Indian Art: A History of Indian Art from the Earliest Times up to the Third Century A.D. c11.6

c11.6

THE PALACE—At Kumrahar, site of old Pāṭaliputra, a mighty pillared hall of Mauryan date has been found which is the first structural building of the historical period. In theory a royal palace was planned in three courts (*Tisraḥ-Kakṣyāḥ*). In the extensive first court there was room for royal stables, elephants and palace guards, in the second was the Audience Hall (*Sabhā* or *Asthāna-Maṇḍapa*) and in the third court the main palace or inner apartment (*Rājakula*), all three in one alignment. The pillared hall now discovered is the *Sabhā* proper and it is expected that the main palace should be found by extending the axial line beyond the two pillars of the throne, making allowance of some space for the palace gardens (*Bhavanoddyāna*).