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Defence Architecture in Early North Karnataka c18.s4: The Manusmriti

Defence Architecture in Early North Karnataka c18.s4

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English

Contents

The Manusmriti

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After the Arthasāstra of Kautilya, a noteworthy work on the treatise on the society of his country as a whole, man's relation with his kith and kin, his social behavior and the society, rights and duties, king and kingship, the legal codes etc., is manusmriti. In it chapters No.VII and IX, deal with the forts as an essential requisite for a king.

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Types of Forts

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"Manu knows of several types of castles and also knows of their weakness and strength. They are six types in number. He knows the hill fort in the country then, as the best. He knows fully well of the weapons with which it should be equipped and also knows the way in which it should be protected as also the safety of persons and property therein" (Betai, R.S. 1970, pp. 269-270).

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Purānas (300 A.D. - 800 A.D.)

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The date of Purānas, according to Dr.Hazra, in general ranges between 300 A.D.- 800 A.D., and this has been accepted by most of the scholars. Purānas deal with forts while treating the subject matter of king and his duties. Among the Purānas, the Matsya, the Vāyu, the Mārkandēya and the Vishnu-Dharmōttara provide information about forts. Of the four, the Matsya-Purāna is more informative and the others are the interpretation of the same, and therefore the M<del>M</del><add>m</add>atsya purāne is referred to herein in detail. It enumerates various kinds of forts and in detail gives a list of essential material/and equipment for maintenance of forts as well as mentions the administrative staff and their qualifications also.

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The Matsya Purānam, (Majumdar, B.C. 1940, pp. 226-229) referred to has the subject matter thus. "The king should have his residence in the central place of the fort which should be beautiful with abundance of grass and trees. It should be inhabited by a number of people and where the tributary kings, princes, and subjects are loyal and submissive. It should have some Brahmanas skilled in various rituals and artisans in the vicinity. It should be surrounded by sweet smelling flowers and fruits and should be impassable to the foreigners' army. There should be no tigers, scorpions, snakes, lions and thieves round about it. The place should be beautiful, elevated and well supplied with water."

Types

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Amidst such surroundings, the king should have his fortress. There are six different kinds of forts:

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1) Dhanusa durga, 2) Mahidurga, 3) Naradurga, 4) Vrikshadurgą, 5) Jaladurga and 6) Giridurga. And of these the last named is the best. And in Matsya Purāṇa the following types of forts are also defined:

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1) <ins>Dhanusa durga</ins> : A castle surrounded by a desert.

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2) <ins>Mahidurga :</ins> Earth fort

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3) <ins>Naradurga :</ins> A place of safety formed by placing the army in a particular position.

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4) <ins>Vriksha durga :</ins> A place surrounded densely by trees which make it impassable.

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5) <ins>Jaladurga :</ins> A fort surrounded by water, and

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6) <ins>Giridurga :</ins> A hill fortress

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"The castle should be surrounded by a ditch and ramparts. The buildings are to be in the centre. It should have abundance of weapons like Śataghni and others. Its doors should be beautifully made. Its main entrance should be handsome and big enough to enable the king to pass through it riding on an elephant with his banner streaming. Four roads should be laid out to form squares. There should be a temple in front of one road, the kings mansions in front of the second road. Facing the third one should be houses of judicial and military officers and gateways of the city should be in front of the fourth. In such a way a royal city should be laid out, no matter if it is oblong, square or circular.

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Circular one is the best, or it may be triangular or drum shaped or semi-circular or of other suitable shapes (in the form of military array diamond shaped etc).

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The palace on the banks of a river should be of the shape of a crescent; this is the best. Treasure should be kept in the southern portion of the palace, to the further south of which should be the place for the elephants. The elephantyard should have its door-way to the east or the north. The arsenal should be made south-east. In the same direction should be the kitchen and houses for other works. The house of the royal priest should be to the left side of the king's mansion, where also should be the place for ministers, vedic professors, students, physicians, stable and cow-sheds and store houses. The stables should face north or the south. It is not well, if it faces any other direction. The quarters for grooms, elephant-drivers and charioteers near the stables and the elephant-yards."

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"A large number of people should not be allowed to enter the fortress. There should be various kinds of cannons and weapons as well as those, who use them for the weapons can destroy thousands of people, and thus can protect the king.

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There should be secret doors also, as well as other doors protected by those who killed thousand warriors or are skilled in shooting bows and arrows and throwing various other weapons. A number of bows, tridents, arrows, clubs, spears, swords, sticks maces, big pieces of stones, battle aexe should always be kept ready within the fortress. Shields, skins, ropes, canes, various things of artisanship, husks, loads of straw, woods, coals etc. also should be kept. Tools of all artisans, musical instruments, various kinds of medicines, drums, weapons, various clothings, jems, iron should be kept in jars locked up. Lions, tigers, deers, other birds animals unfriendly to each other should be carefully kept in secret spots and apart from each other. Various kinds of grains, salts, medicines, pungent things, perfumes, drugs, clothes, dancers, singers versed in Kalasāstra. The king should always remain in a well guarded citadel within the fort."

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Mānasāra (450 A.D. - 550 A.D.)

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This work is said to have been compiled by sage Mānasāra. Mānasāra literally means the science of measurements. It contains 7 Adhyāyas and the 7th deals with the ground plan, general design, shape etc. of the villages, towns, cities etc. together with forts. It particularly deals with architecture. To this class of works belong the Mayamata, Vishwakarma Vastu, the Silparatna etc. also.

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"Durga: Lit. 'difficult to go' into, hence a fortified place, a fort, a city. According to Mānasāra, the fortified cities are called forts and they are named as Sibire, Vahinīmukha, Sthaniya, Drōna, Sambiddha, Kōlaka, Nigama and Skandhāvara. For purely military purposes they are again classified as (1) Giridurga (Hill fort), (2) Vanadurga (forest fort), (3) Salila durga (Water fort), (4) Panka durga (clay fort), (5) Rathadurga (Chariot fort), (6) Dēvadurga (divine fort), and (7) Mishra durga (mixed fort)." (Acharya, P.K. pp. 226-229).

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The common features of forts are :

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"Sarvēṣam api durgāṇāṁ
Vaprais cha parīkhair vrittaṁ
Pravēsa Nirgama sthāne dwārair
apı samanvitaṁ

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Iṣṭakādi kritam vapram
hasta dwādashakōchchhrayaṁ
Tadardham Bhitti mau tu
Sancharaih saha vistritaḥ" (M.N.106-109)

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The contents (Ibid., pp. 226-229) of the Chapter 7, when taken together give a good idea of the ancient fortified cities. "They may be circular, square or rectangular. They are surrounded with moats (Parīkha) enclosure wall (Prākāra) and ramparts (Vapra) and are furnished with various entrances, exits and gateways (Pratolī). Circumambulating flight of steps (Pradakshina sōpāna) and secret stair cases in the walls (Gūdha bhitti sōpāna) are constructed. Towers are built on enclosure walls and war like weapons are kept therein. In the interior are constructed tanks, ponds, canals etc. Various kinds of roads are constructed and buildings for different castes and professions are created in the suitable manner."

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The *Mānasāra*, further, in chapter X, in verses from 3 to 91 gives in detail description of palace complex, the the forts for different class of kings, their measurements, eight kinds of fortified cities etc. (Acharya,P.K., PP.226-229) as follows:

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"*3-9*: The breadth of the city of the class of all kinds beginning with Astagrahin, Summarising from the Tantras (Science of architecture). The breadth of the city of kings called Astagrahin should begin with 100 rods and increase by one hundred rods end at 300 rods. Secondly it should begin with 200 rods and end at 400 rods; thirdly it should begin with 300 rods and end at 500 rods. These are from the smallest to the largest and it should finally be extended so as to end 1000 and two hundred rods, each set being of the three varieties (1 Rod = 8' - 1").

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10-13: Similarly the breadth of the city of the <ins>Praharaka</ins> (class of kings) should begin with 400 rods, secondly with 500 rods, thirdly with 600 rods and increasing by 100 rods (finally) and end as before at 1200 rods.

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In this way :

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400 - 100 - 600 rods 500 - 100 - 700 " 600 - 100 - 800 " 700 - 100 - 900 " 800 - 100 - 1000 " 900 - 100 - 1100 " 1000 - 100 - 1200 " "

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Thus there are 21 varieties of breadth of the city of this class of kings.

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Now, different class of kings; which should correspond to the measurements given in the above table, follows thus:

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Class of kings

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1) King
2) Maṇḍaleśa
3) Paṭṭadhara
4) Narendra
5) Mahārāja, and
6) Chakravartin (1000-100-1200 or 1000-10-7000 or end at 10000 rods)

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"**32-35**: The length of the city (fort) should be generally one-and-one-half, one-and-three-fourths or twice of its breadth, otherwise in rod measurements by the smaller increasement of rods it should be made up twice the breadth.

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**39-43**: Types and features of all the cities and others i.e. the fortifications: The eight kinds of fortified cities are named (Ibid: PP. 95-96).

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They are :

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1) Rājadhānīya (royal) Nagara (Fig.91)
2) Kēvala (Ordinary) without royal residence
3) Nagarai
4) Pura
5) Khēta (Fig. 89)
6) Kharvata (Fig.88)
7) Nagara, and
8) Kubjaka and Pattana (Fig. 89)

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And Eight Kinds of forts are called:

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1) Síbira
2) Vāhinī-mukha
3) Sthānīya
4) Drōna
5) Samviddha
6) Kōśala 7) Nigama

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8) Skandhavara. All these beginning with Nagarai may also be called forts for all practical purposes."

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"44-49: A city with king (i.e. royal palece) in the centre and inhabited by numerous wealthy persons (Lit. meritorious) should also preferably be laid out within kingdom on the banks of a river. It is always given by the learned the name of Rajadhani (Capital or metropolis), if there be built a temple of (God) Vishnu' at the entrance or in the centre of it.

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50-52: Having four gates towards the four cordinal points and furnished with Gopuras (towers) dotted over with guard-rooms, equipped with everywhere barracks, full of merchants and encircled with markets crowded with people and filled with temples of various denominations in side and out side, such a place is called a city proper."

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"53-55: That city is called Pura (Fig.88) which is furnished with orchards and gardens, has dwellings, motely population frequented by buyers and sellers, agitated by the noise of trading folk and graced by assemblage of temples of seven gods.

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57-58: That city is called kheta (Fig.89) by the concients, which is situated by the side of a river or a mountain and is provided with the dwellings of Sudras (servant class) and with a high wall (Lit: a fence around).

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59-60: That city is called Kharvata (Fig. 88) which has uplands around and is full of dwellings of different castes and cowherds in all kinds of pasturage.

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61-62: That city is called Kubjaka (Fig. 89) which lies between Kheta and Kharvata and has dwellings of all sorts of people, but has no rampart.

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63-66: The city is called Pattana (citadel) (Fig. 89) which is situated in proximity of water-ways, furnished length-wise with a rampart, contains dwellings of various castes, is always conglomeration of merchants and centre of exchange for goods like jewels, silk, cloth, camphor etc. imported from and exported to other countries (Lit: islands).

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67-69: That fort is called Sibira (camp) by the ancient learned in the Tantra, which has armies each 10000 strong (i.e. strong soldiers) and engaged in the work of mobilisation at the end of the territory of another king."

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"70-71: The Sena (Vāhini) mukha (outpost) is that which has many defences and the royal palaces and contains a diverse population.

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73-74: The versatile call that fort Sthānīya (Strategical site) which is the source of happiness, has many defences and has always a good king as a resident and his royal populace on a mountain by the side of a river.

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75-78: That fort is called Drōna (Fig.90) (Strand or Rialto), where buying and sellinge are transacted, which is full of customers on either side of the city contains the quarters of merchants and of varied population and is situated on the right and left banks of a river, which is <del>full of</del> connected with a sea.

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79-81: That fortified city is called by the learned Samviddha because of the residences of free-holder Brahmins, which is situated near a large village and is itself is furnished with a small village.

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82: The same (i.e. Samviddha) is called Kōlaka when it has a palace of great Mahārāja class of kings in the centre.

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83-84: That fortress is called Nigama which is full of the people of the four castes viz., the twice born and others and is inhabited by various workmen.

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85-89: Skandavara is that, which as kingly edifices of the Khsatriyas is furnished with gardens, terracing from a river and with many residential dwellings on its banks. The same is also called cheri, when it has dwellings of the other twice born (i.e. Brahmins and Vaisyas) on the sides of royal palace."

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