation.