In early medieval India, the term 'brahmadeya' referred to:

In early medieval India, especially in the south, "brahmadeya" referred to land (often a whole village) granted by kings to Brahmanas, usually exempt from taxes.

About brahmadeyas:

• "Brahmadeya" means "given to Brahmanas".
• The grants were made to individual Brahmanas or to groups of Brahmanas, often learned in the Vedas.
• The grantees were given the right to collect revenue from the land, and the land was usually free from taxes payable to the king.
• The grants were recorded in inscriptions, often on copper plates, which described the boundaries of the land and the rights granted.

NCERT on brahmadeyas:

• NCERT notes that under the Cholas, many Brahmanas received land grants, called brahmadeya.
• As a result, a large number of Brahmana settlements emerged in the Kaveri valley, as in other parts of south India.
• Each brahmadeya was looked after by an assembly or "sabha" of prominent Brahmana landholders.
• These assemblies worked very efficiently; their decisions were recorded in detail in inscriptions, often on the stone walls of temples.
• The Uttaramerur inscriptions describe the working of such a sabha.

Other types of land under the Cholas (NCERT):

• "Vellanvagai": land of non-Brahmana peasant proprietors.
• "Shalabhoga": land for the maintenance of a school.
• "Devadana" or "tirunamattukkani": land gifted to temples.
• "Pallichchhandam": land donated to Jaina institutions.

Purpose of the grants:

• Kings made such grants to earn religious merit and to gain the support and legitimacy provided by the Brahmanas.
• The grants helped spread agriculture into new areas, and spread Brahmanical culture.

Agrahara:

• An "agrahara" was a similar settlement of Brahmanas, especially in Karnataka and other regions.
• Good to know
• The other options do not describe brahmadeya.