Gadaria, Gadri. [1]--The occupational shepherd caste of northern
India. The name is derived from the Hindi gadar and the Sanskrit
gandhara, a sheep, the Sanskrit name being taken from the country of
Gandhara or Kandahar, from which sheep were first brought. The three
main shepherd castes all have functional names, that of the Dhangars
or Maratha shepherds being derived from dhan, small stock, while the
Kuramwars or Telugu shepherds take their name like the Gadarias from
kuruba, a sheep. These three castes are of similar nature and status,
and differ only in language and local customs. In 1911 the Gadarias
numbered 41,000 persons. They are found in the northern Districts,
and appear to have been amongst the earliest settlers in the Nerbudda
valley, for they have given their name to several villages, as
Gadariakheda and Gadarwara.