Agamudayar is a Tamil community which is distributed through the length and breadth of the state of Tamil Nadu. In Southern parts of Tamil Nadu, they are considered as one of the three castes which make up the
Mukkulathor community. They are identified as a separate caste in the Northern parts of Tamil Nadu.
The word
Agamudayar is derived from the root
Agam which in Tamil means Land and or House signifying that Agamudayars were Landlords and Householders. The suffix
Udaiyar indicates ownership. The word is also used in another form, Agam Padaiyar, signifying the meaning of a particular profession, whose office it was to attend to the business in the Interior's of the King's Palace or in the Pagoda". The name," Mr. J. H. Nelson writes, "is said by the Rev. G. U. Pope, in his edition of the Abbe Dubois' work to be derived from agam, a temple, and padi, a step, and to have been given to them in consequence of their serving about the steps of temples. B…
