War in Ancient India c9.s3.32

c9.s3.32

There is another equally important work on architecture, attributed to king Bhoja, *Samarāṅgana-sūtradhara*, in which mention is made of four kinds of fortresses. Surrounded by a chain of lofty hills difficult to scale is the mountain castle. Full of thorns, shrubs and trees and interspersed with pieces of water on every side and with secret passages leading to and from it, is the *mūladurga* or forest castle. Surrounded by deep waters on all the four sides and presenting a beautiful physical appearance, it became a water-fortified castle. The last is the desert-fortification.⁵⁶ This classification, it may be observed, is the same as Manu’s. But a later work like the *Hariharacaturanga* gives the traditional classification of six forts, and one of the names is worth noting, Dharmadurga (Bk. VI).