The agrahāra—known in the Tamil region as Caturvēdimaṅgalam (சதுர்வேதி மங்கலம்)—the tax-exempt Vaidika grant-village of premodern South Asia—has long been a subject of scholarly inquiry within the disciplines of economic history and political sociology. Traditionally framed as units of agrarian administration or instruments of royal legitimation, these settlements represent far more than mere economic or political institutions. This essay argues that the agrahāra was, at its core, a deliberate "orthopraxic spatial project": a human habitation whose entire layout, zoning, and residential allocation were governed by the logic of "correct practice" (samyak-karma). By examining the agrahāra through the lens of built orthopraxy, we can understand how Vaidika ritual conduct, rather than doctrinal uniformity, constituted the physical and social form of the settlement.

1. The Orthopraxic Framework: Dharma as Enjoined Action

To understand the spatial logic of the agrahāra, one must first situate it within the broader Vaidika understanding of dharma. In the Indological context, orthopraxy—as formulated by Frits Staal—designates a religious orientation where "the important thing is...