Agraharas were specific plots of land, villages, or fields, often tax-exempt, granted to brahmins. Brahmins in agraharas performed sacrifices, served as priests, and preserved sacred knowledge, often centred around a temple. The brahmin communities within agraharas administered their settlements themselves.

In medieval southern India, especially in Karnataka, these agraharas emerged as major educational centres. They attracted students from afar for Sanskrit, Vedic, and philosophical studies and were crucial educational hubs long before modern universities. There was royal patronage and kings, queens, and wealthy individuals funded them to support scholarly life. These agraharas were often located in quiet, rural settings and were designed with a pure and cheerful atmosphere conducive to learning.

In essence, agraharas were self-sufficient, religiously significant, and highly respected Brahmin enclaves integral to ancient and medieval Indian intellectual and spiritual life, as highlighted in various historical inscriptions and literary works.

The assembly of Mahajans, or leaders of the community, also had to perform civic functions, such as the maintenance of charitable institutions, the entertainment of strangers who visited the agraharas, and the arrangement of disputations, lectures, and other works of this kind.