Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c40.s3: Jhukun
Mānasāra Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra-Śilpaśāstra; III. Mānasāra on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Mānasāra: Translation; V. Architecture of Mānasāra: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c40.s3
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Jhukun
v6.c40.s3.1
With a view to tracing the Indus civilization, as disclosed by the finds made at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, explorations have been conducted in the interior of Sind, which might have been once on or near the banks of the Indus, as well as further into Baluchistan. These Sind explorations have not yielded any substantial architectural or sculptural remains, although the so-called pre-historic pottery and implements have come out in abundance. The scanty remains, mostly of unidentified walls and of a few buildings, have, however, been found not only along the old course of the Indus but also upon hills and around lakes.
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The remains of buildings discovered at Jhukun, near Larkana (and about half way between Harappa and Mohenjo-daro), consist of ‘over fifty rooms of varying dimensions’ made of sundried bricks. ‘The floor levels of these rooms show a variation of about 5 to 6 feet, resting at places on a foundation of debris and at others on a solid filling of sundried bricks on pure clay.’ ‘A masonry well was exposed on this mound at a level considerably lower than the floor of the rooms.’¹ This may indicate that the buildings whose purposes are unknown were dwelling houses.
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¹ *Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India*, no. 48, p. 6, Plate II, B, C, D.
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The dates of these buildings are stated to have been indicated by the coins and the inscribed sealings discovered therein. ‘A few of the coins are of the class represented by the thick round pieces issued by the Kushan King Vasudeva and his successors.’² This would, incidentally, show that those buildings were designed after the Hindu style, which is found applied in all Kushan structures.
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² *Ibid*, p. 7.
v6.c40.s3.6
Traces of three earlier strata, superimposed one upon another, have been uncovered. ‘The surface layer has vertically a depth of about 12 feet. Of the dwellings of this period nothing but a paving of burnt bricks and a few traces of sundried brick walls had survived. At the middle stratum a number of walls of burnt bricks of Mohenjodaro size were discovered. The bottom stratum also disclosed only a few walls of the same type.’³
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³ *Ibid*, p. 9.
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Non-architectural remains, mostly of Buddhistic tablets depicting Buddha and Chaityas, have been found in southern Sind, in the delta country, at Tatta, Budhjo Takar, Mirpurkhas and other places.⁴ Remains of walls and a drain have been uncovered also at Chanhudaro.⁵ Remains of walls of some late period have also been uncovered at Lohunjo-daro. But no traces of any complete structure have yet been found.⁶
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⁴ *Ibid*, pp. 19, 21.
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⁵ *Ibid*, pp. 36, 37, Plate IV, C.
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⁶ *Ibid*, pp. 48–49, Plate V, C.
v6.c40.s3.12
The lake Manchhar is usually of 8 to 10 miles in length and breadth. It is situated at the foot of the Khirthar hills. Excavations at Masak, Lal Chhatto, Lohri, and Lakhiyo on the lake did not reveal any architectural objects except faint traces of some walls. But the [Figure: RELIC CHAMBER. PROBABLE SHAPE OF STUPA BURNT BRICK IN MUD. PROBABLE PLAN OF WALL OF TOWER. SCALE ONE INCH = 7½ FEET. PLAN. OF MIRPUR KHAS STUPA. FROM COUSENS. WEST]
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Buddhist stūpa at Mirpur Khas (view from south-east)
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Buddhist stūpa at Mirpur Khas (view from north-west)
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Plan of Mirpur Khas stūpa excavator declares that the ‘explorations around the Manchhar now prove, for the first time, the existence of a lake-dwelling people in Sind during the later part of the Indus period. Their settlements were on the verge of the lake. Their ways of living could not have been much different from those of the present dwellers, many of whom live in boats with their families, or in huts constructed on platforms on the surface of water. These huts have a curious likeness to the Neolithic and Chalcolithic pile-dwellings of the lakes of Switzerland and other European countries. Whether the ancient lake-dwellers of Manchhar used to have similar pile-houses it is difficult to say with the data available. The pits and trenches excavated on Lal Chhatto and Mashak mounds have not revealed any brick or stone, nor was there any indication to show that the lake-dwellings were made of these materials.’¹
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¹ *Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India*, p. 65.
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There are, however, abundant literary evidences in the *Epics*, *Purāṇas*, and *Śilpa-śāstras* that special houses were built both on and around the tanks and lakes during the early Hindu period. Many of the architectural details of these houses are missing. Examples, however, exist at Puri, Bhuvaneśwara, Pushkar, Madura, and many other places. But these are more or less modern structures.