Town Planning in Ancient India c8.88

c8.88

Kauṭilya proceeds:—"In an unassailable part (of the rampart) a passage for flight (pradhāvitikam) and a door for exit (niṣkāradvāram) shall be made. In the centre of the parapets, there shall be constructed a deep lotus-pool; a rectangular building of four compartments, one within the other; an abode of the goddess Kumārī (Kumārīpura), having its external area one and a half times as broad as that of its innermost room; a circular building with an archway; and in accordance with available space and materials, there shall also be constructed canals (kulyā) to hold weapons and three times as long as broad. Outside the rampart passages for movements shall be closed by forming obstructions such as knee-breaker (jānubhaṃjanī), a trident, mounds of earth, pits, wreaths of thorns, instruments made like the tail of a snake, a palm-leaf, a triangle, and of a dog's teeth, rods, ditches filled with thorns and covered with sand, frying pans, and water-pools."