Agraharams

Agraharams

Agraharams are clusters of houses in a village where Brahmins live. Usually these houses are inhabited by Iyers, Iyengars and other Brahmin sects. Agraharams are found in South India mainly in Tamil Nadu, Palakkad, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The name literally means "a garland of houses". It originates from the fact that the agraharams have lines of houses on either side of the road and the temple to the village god at the centre, thus resembling a garland around the temple. According to the traditional Hindu practice of architecture and town-planning, an agraharam is held to be two rows of houses running north-south on either side of a road at one end of which would be a temple to Shiva and at the other end, a temple to Vishnu.

With Brahmins taking up professions in urban areas and some migrating abroad agraharams are vanishing fast. Many of the traditional houses are giving way to concrete structures and commercial buildings.

atellite images of some Agraharams

* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=kuzhalmannam+agraharam,+palakkad&ie=UTF8&ll=10.723352,76.588193&spn=0.00214,0.004828&t=k&z=18 "Kuzhalmannam Agraharam",Palakkad, Kerala.]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114038809751246788218.000446f3003c119a1bdc6&ll=10.582164,76.495593&spn=0.003275,0.004672&t=k&z=18&iwloc=0004482182d603266ceaa "Kizhakkencherry Gramam", Palakkad, Kerala.]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114038809751246788218.000446f3003c119a1bdc6&ll=10.586113,76.483662&spn=0.003275,0.004672&t=k&z=18&iwloc=000447eb060308ec92425 "Vadakkencherry Gramam", Palakkad, Kerala.]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114038809751246788218.000446f3003c119a1bdc6&ll=10.692754,76.740162&spn=0.003273,0.004672&t=k&z=18&iwloc=00044810133ae99929adf "Thekke Gramam (Southern Village)", Chittur, Palakkad, Kerala.]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114038809751246788218.000446f3003c119a1bdc6&ll=10.677957,76.703088&spn=0.003274,0.004672&t=k&z=18&iwloc=00044811a04b823341828 "Padinjare Gramam", Thathamangalam, Palakkad, Kerala.]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114038809751246788218.000446f3003c119a1bdc6&ll=10.582169,76.496027&spn=0.003275,0.004672&t=k&z=18&iwloc=0004482182d603266ceaa "Kizhakkencherry Gramam", Palakkad, Kerala.]

External links

* [http://www.kuzhalmannamagraharam.info/ Kuzhalmannam Agraharam, one among agraharams of Palakkad where Kerala Iyers live.]


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