Town Planning in Ancient India c9.70

c9.70

upon this rule of keeping to the left. "The most convenient arrangement is to have a round space with the traffic circulating in one direction. Vehicles coming from any one road fall in with the line of traffic, circulate with it, and fall out again when they reach whatever of the other roads they wish to pass down."¹ If the custom noted above was actually followed in practice, then the vehicles in ancient India followed a clockwise motion in going round the circulation spaces at the cross-section described above. From the æsthetic point of view, a tree or a tower at the junction of roads is highly desirable. The hazy vacuity of long straight streets wearies the eye-sight as there is nothing in the front to fix the eyes upon. Contrast with this the very pleasant effect which the street causes, if it leads to some fine architectural structure or a beautiful tree. In ancient India, the junctions of roads were therefore utilised for erection of monumental buildings, such as a college, a shrine, or a monastery. At the centre of the town were sometimes erected the imperial mansions. The principal four streets radiated from this central place and they terminated at the four city gates surmounted by arches and turrets. The royal mansion or the sacred shrine of Brahmā had also gopuras at the four cardinal directions and the streets as a rule started from these gates. The temple or the imperial edifice was the finest building of the town and the sublimity of the vista was considerably enhanced by the picturesque gardens they contained within their compound. A pedestrian wending his way along these streets could not fail to be impressed by the delightful panorama revealed before his eyes.¹ Even the small streets and lanes had arched doors at their extremities. The Indian master-builders were very particular in bringing about this spectacular effect, for it goes a great way towards promoting the art culture of the citizens. Thus we read in the Matsya Purāṇa that the four terminii of the two main cross-streets were artistically adorned with four magnificent structures, all important from the civic point of view.² The principal thoroughfares were lined with trees whose sanitary and æsthetic value is obvious. "The mangoe trees and the mādhavī trees were planted at convenient spots along the streets (of Conjeeveram) and at the intersection of the streets. Indeed the city was unsurpassed for the magnificence of its broad streets and the beautiful rows of noble avenue trees on either side.”¹ The streets of the most ancient towns were lined with walls on both sides² and no lane or window opened on them. Later on, there was however some modification. The windows of the second storey were allowed on the road side. Small stalls for shopping were raised in rows against the walls. The height of the stall did not exceed that of the walls. I have seen a beautiful picture of such streets honey-combed with rows of shopping stalls of uniform height in the picture gallery of the Calcutta Museum.³ Sometimes an entire profession or business or class of citizens was represented along a street which was named after it.