A "Nagar" is defined as....onehaving good looks & intelligence,fond of art and musicalways good at 3 things : Kalam (pen) , Kadchchi (cooking) , barchchi (spear/war) With a view to prorogate the Brahmin Dharma as against the Buddh belief various writers wrote the Skanda Purana from 300 to 770 A.D. sponsored by Skanda Gupta and vallabhi emperors. The elite Brahmins, called Nagars were assigned the
task of furthering the Brahmin religions. These Nagars were expert interpreters of religion and were working without salary. Mostly they inhabited around Vadnagar or Anandnagar. The kings therefore gave them land for maintenance. These Nagars traveled far and wide and established the shiv belief in Egypt, Babylon, Brazil, Kabul, Indo-china and Cambodia. It is said that after the death of emperor Ashoka (232 B.C.) the Shakas and Yavanas made inclusions.(www.nagar-setu.com)
It is also believed that before Nagars first came to Gujarat in 404 A.D., they lived in Sindh. According to Sir Herbert Risley, Nagars are "Shaks" & "Dravids." Dr. Bhandaarkar also considers that Nagars have origin outside our country. Nagars from across the borders came first to Kashmir and then they spread out in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Utter Pradesh, Bengal, Malva, and Gujarat. After migrating from Kurukshetra they had first settled in Anandpur - Vadnagar of today. Another view asserts Nagars to be of Greek origin[citation needed]. When Alexander the Great invaded India, he had come with his army through Kashmir. While returning, many Greek soldiers settled in Kashmir. They came into close contact of Pundit community of Kashmir and the progeny that resulted was known as Nagars. Afterwards, Nagars migrated to other parts of the country. Nagars and Greeks are considered similar even today so far as their physical appearance is concerned. A famous historian from Junagadh and a well known Nagar Shri Shambhuprasad Desai had mentioned in his book about the history of Nagars that Nagars first came from Greece, Macedonia, Syria or regions surrounding these places. There is a Nagar ground near Jordan and Israel. Besides, there is a place called Nagar. Also there is also a Nagar community in Iran. They might have come from there first to Kangda (old NAGARKOT) of Himalayas. "NAG" means a mountain and "NAAG" means persons living in mountain region. All these three put together becomes " NAAGARA " This leads us to believe that Nagars must be living in the beginning in the regions surrounded by mountains. (Nagar - a man protected by NAG-a mountain)
Current research speculates the A***n origin to be Hatak or Ladhakh, where the predominant deity is Hatak, Hatkesh or Hatkeshwar. According to the Skandapurana, the land of Hatkeshwar was a gift from Lord Shiva for the Nagars to colonize. Another version of the legend claims the King of Anarta rebuilt an abandoned city, Chamatkarpur, and consecrated a temple to Hatkeshwar to show his gratitude to the Brahmins. Through the years, and many name changes, the town is currently known as Vadnagar. The inhabitants of the city were known as Nagars. As time passed, the city of Vadnagar was invaded on more than one occasion. Nagars sought refuge in the nearby areas of Saurashtra and Rajasthan. During this time, they did their best to observe and preserve the code in order to guard their identity. After King Vishaldev conquered Gujarat (around A.C.E. 1040), the King of Ajmer established the cities of Vishnagar (formerly Vishalnagar), Chitrod (or Chitakutpati), Prashnipur, Krashnor, and Sathod (or Shatpad). He offered these cities to the Brahmins who were descendants or an offshoot of the Nagars from Vadnagar. As per the origin place of the Nagars, gradually they are called with. Like Visnagara from Visnagar, Vadnagara from Vadnagar, Prashnora from Prashnipur (Rajasthan) now settled in Bhavnagar and other region in Gujarat, Krashnora from Krashnor, Sathodara from Shatpad etc.
