Shaiva Nagas

Naga (“naked,” i.e., fighting) ascetics
who are devotees (bhakta) of the god
Shiva, organized into different akharas or regiments on the model of an
army. The other major Naga division
was the Bairagi Nagas, who were
devotees of the god Vishnu. Until the
beginning of the nineteenth century
the Nagas’ primary occupation was as
mercenary soldiers, although they also
had substantial trading interests. Such
resources allowed many Naga leaders
to become rich and powerful men
despite often coming from lower
social strata, and in earlier times such
opportunities would have made a
career as a Naga an attractive proposition for an ambitious young man. Both
these sources of income have largely
disappeared in contemporary times,
although some Naga communities are
still landowners with extensive properties and thus both rich and influential. See also shaiva.