Town Planning in Ancient India c12.s2: Sarvatobhadra

Town Planning in Ancient India c12.s2

Language: English

Sarvatobhadra

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students of the Vedas), or yogīs or meditators of God. The number of car-streets (rathyā) in it varies from one to five with a boulevard going round the village. The internal streets are lined with a single row of houses while a double row of houses ranges along the outer streets.¹ The streets should be so constructed as to demarcate the four annular divisions of the plot ending in the Paiśācha.² Here several lines occur in the original, but their readings are too faulty and their meaning too obscure for translation. "Without the walls (?) should be placed shrines of the deities who preside over and defend the several quarters of the villages. Pilgrims' pavillions, rest-houses, colleges, halls should be located at the several corners. Other divine edifices (religious halls ?) should be established in whatever quarters desirable. Towards the quarter of Agni (south-east) a water-shed should be erected. The village should be secured by a wall and a ditch, with four large gates on the sides and as many by-gates at the corners. The artisans and craftsmen should be assigned quarters along the boulevard (mahārathyā). The hamlets of Vaiśyas (the trading class) and Śudras (the servant class) should be allocated towards the south. In the plots between and including the two consecrated

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¹ Rāmrāz gives a different version: "It has four streets of equal length on the four sides within the wall, meeting one another at right angles and two more crossing each other in the middle. Between these may be formed 3, 4, or 5 as many more streets as the extent of the village will admit on each side parallel to the middle-most street."

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² Vide Chapter VI.

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Abstract Plan of Sarvatobhadra

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to Indra and Agni, *i.e.*, along the whole extreme southern side of the village should be erected in rows the houses of cowherds (gopāla) *i.e.*, agriculturists; and just outside the walls (?) to their south should be constructed the cow-sheds, guarded by pallisades. Between the chambers of Pitṛs and Varuṇa (both inclusive) *i.e.*, between the west and the south-west, the weavers and drapers are to have their quarters. A little further off are the stalls of yarn-dealers and shops of wheel-wrights. The blacksmiths are to be quartered between the chambers of Varuṇa and Vāyu (both inclusive) and further opposite to them are the fishermen and the butchers to be established. The hermits, the physicians, and the Ambaṣṭhas are to be assigned quarters between the plots dedicated to Vāyu and Soma. The shrine of Viṣṇu may be located in their midst.¹ Over across them are the blocks of the oilsmen. Without the north-eastern gate, but by the side of the eastern wall should be erected a temple for the worship of Chāmuṇḍā, the Immanent Śakti (i.e., Power) of Viṣṇu and the huts of caṇḍālas or outcastes should be further removed from it. This is the human habitation (janavāsam) beyond the pale of the village. Tanks or reservoirs should be constructed either in the south or the east or in the intermediate quarters. The master-builder should lay out the rest in conformity to the injunctions of the Śāstras.

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¹ Here occurs a line whose meaning is not quite clear.

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(3) Nandyāvarta :—The dimensions of this village are the same as before. It may be square or oblong. It is divisible into as many parts as are contained in the mystic figure Chaṇḍita (also called Maṇḍuka) or Sthaṇḍila, if it is square, or in the figure Paramaśāyika, if it is oblong.

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NANDYĀVARTA (in Maṇḍuka)

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NANDYĀVARTA (in Sthandila)

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The Chaṇḍita consists of 64 divisions, (being the square of eight) of which the four divisions in the centre are called Brāhmya, *i.e.*, dedicated to Brahmā. "They should be entirely appropriated to sacred purposes."¹ The twelve plots that surround the Brāhmya zone, are called Daivika, those belonging to the Devas. The next zone encircling the Daivika contains twenty divisions and is called Mānuṣya or that held sacred to men; and the outermost zone containing twenty-eight chambers (or plots) is named Paiśācha, that is, the one appropriated to demons. "These several rounds should be occupied by different classes in order of their superiority; *i.e.*, the Brāhmaṇs should have the Brāhmya and so with the rest."¹ The figure called Paramaśāyika contains 81 equal parts, being the square of nine, of which the central nine plots form the Brāhmya; 16 around these, the Daivika; 24 around these, the Mānuṣya; and the outermost 32, the Paiśācha. The figure Sthaṇḍila consists of 49 equal divisions, being the square of seven, of which the middle one is called the Brāhmya; eight around these form the Daivika; 16 around these, the Mānuṣya; and the outermost 24, the Paiśācha. The village has four large streets along the sides, running in each direction at right angles. The eastern street (i.e., the street in the east) beginning from the north (strictly speaking from the north-east corner) runs on to the south

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¹ The lines within the inverted commas do not occur in my MSS. and I have quoted them from Rāmrāz.

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Abstract Plan of Nandyāvarta

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and projects out (to a small distance from the cross-street which intersects it); the southern street commencing from the east (i.e., the eastern street at the south-east corner) runs on in a westerly direction and opens out to the west. The western street beginning from the south (i.e., the southern street) runs on in a northerly direction and shoots out to the north. The northern street, running from east to west, juts forth in the east, (beyond the eastern street, at the north-east corner).¹ This plan in the lay-out of streets is like the mystic figure Nandyāvarta in the opinion of the experts. All other streets running from south to north and from east to west should follow this plan. There may be three, five, or seven such sets of streets, with a row of houses on each side. The lanes (mārgāh) may be planted in number varying from one to five. The lanes that lie transverse between the main roads should have no houses (opening on them).² A vīthī or street is that which is lined with houses, while a mārga or road is that which is devoid of (or irregularly lined with) houses. The streets of all (the villages ?) fall on the great boulevard (mahāmārga ?). The small roads should be planted at the intervals of six or seven ‘rajjus’ (1 rajju = 10 daṇḍas = 60 feet). The streets should be 3, 4, or 5 daṇḍas wide, whereas in the village divided into the mystic

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¹ Rāmrāz proceeds hence with a different version not warranted by my MSS. "The number of streets in the outer compartment should be determined according to its extent, and in the compartments called Divya and Mānushya, 3 or 4 more parallel streets may be made from east to west, with as many cross ones north to south, forming as it were, so many courts or enclosures. The broad streets run through the middle of the village, from east to west and from north to south cutting one another in the middle where should be erected either a temple for Brahmā or a maṇḍapa for general meetings." Rāmrāz seems to give here a summary.

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² The difference between a mārga and a vīthī is the same as between a road and a street, the former having discontinuous rows of houses. Or, does mārga here signify an interjacent alley between building blocks ?

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NANDYĀVARTA (Circular Plan. After Ananthalwar and Raes, Indian Architecture.)

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figure Paramaśāyika, the street round the middle-most nine divisions may be 6, 7, or 8 daṇḍas broad. The streets may be equally wide or some may be wider. The excesses in breadth over the standard street may be ⅛, ¼ or ½. The great boulevard (mahāmārga) may be as wide as the standard street or less by ¼ and the other small roads may be ⅜ or ½ as broad.

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This village Nandyāvarta (literally an abode of bliss) is best suited to Brāhmaṇs. But from what follows it is clear that it is also intended for a mixed population including all the four varṇas or castes. If the village is inhabited by 58, 108, 300, 1008, 2000, or 4000 Brāhmaṇs in all the rounds Daivika, Mānuṣya, and Paiśācha, it is called Maṅgala (or abode of bliss). If, on the other hand, it contains also the ruling class and Vaiśyas in preponderating number, then it goes by the name of Pura. Again if the predominant people be Vaiśyas and Śūdras it is called Agrahāram. In these human habitats (martyāpada), Brāhmaṇs are assigned quarters in the outskirts (within the wall).¹ The royal palace may be placed in any of the rounds Daiva, Mānuṣya, or Paiśācha. But the latter round is especially fit for Vaiśyas and Śūdras. There should be planted in the Paiśācha round streets numbering from one to seven (?). The Vaiśyas should be placed in the first street on the south. The castle of the paramount emperor (chakravartty) should be established in the plot belonging to Varuṇa, while in the plot dedicated to Mitra, Jayanta, or Rudrajaya should be erected the house of an ordinary king as well as the museum (kautukālayam). The headquarters of the provincial satraps and feudatory chiefs (sāmanta-pramukhādi) are to be stationed in the south-west corner. The sacerdotal caste are to be provided with sites in the plots belonging to Sugrīva, Puspadanta, Dauvārika, or Rākshasa; while the plots presided over by Gandharva, Roga, or Śosha are specially fit for the twice-born classes. In the same quarters are to be stationed the brothels and theatres. The wheel-wrights have their workshops in the divisions consecrated to Nāga or Mukhya (?). Art-studios (Śilpa-śāla) and looms are located in the north, while hospitals and dispensaries are established in the plots held sacred to Aditi or Diti. The village police have their barracks in the division of Jayanta; and charity-houses are placed in those belonging to Mahendra or Satya. Arsenals are to be constructed in the plots of Vṛṣha or Antarīksha. Surrounding the above quarters stand the following :—The oil-dealers have their row of stalls along the street on the north and the potters are also provided in the same quarters. The vendors of liquors and meat are relegated to the west, while the hunters and fowlers are quartered in the south. The laundry is placed in the south-east or north-west. The pillared pavillion of guests is raised in the south or in the east, while colleges or muths are given sites in the east or the west. The cobblers and the shoe-makers and others of kindred calling are located in the north. Surrounding these are to be the quarters of other craftsmen.

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¹ This is against the general scheme which places the Brāhmaṇs towards the centre. Besides, the designation ‘Agrahāram’ of a village peopled mainly by Vaiśyas and Śūdras is contrary to recognised nomenclature, as the quarters of the Brāhmaṇs alone go by that name.

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Then the distribution of sites is dwelt upon. On all sides of the village, as for instance, in the Ārya and other directions, even in the outskirts of it, should be designed and distributed the temples of Viṣhṇu and His various manifestations. In the round containing the plot of Indra, the shrine of Viṣhṇu is erected in the Rākshasa plot. Śrīkara is located in the east, while Nārāyaṇa in the south or north and Keśava on the north. Images of Viṣhṇu should be established in desirable number in the east and the north, while Nṛsiṃha should be enshrined in the south-west or the north-east. Viṣhṇu should face the village, while Narasimha should have his face turned away from it. Lakshmi and Nrsimha should generally face the village, but in the divisions belonging to Rudra and Rudrajaya, Indra and Indrajaya, Apa and Apavatsa, Savindra, Isa, Jayanta, or Parjanya, the latter should have its back turned upon the village. Siva, either in the east or in the west should face the village and in the case of other gods, there is no such hard and fast rule as above. Within the village walls, in the plot consecrated either to Pitrs or to Dauvarika, is to be the shrine to Subrahmanya; or in those quarters may be established the mote-halls of Jainas or Bauddhas. Vainayaka's shrines may be located in all the eight directions. The temple of Sarasvati should be constructed in the plots of Mukhya or Bhallata, while that of Lakshmi in those of Aditi or Mrga. Without and close by the gates of the village should be established the shrine of Bhairava to guard the village or it may be on the street in the parts belonging to Rakshasa or Pushpadanta. Beyond the village pallisades towards, the divisions apportioned to Soma, the temple of Kali should be located. About a kros (roughly two miles) away from the village, either in the east, or in the north, the quarters of the Candalas should be raised and about ten daṇḍas to the north of the village, is to be placed the cremation ground.

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The village should have a girdle of wall encompassed by a ditch. The main gates of the village should be located near the four corners. The eastern gate should be opened in the quarter of Īśāna; the southern gate in that of Agni; the western gate in that of Pitṛs and the northern gate in that of Vāyu¹.....Expert authorities do not generally recommend four gates in the four cardinal directions; or two gates may be constructed in the east and the west. The four streets making up the boulevard may have openings (chāra) at their termini. Side-gates or by-gates may be opened in the north in the plots belonging to Nāga, Mṛga, Aditi, and Diti; in the east in those of Parjanya, Antarikṣa, and Puṣā; in the south in those of Gandharva and Bhṛṅgarāja; and in the west on those of Sugrīva and Asura. Else, travellers' gates (janadvāram) may be constructed in the plots belonging to either Mukhya, Bhallāṭa, Mṛga, Aditi, Jayanta, Mahendra, Satya, or Bhṛśa.

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¹ Here some lines follow whose reading is too faulty for any clear construction.

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Divine edifices (maṇḍapam) should be erected in the squares held sacred to Brahmā, Agni, or Mitra. Councils and town-halls (sabhāsthāna) should be established in the plots dedicated to Bhūdhara and Asura. All the above distributions and allocations are required by the authorities on Śilpa Śāstras to be made on the ground divided into the mystic figure Caṇḍita.”

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The Mayamata gives the following succinct description of villages of this type: “The village has five highways running from east to west, while the number of main thoroughfares running transverse to them is variously recommended from thirteen to seventeen. It has four main gates on the four sides. Because of the peculiar orientation of its gates and numerous streets it looks like the mystic figure Nandyāvarta. Hence its significant designation.”

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According to Kāmikāgama, it may be circular or quadrangular.

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(4) Padma or Padmaka :—Mayamatam says there are five varieties of this village. The number of easterly streets may be seven, while the number of northerly streets may vary from three to five. Or, the streets running from east to west may be six or seven, while the transverse streets may be twenty. The Kāmikāgama fixes different numbers of northerly streets varying from seven to twenty-nine, while

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PADMAKA¹

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तद्गेहेऽथ तथा स्थाप्यं मण्डपं वा सभां वयेत् (?) ।
तद्बहिः पूर्ववीथीषु पञ्चेरावर्त्तकेषु] च ।
चतुष्षष्ट् सप्त वाष्टकं वाथ वीथिका ॥
मध्य इदं विना कुर्यात् चतुर्द्दिक्षु चारकल्पकं । मानसारे नवमीऽध्यायेः ।

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The plan given above is a departure from the one suggested by Rāmrāz and others. But the very name Padmaka and the word ‘आवर्तकेषु’ (circular) occurring in the above extract embolden me to it places the number of cross streets at seven. Mānasāra’s details are: Its length and breadth are made equal, while the enclosing walls are circular. Or, the village and its walls may be quadrangular, sexagonal, or octagonal. The village ground should be divided into the mystic figure Sthaṇḍila or Caṇḍita. The divine edifice and the council house should be erected in the central plot. Round about this plot should be planted streets numbering four to eight and they are lined with houses. There should be gates in four cardinal directions. The rest is identical with the above-mentioned Nandyāvarta.

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¹ तद्गेहेऽथ तथा स्थाप्यं मण्डपं वा सभां वयेत् (?) । तद्बहिः पूर्ववीथीषु पञ्चेरावर्त्तकेषु] च । चतुष्षष्ट् सप्त वाष्टकं वाथ वीथिका ॥ मध्य इदं विना कुर्यात् चतुर्द्दिक्षु चारकल्पकं । मानसारे नवमीऽध्यायेः ।

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(5) Swastika :—The lay-out of streets contemplated by Mayamuni in this village is as follows: The eastern street beginning from the north-east projects out to the south; the southern street begins to run from the south-east towards the west; the western street runs in northerly direction commencing from the south-west; the northern street beginning to run from the north-west shoots out in the eastern direction.

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Mānasāra’s particulars are exhaustive: Lengths and breadths of the village may be arbitrarily pro-

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suggest the above plan as the right one answering the description. If my interpretation is correct of which I am not quite certain for want of a more reliable manuscript or text—then here is a town-plan consisting of oblique street.

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[Figure: PADMAKA (in Sthandila)]

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portional, and the ground should be divided into the mystic figure Paramaśāyika. Streets in it should be planted up to the extremity of the Paiśācha round. The streets should be planted in conformity with the figure Swastika. There should be two streets passing through the centre of the village, one running from west to east and the other cross-street running from south to north cutting the former in the middle and the rest of the highways should emanate from one or other of the four branches of these two cross-roads. The (northern-most) easterly street runs from the north to the north-east; the eastern-most southerly street beginning from the east terminates in the south-east; the southern-most westerly street starting from the south abut on the south-west; the western-most northerly street setting out from the west ends in the north-west. The above four streets starting from the extremities of the four (i.e., two) cross-roads are directed clock-wise round the village and together with the latter, from the figure Swastika by four plough-like (┌-like) streets each bent respectively at right angles at the four cardinal points of the compass; thus each of these plough-shaped streets has two extremities one at the farthest point of the cross-road and another at the corner and each of them has two openings one on the sides and the other at the angular points.

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SWASTIKA

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In the first quadrant having the plots of Brahmā, Soma, Īśāna, and Āditya at the angles, the parallel streets run from west to east; in the second quadrant within the corner-plots of Brahmā, Āditya, Agni, and Yama, the parallel streets run from north to south; in the third quadrant enclosed by the corner-chambers belonging to Brahmā, Yama, Nirṛti and Varuṇa the parallel streets run from east to west; in the fourth quadrant formed by the corners occupied by Brahmā, Varuṇa, Vāyu, and Soma, the parallel streets run from south to north. These streets have rows of houses on one side only. At both the extremities of these streets there are building blocks on a smaller scale. The surrounding boulevard too is lined with a double row of houses. Ramparts should defend the village and a ditch is to enclose these ramparts. There are eight main doors, four at the extremities of the cross-roads and the remaining four at the termini of the four branches of the figure Swastika. There may be eight other supplementary doors, constructed on the plots belonging to Bhṛśa and Antariksha, Bhṛngarāja and Mṛsha, Śosha and Roga, Aditi and Diti. The principal doors are designed like a plough, furnished with double door-panels. Here and there are the turrets over the walls fitted with varieties of missiles to be utilised in times of battle.

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Mystic Figure Swastika

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Full of various classes of people the Swastika is fit for habitation of kings and should be adopted in the Sthānīya (or local fastness or town). The royal palace may be erected in the four cardinal directions or at the corners or in the centre. When erected in the four cardinal quarters, it should be placed, without the central plot presided over by Brahmā, at the four plots, Aryyamā and others. There seems to be a classification of this type of village under different denominations, to wit, Āgata, Samgraha, Vijaya, and Sthānīya, according to the method of allocation of the royal palace. In the Āgata the palace may be situated on the plot belonging to Varuṇa, Āditya or Indrarāja; in the Saṃgrāma, it may be located on the plot consecrated either to Yama or Soma; in the Vijaya, it may be set up on the plot held sacred to either Soma or Vivasvān; in the Sthānīya, it may be assigned a site in the plot belonging to either Mitra, Varuṇa or Aryyamā.

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In the Sthānīya and the other three, the temple of Viṣṇu should respectively be erected on the plots presided over by Mitra, Varuṇa, Vivasvān, and Mahendra. The plots of Indra and Indrajaya, Rudra and Rudrajaya, or Āpa and Āpavatsa, Īśāna and Jayanta, should be alloted for the shrines to Īśa facing away from the village. The Buddhist temple should be established on the plot of Vāyu and the monastery of the Jainas should be erected on the south-west plot of Nirṛti. There should be four gates on the four sides and the temple to Bhairava should be raised beside them. The temple of Durgā and Ganapati should be established in the four directions or in the four intermediate directions, while the six-faced God should be located in the plot belonging to Sugrīva; the temple of the fever-god in that of Agni or Puṣā; the temple of Bhāratī (Goddess of Learning) in the plot consecrated to Āditya; the temple of Bhūteśa (the Lord of Beings) in the plot belonging to Sauraka or Mukhya. The temples of Viṣṇu and Rudra may be suitably distributed. Human habitations should be laid out round about these divine edifices. The outermost road is lined with a single row of houses, while the other streets have a double row of houses. The above is the list of the internal divinities, while there is no fixed number of the external ones. The phallic emblem of Pāśupata may be set up within the village and, according to the Vaikhānasa, the remaining phalluses too may be established within it. The temple of Chāmuṇḍā is to be placed away to the north or the east of the village, facing the north. Without the village, to its east, north, west or south-west, the maṇḍapam of Senālokanāyaka (?) is to be established.

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The rest is identical with the preceding types.

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(6) Prastara :—Etymologically it means a village resembling a couch. Mayamuni says it is intersected by three streets running from east to west and by several transverse roads numbering from three to seven.

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Mānasāra’s description of the village is too crude and the MSS. I have access to is too erroneous for a literal rendering of it. What follows is a free but substantially correct summary of the description. The village is either square or oblong in form. It is divisible into the mystic figure Paramaśāyika, Caṇḍita or Sthaṇḍila and the Paiśācha annulus is determined by this division and demarcated by a boulevard going round it. Within this round the space is divided either into four, nine or sixteen wards by a net-work of appropriate number of highways, the arrangement being respectively one versus one, two versus two, and three versus three. These highways are variously widened to six, seven, eight, nine, or eleven daṇḍas. In the wards again roads are planted according to the chess-board system. But all the wards are not divided into equal number of plots by these roads. One is divided into nine plots, another into sixteen, the third into twenty-five, and so on. This distinction in the division is accounted for by the degree of rank and wealth of the persons that are to occupy the ward. Thus the ward of the very rich and of those of the highest rank contains the biggest plots, that is, is divided into the lowest number of them.

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PRASTARA

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It seems that provisions are made in this village plan for its extension by enclosing larger areas with fresh walls. There may be even eight or twelve such exogenous enclosures. The shape of every such enclosure should be identical with that of the original village.

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Even in modern times arrangements like the above are made in all important town-extensions where there are assigned separate sites for houses, colleges, and bungalows in certain prescribed dimensions for each class.

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In the north of the village is quartered the Vaiśya class and in the borders called the Paiśācha plot, all the artisans and craftsmen. Accommodation for the royal palace, shrines, courts, hospitals, colleges, and other buildings is made in the same way as in the Sarvatobhadra plan. The village is enclosed by walls and ditches with four principal gates on the sides and four subsidiary ones in the corners. The number of gates may also be twelve or more.

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(7) Kārmuka :—It literally means a bow. Its shape is semi-circular or semi-elliptical like a bow and hence its name. The towns of the varieties of Paṭṭana, Kheṭa or Kharvaṭa are planned after this. The Paṭṭana has a preponderance of Vaiśyas; the Kheṭa is generally inhabited by traders and labourers; while the Kharvaṭa is inhabited by lower classes of people. The

Linked texts (4)

Kāmikāgama — Sanskrit
Mānasāra — Sanskrit
Mayamata — Maya, Sanskrit
Viśvakarmaśilpa — Viśvakarman, Sanskrit