History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c30.s2: Fortification in Literature

v1.c30.s2.1

Before the extensive application of archaeological methods to the ancient past, students had to depend on literary sources for information. Apart from the Epics and the Purāṇas which give descriptions of cities like Lanka, Hastinapur or Dwarka and which might be dismissed as outcomes of poetic imagination, a body of scientific literature exists, consisting of the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya, the Smṛti of Manu and several treatises on Vāstu Vidya. All these treat Dūrga vidyā as a separate branch of architecture and engineering. The Arthasastra explains the varieties of forts like land forts (Bhū-dūrgas), forest forts (Vana-dūrgas) and sea forts (Jala dūrgas) and so on. Such features as battlements, (Kapiśirṣas) turrets or bastions, gates and moats find a mention in these texts. The Epics mention various projectiles, however, it is difficult to ascertain both their existence and their nature. Interestingly none of the battles in these Epics are described as having been fought around fortifications; all battles were fought in the open ground, armies clashing head on. Moreover, these works do not describe in detail the principles, mainly with reference to defensive strategies, employed in the construction of the forts. Their main utility is that they testify to a long experience in the art and craft of fortification; for texts like the Arthaśāstra are an embodiment of communal experience spread over generations, may be centuries.