Town Planning in Ancient India c15.3

c15.3

The site of the city—a river laving its feet and gurgling beside it, the high summit of a mountain commanding panoramic vistas, or a dreary wilderness—contributes much to the growth of this individuality. Again there were cities wreathed round with girdles of several broad ditches and wild woods. We further meet with charming description of lofty walls, strong ramparts with bastions and buttresses, watch-towers and embrasures, a belt of lofty trees, in all of which was displayed skill of architecture and civic engineering. These, coupled with the style and shape of the cities, square or rectangular, circular or elliptic, lotus-like or bow-shaped, could not but impress any traveller with the diversity of character of the Indo-Aryan towns. To crown all, there were the sublime and gorgeous gopuras or pyramidal towers surrounding the great city-gates—their storeys varying from one to fourteen, their structure at once fantastic and diversified.