The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, taking care of cattle, trade and other business pursuits as mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita.
Hindu religious texts assigned Vaishyas to traditional roles in agriculture and cattle-rearing, but over time they came to be landowners, traders and money-lenders.
[2] The Vaishyas, along with members of the Brahmin and Kshatriya varnas, claim dvija status ("twice born", a second or spiritual birth) after sacrament of initiation as in Hindu theology.
According to historian Ram Sharan Sharma, the Gupta Empire was a Vaishya dynasty that "may have appeared as a reaction against oppressive rulers".
[5] Many Vaishyas are vegetarian due to the influence of Jainism and Buddhism which preaches the concept of ahimsa which forbade killing of animals for food.