Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c8.s1.22

c8.s1.22

Towards the middle of the first millennium B.C., the social system of the Vedic community so expanded that towns arose at certain important centres, where the traditional structural features of the village were reproduced on a larger scale and in a more substantial form. Owing to a fierce rivalry that had sprung up between the various groups, the towns, which were the capitals of states, were strongly fortified. They were therefore, of necessity surrounded by a rampart and wooden palisades while within this enclosure the buildings were also almost entirely of wood The Vedic civilization now enters on an era of timber construction. In many countries there is an age when the inhabitants lived in forests so that they became closely identified with their woody environment, as their ancient folklore frequently testifies According to the natural disposition and trend of these people the period during which they practised wooden construction was long or short but it was inevitably followed in the course of time by the employment of more permanent materials for building purposes. With the early inhabitants of India the timber age appears to have been a long one, due no doubt to the vast extent of the *Mahavana* or "Great Wood" in which they were cradled, picturesque references to which find a place in their epics So closely connected with their existence were these forests that the early people developed a dexterity in wooden construction of a very high standard Their pronounced manipulative skill in this material may be accounted for by their prolonged apprenticeship to the woodworkers' craft when they were forced to rely on the trees around them for many of the necessities of life In the Rig-Veda the carpenter is recorded as holding the place of honour among all artizans as on his handiwork the village community depended for some of its most vital needs. It is not remarkable therefore, in view of this timber tradition that its constructional features were freely and closely imitated in the rock and stone architecture which eventuated and was the form of expression for many centuries afterwards.