Iyers were usually not recruited as the priest (shanthi) in Kerala temples which followed Tantric rituals.
The settlement consisting of array of houses and other amenities developed by Tamil Brahmins in Kerala came to be known as Agraharam as in other parts of South India.
[3] There existed 95 Agraharams in Kerala where Brahmins lived in peace, with unity, equality and simplicity.
[5] During the rule of Travancore kings, many Iyers (Tamil Brahmins) migrated to Thiruvananthapuram.
The ancestors of the Thiruvananthapuram Iyers were brought from “Brahmadesam" (a village in Ambasamudram Taluk of Modern day Thirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu) by the Travancore Kings, to take part in the “Mura Japam” ritual of Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple.