What it is
A revenue village is the smallest administrative unit in Tamil Nadu's land-records system, and it is separate from the everyday sense of a village as a settlement: a single revenue village can contain several hamlets, or one large settlement can be split across more than one. Every survey number belongs to a single revenue village, and numbering starts fresh in each one, so survey number 145 in one revenue village is unrelated to survey number 145 next door.
Why it matters when you buy
Because survey numbers repeat across revenue villages, quoting a survey number without its revenue village is not enough to identify a parcel uniquely; you need both, plus the taluk and district, to be certain you are looking at the right land. When you search patta-chitta or apply for an encumbrance certificate on eservices.tn.gov.in, selecting the correct revenue village is the step where a mismatch most often sends buyers down the wrong record entirely.
Where you find it
The revenue village name is printed on every patta-chitta, adangal, and FMB sketch for a parcel, usually alongside the taluk and district. It is also the field you select first, before survey number, on both eservices.tn.gov.in and tnreginet.gov.in when pulling up records for a specific plot, and getting it wrong is the most common reason such a search comes up empty.