Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c10.3

c10.3

Girivraja or the city of hills is said in the Mahābhārata to belong to the Bārhadrathas in which line Jarāsandha was a great ruler. The planning of the city and the execution of the stupendous walls of fortification was the work of a genius, an outstanding feat of architectural skill. The area is girdled by five hills mentioned in the Sabhā Parva (19. 2) and said to be rich in water and cattle wealth and full of a complement of large building (Veśmadhya). The hills are now known as Vaibhāra-giri in the north-west, Vipula-giri in the north-east, Ratnagiri in the east, Udaya-giri in the south and Soma-giri in the south-west. The five hills form a girdle like the walls of the town and their circuit is stated by Yuan-Chwang to be about 25 miles. Cunningham's survey on the spot shows it to be 8·3 miles only, but as the great rampart has also been traced up to Giriyeka which is about 6 miles in the east the statement of Yuan Chwang that the circuit of the wall was 25 miles seems to be correct. [Fig. 38].