The agrahara in early India was the name of a village or land granted to Brahmins. An Agraharam or Agrahara was a grant of land and royal income from it, typically by a king or a noble family, to religious purposes, particularly to Brahmins to maintain temples in that land or a pilgrimage site and to sustain their families. Agraharams were also known as Chaturvedimangalams in ancient times.