Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India c8.30

c8.30

For the success of external and internal trade it was necessary to have good roads and government officers to regulate the movement on them. The chariot routes (*rathyā*), routes leading to ports (*droṇamukha*), roads leading to the capitals of the provinces (*sthānīya*), the roads leading to the neighbouring states (*rāshṭra*) and the roads leading to the grazing grounds (*vivītapatha*) were four *daṇḍas* or twenty-four feet wide. *Sayoṇīa?* roads leading to the military camps (*vyūha*), and roads proceeding to cemetries and villages were eight *daṇḍas* or forty-eight feet wide. The roads leading to the dykes and forests were twenty-four feet wide. The roads leading to the reserve forests for elephants were twelve feet wide. The chariot roads were seven and a half feet wide, but the animal tracks were merely three feet wide.¹⁶