Agrahara

A brahmin residential enclave, usually
established by a land grant from a
wealthy land owner or royalty to a particular brahmin. Brahmins had the
highest status in traditional Hindu
society, based on the belief that they
had higher ritual purity. The purpose
of the agrahara was to protect this ritual purity since it could be compromised fairly easily. Agraharas were
most common in southern India,
where brahmins formed an extremely
small percentage of the general population—on average, about four percent. As a small minority, southern
Indian brahmins could maintain a
more controlled environment, thereby
reducing the possibility of having their
purity tainted. In northern India,
brahmins formed a significant part of
the population and tended to live
within the towns and cities, although
they often inhabited particular sections of these places.