Maharaja Agrasen divided his kingdom among his 18 children, resulting in eighteen Agrawal gotras. Often, the number of gotras is stated to be seventeen and half. This is because Agrasena proceeded to conduct 18 mahayajnas ("Great Yajnas"), some refer that two Mahayajnas was perfomed by the same Achariya / Pandit with resulted Goyal and Goyan (as Half Gotra). Some also refer that during one such yajna, Agrasena noticed that a horse that had been brought to be sacrificed was trying hard to get away from the sacrificial altar. Seeing this Maharaj Agrasena was filled with compassion for the animal. The idea of ahimsa (non-violence) grabbed his mind.Thus, the eighteenth yajna wasn't completed and Agrasena had performed seventeen and a half yajnas. The gods appeared before him and blessed him with seventeen and a half gotras.
18 RISHI'S - WHO PERFORMED 18 YAGYA'S
Gargashya Rishi, Gobhil Rishi, Gautam Rishi , Vatsa Rishi, Kaushik Rishi, Shandilya Rishi, Mandavya Rishi, Jamini Rishi, Tandya Rishi, Aaurva Rishi, Ghaumya Rishi, Mudgal Rishi, Vasishta Rishi, Maitreya Rishi, Taitireya Rishi, Bhardwaj Rishi, Kashyap Rishi and Nagendra Rishi
In the later part of his life, Agrasena nominated his eldest son Vibhu to the throne and took up the Vanaprastha ashram. According to the legend, Agroha was a prosperous city and a hundred thousand traders lived in the city during its heyday. An insolvent community man as well as an immigrant wishing to settle in the city would be given a rupee and a brick by each inhabitant of the city. Thus, he would have a hundred thousand bricks to build a house for himself, and a hundred thousand rupees to start a new business. Gradually, the city of Agroha declined and was finally destroyed in a huge fire. The residents of Agroha i.e. the Agrawals moved out of Agroha and spread in other parts of India.
The kingdom of Agrasen flourished and extended from the Himalayas, Punjab, the valley of Yamuna, and the Mewar region. Agra continued to be a prominent place being the capital of the southern part of the kingdom. The other important regions were Gurugram, the goddess mother of this place is revered by Agrawals; Meerut, Rohtak, Hansi, Panipat, Karnal, and Kotkangra. The famous temple of Mahamaya, the Kuladevi of Agrawals is located at Kotknagra. Mandi, Vilaspur, Garhwal, Narnaul were all the parts of the kingdom. Agroha was the capital of the kingdom. Agrawals are basically a commercial community or Vaishyas. They are one of the most respectable and enterprising of mercantile tribes. Two of Emperor Akbar’s famous ministers are said to have been Agrawals, viz, Todarmal, who introduced an assessment of land, and Madhushah, who introduced ‘Madhushahi’ pice.