[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) › c14.7 # Town Planning in Ancient India c14.7 Town Planning in Ancient India c14.7 - **Language:** English ### [c14.7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c14.7) "The parks by the side of the palace contained deers and other games. Such parks were guarded by soldiers and were closed to the public. There were other tanks and flower gardens which were also reserved for the exclusive use of the queen and other princesses. Platforms were raised at convenient places in these parks and gardens. In making arrangement for the amenities of the royal household, the kings combined usefulness with beauty and taste. One of such artificial features planned near the palace in ancient times, is the Samudram, a beautiful sheet of water near Tanjore said to have been dug out to give an idea of the ocean to the ladies of the royal family."¹ Another such object of beauty was an artificial mound or hillock on which various flower plants and trees were carefully reared. Many gorgeous fancy birds, \*e.g.\*, the peacock, used to perch there and the hill was used for pleasure walk. One has only to visit the cities starring the whole of Rajputana or the cities of Southern India to realise the almost fastidious grandeur and picturesqueness of this scientific combination of the garden of Government buildings and the gardens of trees and flowers, tanks or lakes, and mounds. In the capital of Bijapur, "the most interesting spot of all is the citadel; for within the small and almost circular enclosure, were the palaces and private apartments of the king and his family, various public buildings such as the civic and criminal courts, the military and revenue offices and treasury, interspersed with courts and gardens, fountains, cisterns and running water.”¹ To bring out prominently the personality of this charming centre, it was separated from the rest of the city by planting large wide streets around it and also radiating from it. Centres should be as widely visible as possible. This would suggest the choice of some hill-top, and undoubtedly it is desirable to choose the summit of some rising ground. It is for this reason that “as a rule, the palaces in Rajputana are situated on rocky eminences jutting into or overhanging lakes or artificial pieces of water, which are always pleasing accompaniment to buildings of any sort in that climate; and the way they are fitted into the rocks or seem to grow out of them leads to the most picturesque combinations. Sometimes their bases are fortified with round towers or bastions, on whose terraces the palace stands; - [Previous: c14.6](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c14.6) - [Next: c14.8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c14.8) - [Up: c14](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c14) ## Linked texts (2) - [Bijâpur](https://indike.org/pramana/inp.site.bijapur) - [Tanjore](https://indike.org/pramana/inp.site.tanjore) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c14.7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.art.dutt-1925.c14.7) · Pramāṇa