[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Architecture and art](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art) › [Town Planning in Ancient India](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925) › c10.s2.4 # Town Planning in Ancient India c10.s2.4 Town Planning in Ancient India c10.s2.4 - **Language:** English ### [c10.s2.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c10.s2.4) In India, considerations of efficiency in corporate life, and the principle of the Varṇāśrama Dharma developing a social stratification of the people in general and of the functionaries of the state, led to a segregation of the classes following different pursuits; and the same caste or people of the same profession were congregated in the same ward¹ so that a uniformity of life and consequent economic efficiency and progress were secured. Every ward was set apart for a caste or trade guilt of note which enjoyed an autonomy of its own.² Thus if the Śūdra class was numerically very large, a separate block or even a separate site was allotted to it. The goldsmiths, the artisans, the perfume-dealers, the Brāhmaṇs, or the soldiers would have distinct muhallas or a detached group of blocks of their own. Even to-day in the towns or villages of Southern India the Brāhmaṇa quarter is separate and goes by the name of Agrahāram. In large cities any of the sites into which the whole city was divided by the main highways, was so large that no particular class was important and big enough to inhabit it to the full. Again in large cities such detachment of classes or castes is neither conducive to the integrity of civic life nor good for the class itself, because corporate life connotes manifold needs and responsibilities and consequently necessitates interdependence and inter-communication. Hence every site was divided into different blocks or plots, one being meant for each class. In a word, a site was the prototype of the whole city on a smaller scale. This admixture and congregation of classes came as a remedial measure against possible accentuation of class differences. - [Previous: c10.s2.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c10.s2.3) - [Next: c10.s2.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c10.s2.5) - [Up: c10.s2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c10.s2) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c10.s2.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c10.s2.4) · Pramāṇa