Nadava.--" This, "Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [72] "is a caste of Canarese farmers found only in South Canara. The Nadavas have returned four sub-divisions, one of which is Bant, and two of the other three are sub-divisions of Bants, the most important being Masadi. In the case of 33,212 individuals, Nadava has been returned as sub-division also. I have no information regarding the caste, but they seem to be closely allied to the Bant caste, of which Nadava is one of the sub-divisions." The name Nadava or Nadavaru means people of the nadu or country. It is one of the sub-divisions of the Bants. Naga (cobra: Naia tripudians).--Nag, Naga, Nagasa, or Nageswara, occurs in the name of a sept or gotra of various classes in Ganjam and Vizagapatam, e.g., Aiyarakulu, Bhondari, Bhumia, Bottada, Domb, Gadaba, Konda Dora, Medara, Muka Dora, Nagaralu, Omanaito, Poroja, Rona, and Samantiya. Members of the Nagabonso sept of Odiya claim to be descendants of Nagamuni, the serpent rishi. Naga is further a gotra or sept of Kurnis and Toreyas, of whom the latter, at their weddings, worship at 'ant' (Termites) hills, which are often the home of cobras. It is also a sub-division of Gazula Kapus and Koppala Velamas. Nagavadam (cobra's hood) is the name of a sub-division of the Pallis, who wear an ornament, called nagavadam, shaped like a cobra's head, in the dilated lobes of the ears. Among the Viramushtis there is a sept named Naga Mallika (Rhinacanthus communis), the roots of which shrub are believed to be an antidote to the bite of poisonous snakes. The flowers of Couroupita guianensis, which has been introduced as a garden tree in Southern India, are known as naga linga pu, from the staminal portion of the flower which curves over the ovary being likened to a cobra's hood, and the ovary to a lingam. Nagali (plough).--An exogamous sept of Kapu. Nagalika (of the plough).--A name for Lingayats engaged in cultivation. Nagaralu.--The Nagaralu are a cultivating caste in Vizagapatam, concerning whom it is recorded [73] that "Nagaralu means the dwellers in a nagaram or city, and apparently this caste was originally a section of the Kapus, which took to town life, and separated itself off from the parent stock. They say their original occupation was medicine, and a number of them are still physicians and druggists, though the greater part are agriculturists." For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. Viziaram Raz, the friend of Bussy, conferred mokhasas (grants of land) on some of the most important members of the caste, whose descendants are to be found in various places. The caste is divided into three sections or gotras, viz., Nagesvara (cobra) Kurmesa (tortoise), and Vignesvara or Mushika (rat). The rat is the vehicle of the elephant god Ganesa or Vignesvara. It is further divided into exogamous septs or intiperulu, such as sampathi (riches), chakravarthi (king or ruler), majji, etc.