In India, especially Tamil Nadu, which is rightly called the Temple State, a town or a city is formed around a temple and people build their houses along both sides from near the Temple tower, which is called "Gopuram" in Tamil. Such places where they built houses are called "Agraharam" and the people kept the place very neat and clean. One such place in the Tirunelveli District is Mannarkoil, which is near Ambasamudram. The Vishnu temple in Mannarkoil with its exquisite stuccos and murals, is one of the few ones with an ashtanga vimana.
The Cholas had probably built the temple in the 13th century. The inscriptions were recorded and translated in 1905 and 1916. They speak of a powerful Temple Mahasabha that received large grants of land from various Chola, Pandya kings. The kings seem to have done this when they camped in nearby towns such as Velaikurichi and Kallidaikurichi. Particularly interesting were those that referred to an edict that asked for the dancing girls of the temple to husk the rice and also referred to the gifting of the village of Velanjolai to the temple.
Land was gifted to 12 Brahmins who had settled in the village from towns such as Thirukurungudi, Tirukurugur (Azhwar Thirunagari) and Thirumaliruncholai (Azhagar Koil) in recognition of their recitation of the "Thiruvaimozhi" in the Thiruvaimozhi Mandapam (still called the same). Land was also gifted to more humble people like the temple watchman. An interesting inscription refers to the Mahasabha accepting the bequest of land from two widows only after their male relatives had agreed to the land being gifted to the temple. In cases where the signatories to a contract were illiterate, others had signed on their behalf! Inscriptions also record more routine matters like the appointment of Sankaranayanar as the dharmakarta in Kollam year 764.
