History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c24.s6.43

v1.c24.s6.43

The Kāśyapīyakṛṣisūkti is the only known Sanskrit text which deals with practical details about irrigational facilities for fields. It emphasises the need for the construction of a water reservoir near a village or town. It is to be constructed near a hill or on a table-land with a big lake and, in the case of a plain on a firm-land, near a perennial spring. It is to be provided with a causeway and channels and sluices for filling and emptying it. It may be fed by a mountain rivulet, a big lake, a forest brook or a big river and should be provided with a suitable contrivance for the distribution of water. It is to be provided with a very strong and big culvert and several small channels branching out of it for the easy outflow of water.