Is it better to sell at the mandi or directly to a private trader at the village?

Both have trade offs. Selling at the mandi, especially through eNAM online bidding, gives you price discovery, since several buyers compete and you can see the rate, plus a sale record and a chance at MSP procurement for notified crops. The downside is transport cost, time, mandi charges and the effort of grading and weighment. A village trader saves you transport and effort and pays quickly, which suits small lots, but you usually get a lower rate because there is no competition, the weighment and quality call are entirely his, and you have little proof if there is a dispute. A practical approach is to know the prevailing mandi rate for your grade first, then judge whether the trader's offer minus your transport and time still beats it. For larger quantities the mandi or eNAM usually wins; for very small lots a fair village trader can make sense. Never sell to a trader without first checking the current mandi rate for your quality.