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History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c32: Irrigation and Irrigation Works

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c32

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English

Contents

Irrigation and Irrigation Works

Historical Background

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Irrigation is the artificial application or method of supplying water to crops in countries where the rainfall is insufficient or comes in the wrong season. There are two types of irrigation, natural and artificial. The former is obtained through rivers, lakes, springs and rainfall and the latter type is by human effort in the form of excavated tanks, lakes, pools, wells, dams, embankments, etc. These two systems of irrigation were in vogue in India from the earliest times. The pre-historic food-gatherers of India turned out to be “International producers” in the Neolithic age itself (Krishnaswami, 1959, p.1).

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That the inhabitants of the Indus Valley riparian culture that had sprung and vanished at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa practised agriculture as the main industry is amply evidenced by the existence of food grains like wheat, barley, seasame, peas, etc. The cultivation of such food stuffs was made possible with the help of fertile alluvial soil, rather a heavy monsoon and the perennial waters of the Indus. They cultivated the winter crops such as wheat and barley with a system of irrigation. Raikes admits on the basis of hydrological studies that “winter irrigation requires the construction of barrages and large canals” (Raikes, 1984, pp. 455-60).

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The pre-historic sites explored by the Indo-French Mission recently in Rajasthan desert displayed “a distribution pattern showing that they were certainly located along with branches of irrigation canals as they were in lines not necessarily following the Palaco-channel of Chautang (river Dṛṣāvati)” (IAR, 1986, p. 97). Moreover, the method adopted by the Harappans was seasonal damming of the rivers on the smaller branches. These barrier dams would have inundated the lands thereby depositing the fertile silt on the smaller river banks. The soil was cleverly extracted and utilised by them for their soil requirements. This barrier-dam irrigation system was subsequently destroyed by the invaders (Kosambi, 1975, p. 75). This is well documented in a number of hymns addressed to Indra in the *Rgveda*. Hence, the technique of flood-irrigation was known to them. The pottery specimens with deep grooves found at Mohenjo-daro suggest the possibility of their being lashed to a wheel for raising water for irrigation. The discovery of a large number of wells at the same place shows that water was mainly derived from them for domestic and other purposes.

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In the Vedic period water was given the utmost importance. The *Rgveda* (VII. 49.2) recognises four main sources of water, viz., waters which come from the sky or rain-water; those which flow in rivers and streams; those which are obtained by digging and those which ooze out from springs. Similarly, the *Yajurveda* (XXII. 25) identifies different types of waters from diverse sources. This amply implies that the vedic farmers were aware of and practised two types of irrigation, natural and artificial.

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The method of collecting water from rivers and catchment areas in the hilly tract and carrying it through canals (*kulyā*) to distant areas was known to them. Moreover, they sought to supplement the rainfall and canal waters by digging wells (*avaṭa*). Water-lifting devices such as *aśma-cakra* and *ghaṭa-yantra* were made use of for lifting water from deep and large wells.

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In the pre-Mauryan period, irrigation from rivers and canals were practised as before. Construction of irrigation works was considered to be an act of religious and social duty. In the *Sabhāparva* (Section V) of the *Mahābhārata* (Roy, p. 14), we find Nārada asking Yudhisthira thus: “Are large tanks and lakes constructed all over thy kingdom at proper distances, without agriculture being in thy realm entirely dependent on the showers of heaven? The interesting part of the Hāthigumpha inscription (*EI*, XX, No. 9, pp. 86-87) of Khāravela (1st cen. A.D.) is the extension at great cost of an ancient canal from the Tosali road. The canal was originally dug by king Nanda of Magadha who conquered Kalinga even before Aśoka and the Mauryans.

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During the Mauryan period much importance was shown to agriculture and irrigation facilities by the State. Although there is only one instance of the State organised irrigation, the construction of a large reservoir, Sudarsana lake, by Puṣyagupta, (the governor of Candragupta) and later completed with a canal system by Tusapa, the Yavana governor of Aśoka it is clear from the *Indica* of Megasthenes and Kauṭilya’s *Arthaśāstra* that the State recognised the importance of irrigation and encouraged private initiative in this direction. Perhaps this was done by the State to increase the State revenue.

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In western India, the Kṣatrapa rulers continued the tradition of constructing tanks. In the second century A.D. the ’Sudarsana’ lake suffered a breach (420 cubits long and 75 cubits deep) owing to heavy flood and on-rush of rivers Swarnarekha, Palasini, etc., and became ’durdarśana’ (*IA*, VII, 1878, pp. 259-61). It was restored and made more beautiful than ever (Sudarsānatara) during the reign of Rudradāman I under whose orders this work was carried out by the provisional governor, Suvisakha.

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In the classical age and later, due recognition was given to irrigation, both natural and artificial. The *Amarakośa* (6th cent. A.D.) distinguishes between provinces watered by the rains (*deva mātṛka*) and those irrigated by the rivers (*nadī-mātṛka*). The *Nītisāra* of Kāmandaka (Maity, 1957, p. 83) advocates the importance of irrigation by human effort. Considering the importance attached to irrigation the Gupta State evinced keen interest in the construction and restoration of irrigation work. Reference has been made to the Sudarsana lake. When the lake burst again as a result of heavy monsoon, Cakrapalita, who was the governor during the reign of Skandagupta, reconstructed it after two months' effort incurring huge amount of money.

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In the extreme north of India, in the Kashmir Valley we read of Suyya, a great engineer - Minister in the service of King Anantavarman of Kashmir (9th century), who "made the streams of Indus and Jhelum flow according to his will, like a snake-charmer to his snakes" (Basham, 1954, p. 193).

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In the southern region the practice of irrigation had its beginnings in the use of naturally formed small lakes and tanks by the Megalithic (Iron Age) people. The authors of Megaliths were settled people who practised agriculture as the main industry and knew the value and use of irrigation. It, may, therefore, be plausible to ascribe the authorship of the tank irrigation in the south to the megalithic folk (Banerjee, ANI, 12, p.21; Srinivasan and Banerjee, p.109). But in the historical period the absence of perennial rivers must have necessitated the rulers to resort to impound water for affording irrigation facilities for agricultural operations. Moreover, it is also largely with a view to removing the menace of years of failure of monsoons and the consequential drought that the irrigation systems of South India have been conceived.

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Historical records prove that the organised irrigation system began in South India from the initial centuries of the first millennium A.D. This is quite evident from the early Sangam literary works. Tiruvalluvar in his Tirukkural (No. 737, see Pope (Eng. tr.) says the following as the important constituents of a kingdom: "Waters from rains and springs, a mountain here and water thence; these make a land with fortress sure defence". The Puranānūru (Srinivasa Iyengar, 1914, p. 43), a Sangam anthology, makes a pointed reference to the importance of "artificial tank irrigation" this: "Verily he who has turned the bent (low) land into a reservoir to arrest the flow of the running water is one who has established a name in the world". So the organised irrigation system in the South goes back to the Sangam age if not earlier.

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The credit for launching large irrigation works goes to the early Cola king Karikāla (c. first century A.D.). The important achievement in his life time was the taming of the Kaveri by building the flood banks, cutting the inundation canals and strengthening the river embankments. This is testified by more than one inscription of the later period (EI, XI. No. 35, pp. 337-346; SII, III, pp. 249-50; ASSI, IV, p.217; TRV, III, pp. 154-155). In effect his pioneering activity successfully prevented the annual inundations for nearly fifteen centuries. Moreover, the lead given by him was followed by a number of other rulers who ruled the Tamil country in the succeeding centuries.

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After the decline of the Mauryan Empire, the rule of the Satavahanas was followed in the Deccan who ruled for four and half centuries about 230 B.C. They were succeeded by the Ikṣvākus who ruled the Krishna-Guntur region from their capital from Nagarjunakonda. In the South West part of Deccan, the Kadambas of Vaijayanthi (Banavāsi) rose to power from the middle of the fourth century A.D.

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Instances show that agriculture received the necessary patronage from the rulers during their regime.

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The period from the seventh to the twelfth centuries A.D. witnessed the enormous growth and utilization of irrigation facilities provided by the early and later Pāṇḍyas of Madurai, the Pallavas of Kāñchi, the Colas of Tanjavur, the Hoysalas of Dwārasamudra, the Cālukyas of Kalyāṇi and the Kākatīyas of Warangal. This period was also characterised by the wider utilization of irrigation works and effective water management.

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Records of the Pāṇḍyas point out that both the perennial and inundation channels from the river Vaigai were effectively utilised for irrigation purposes. Since the major part of the Pāṇḍya Kingdom was dependent upon the seasonal rains, only the rain-fed tanks were the next best possible choice for irrigation. More number of small scale reservoirs were constructed by the State and benevolent private individuals in the modern districts of Madurai and Rāmanāthapuram using the string-line technique for the embankments and stone-sluices (karthumbu) (SII. XIV, No. 44). Even now one could find innumerable remains of ancient reservoirs in the above districts.

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The Pallavas of Kāñci in the Toṇḍaimaṇḍalam region who ruled from the fourth century A.D. were great tank builders. From the available evidence we gather that irrigation was carried on with the help of tanks, inundation canals and channels and wells. The concentration of medium and small-scale tanks in the northern parts of Tamil Nadu (Chingleput and North Arcot districts, popularly known as ‘Tank Districts’) shows that the rivers Pālār and Vegavati were not only non-perennial, as they are today, but carried insufficient water to meet the irrigation needs of the cultivators. Some of the tanks constructed by the Pallavas continue even to this day to serve the purpose for which they were intended to. Canals were dug from the river Pālār to feed the small tanks which in turn were the main source of water supply to the fields by means of branch channels. The most notable works of the period are the Mahendra taṭāka (North Arcot) and the Citramegha taṭāka (Chingleput district) by Mahendravarman I, the Parameśvara taṭāka (Chingleput) by Parameśvaravarman, the Tirayaneri (8th cen. A.D., Chingleput), Kaveripakkam tank (North Arcot) by Nandivarman III, the Vairamegha taṭāka at Uttirameru (chingleput) by Dantivarman, and the tanks at Ukkal, Guḍimallam and Solapuram (North Arcot) by Kampavarman. One important feature noticed in the Pallava records is that most of the projects were initiated and funded by the State. Private individuals were encouraged to construct works of irrigation. However, the maintenance part of it was entrusted to the village assembly; the assembly in turn received donations and endowments in cash and kind from the donees and invested the revenue part of them for the purpose of maintenance.

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Following the Deccan tradition rural development was not neglected by the Rāṣṭrakūṭas of Malkhed. The State was directly responsible for the construction of irrigation works largely for religious purpose. After the decline of the Rāṣṭrakūṭas by the last quarter of the tenth century, the Cālukyas of Kalyāṇi rose to power. Unlike their counterparts in the Tamil country, the Cālukyans were not credited with the construction of many irrigation works. Recent excavations remains show that a channel about 300 feet in length connected the lake Sahasraliṅga dug by Sidharāja with the river Sarasvati, which evidently provided the lake with abundant supply of water (MurariKrishna, pp.194-195). Another important interconnected tank ‘Big Tank’ at Kāṭṭageri (Bādāmī tāluk) during the time of Vikramāditya VI is known from a Kannada record (IA, VI, 1877, No. xxxii). The tank is unique in the sense that the method of draining the excess water from a tank at a higher level to the tank at the lower level was successfully applied in this case. The Calukyans had a separate department of water works called Vāri-gṛha-karaṇa which was responsible for the execution and maintenance of irrigation works. The Mahājanas were responsible for collecting taxes and land revenue and utilising the same for the proper maintenance of irrigation works. The tradition set by the early Cola King Karikāla was assiduously followed by the Imperial Colas. This is well confirmed by a network of canals and branch channels from the Kaveri, besides a number of reservoirs of immense size. Canals and branch channels were dug from the Kaveri to cover the entire Kaveri delta. With the expansion of the Cola empire, the irrigation activities also increased manifold under the State patronage. In the absence of natural streams, recourse was preferred to tanks, and the bulk of the evidence on irrigation from the inscriptions relates to the care bestowed on the proper maintenance of the tanks. The agency responsible for the maintenance work was the village assembly. It consisted of several committees, of which the committee for the “Supervision of tanks” (eri-vāriyam) was one. This body consisted of six members who held office for 360 days and then retired. The famous Uttiramerur inscriptions (ANRIE, Nos. 83 & 84 of 1898; ANRASI, 1903-1904) (Cingleput district) of Parāntaka I give an elaborate description of the rules regarding the composition of this Committee. The eri-vāriyam was in the main concerned with raising of resources and their utilization for the maintenance of irrigation works. There was another committee called the ‘Sluice Committee’ (Kalingu Vāriyam) under the village assembly.

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The duties of this particular committee was to maintain and check the sluice gates from wanton damage and other natural causes. This committee existed only in a few village assembly segments. The village assemblies on their part collected various types of land taxes, dues and cesses. Apart from this, as many as thirty-two tax items connected with the water-rates found in the records of the Colas were ostensibly collected from the tenants and land owners as service charges for the maintenance of irrigation works.

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The Cola vāridhi (North Arcot), the Virāṇameri (South Arcot), the Nangavaram tank (Tirucirāppalli), the Kaliyaneri (Madurai) by Parāntaka I, the ‘Big Tank’ at Bāhur (Pondicherry), the Arikeśarimangalam tank (Tirunelveli) by Rājarāja I, the Cola-gangam (Tirucirāppalli) by Rajendra I, the Sembarambākkam eri (Cingleput) by Rājarāja III are some of the leading examples of a large number of irrigation works mentioned in the inscriptions. The Tiruvalangadu plates (SII, III, pp. 3, verse 24, p. 425) of Rajendra I (1012-1044 A.D.) refer to the large irrigation tank ‘Colagangam’ as the ‘Liquid Pillar of Victory’ (‘gaṅga-jalamayam jayasthambam’) and states that, “This lord constructed in his own domain as a pillar of victory (a tank) known by repute as Colagangam which was composed of the waters of the Ganges”. About the extant Sembarambākkam ēri excavated by Rājarāja III, C.S. Crole says that it is “one of the biggest irrigation tanks in the Chingleput district whose vast expanse of water, when it is full, is an object of attraction to the people in the vicinity, not to mention its immense utility for the agriculturist” (Crole, 1879, p. 70). The Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra in Mysore (first quarters of the 11th century) were not lagging behind in creating irrigational facilities by the construction of rain-fed tanks and canals. These works were undertaken by them for religious purpose. But there is no positive proof of any scientific and systematic planning of tank construction and the inscriptions do not offer any technical details. However, it may be inferred that it involved in the cleaning of jungle, levelling of land and fixing of sluices (Kuppuswamy, 1975, p. 48). Channels were cut from the rivers to channelise water to arable lands. On the contrary the Kākatīyas of Warangal in the Telugu-speaking area of the east had made significant contribution in this direction. “They inherited a system which had been in use in the land from time immemorial” (Yazdani, 1964, p. 677). The Hanmakonda Niroṣṭya-kāvya inscription (EI, XXXVI, verse 21, p. 217) states that “in the country (Andhra deśa) are hundreds of tanks and thousands of rivulets, and they indeed appear to be the ocean and the consorts respectively”. Lithic records, literary compositions and the remains of extant irrigation works of the period bear ample testimony to the care with which the irrigation facilities were provided by them. Among the Kākatīyas, Gaṇapatideva (A.D. 1199-1262) was the most prominent ruler who was responsible for the construction of several irrigation works in different parts of the Kingdom. Among them the Pākhal lake, about 30 miles north of Warangal and the Rāmappa lake, about 44 miles north-east of Warangal are outstanding and surviving examples. The Pākhal lake lies in the basins of the Krishna and the Munnari rivers. King of the Geological Survey of India writing on the lake observes, “It is a splendid sheet of water lying back in two arms on either side of a good big hill east-south-east of the band, while from these are long bays reaching up behind low ridges of outcropping Vindhyas” (Bilgram & Willmott, Vol. II, p. 706 i.). At present the combined drainage of the lake is 80 sq. miles of which 40 sq. miles are intercepted. The Ramappa lake is formed by a ring of hills on three sides with a colossal bund only on the northern side. This lake is now fed by four channels. The lead given by Gaṇapatideva was followed by his successors in the 13th century also. In addition to tank irrigation, well irrigation was practised and it was confined to individual parcels of land. During the Kākatīya period the information regarding the method of construction was scanty and so our knowledge in this respect is very poor. However, different methods must undoubtedly have been employed varying with the terrain and locality. This is attested by the existing tanks of the period.

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From the above brief account it may be concluded that because of the foresightedness of the rulers in ancient India, the problems like the seasonal drought and consequent famine were checked and brought under manageable control. The solution to the above problems was found in the creation of adequate irrigation facilities and thereby bringing under the plough newly created areas and increasing the land revenue to the State exchequer. It is thus no wonder that the present irrigation system is the result of the work of orthodox ancient Indian rulers who gave their experience and expertise in no small measure in the form of large and more expensive irrigation projects in the entire length and breadth of India.

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It may be pointed out that there may be similarities or dissimilarities in the techniques involved in the construction of irrigation works from one period to another or from on region to another. But it is the local needs, exigencies and human experience that ultimately decide the technique and the selection of material. So, there is no question of one period following and continuing the techniques of the other period especially in ancient India.

Irrigation Works

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Epigraphy and literature refer to this systematized practice of irrigation works as *Pāthas-Śāstra*. In Sanskrit *Pāthas* stands for water; as Varuṇa, the Lord of the waters, had borne the name *Pāthas-pathi*, hydrology, which deals with water, was appositely termed *Pāthas-Śāstra* (Mac donell, 1924, p. 160). Although regular treatises on this subject are not presently available, mention of the construction of reservoirs, canals and sluices with day, date and year and the arrangements for the distribution of water therefrom can be gleamed from a large body of inscriptions, copper plate grants and to a certain extent from the literary works. Besides, the works on architecture, the *Viśvakarmā Vāstuśāstram*, also gives an account of the construction of reservoir and wells. It would, therefore, appear that a special treatise on the science of hydrology must have existed in ancient times.¹

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There were specialists in the construction and execution of irrigation works. The *Yajurveda* pays tributes with reference this: "Homage to him expert in constructing wells and water falls. Homage to him who knows how to construct canals and tanks (*Kulyāyaśca sarasyāyaśca*)" (*YV*. XVI. 37). The persons who possessed the knowledge of the science of water was known as *āpo adhyānvacāris* (*YV*. XX.22) in the Vedic period. Engineers specialised in the construction of irrigation works were called *Jala Sūtrada* (Hydraulic Engineers). We find references to them in the inscriptions mostly from South India. Similarly, there were water-diviners (*Kūpadarśakas*) in the south (*SII*, XII p.2) who were professional water-diviners eking out a living by private practice. It is believed that they might have been working as inspectors of wells in those days. The duties of the engineers were purely technical. They were perhaps employed in the department of waterworks (*vāri-gṛha-karaṇa*)². It was a separate body under which many subordinate department functioned. The hydraulic engineers did not confine their attention to the building of dams, tanks, canals etc. but the maintenance and repairs of irrigation works were also attended to. So there seemed to remain a sharp distinction between the hydraulic engineers and water-diviners. In the earliest traditions of Kashmir recorded by Kalhana in his *Rājatarangiṇī* (Stein, p. 200), the construction of irrigation canals and other waterworks by the genius of engineer-minister under Avantivarman increased the prosperity of the valley. He regulated the river Vitasta by systematic arrangements for the construction of irrigation channels. For these the water of various hill streams was utilised as well as that of the main river. "After examining the different classes of land he procured a supply of water for the villages, which thus were no (longer) dependent only on the rainfall. After watering all village (lands), he took from (each) village (some) soil, ascertained by (observing) the time it took to dry up, the period within which irrigation would be required (for each soil, respectively). "He (then) arranged (accordingly) on a permanent basis for the size and distribution of the water course for each village and by (using for irrigation) the Anulā and other streams, embellished all regions with an abundance of irrigated fields which were distinguished for excellent produce". In the south under the supervison of the Hoysala Ballala Kings the hydraulic engineers brought the waters of the Yagaci river which flowed through a valley ten miles away and divided by a range of hills from the Halebid valley by af channel to supply the capital with water and fill the neighbouring tanks (IA, 1, p.44). These two recorded instances show the role of the hydraulic engineers in the execution of irrigation was considered important in the past.

Dams

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Dams are barriers, natural or artificial, to hold back flow of waters. They were in existence from time memorial. Such prehistoric dams, now called Gebr-band, are still to be found on many water-courses in the Western parts of the region. The pre- Aryan method of agriculture depended upon natural flood and flooding the lands on the banks of smaller rivers by means of seasonal dams without regular masonary to obtain the rich alluvial deposit of silt to be stirred by the barrow. These artificial barrier dams broken by Indra are mentioned in the Rgveda (2.15.8, vide Kosambi, 1975, pp. 74-75) in connection with the Vṛtra myth. Here the term Vṛtra stands for ‘obstacle’, ‘barrage’ and so on. Such artificial dams are mentioned in the Rgveda as ‘rodhas’. These mountainous dams had flood gates which are described as the soft belly of the mountain from which the waters flowed. The flood gates are mentioned as bila, ūdha or dūra (RV. 5.32.11, vide Shendge, 1990, p. 255).

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The bridge-cum-dam are generally mentioned in Sanskrit literature as Setu. The word ‘aṇai’ in Tamil denotes a dam which we find mentioned in Tamil literature and inscriptions. Hemadri in the Dānakhaṇḍa of his Catur-varga-cintāmaṇi quotes from Devipurāṇa which says “The measurements of a superior type of Pālibandha are given as 200 cubits by the specialists in their treatises” (Satya Srava, 1953, p.5). The term Pālibandha possibly denotes a dam or embankment. Another term Vipāli mentioned in the Devipurāṇa must be smaller in dimension or subsidiary to Pāli. So the system of damming the rivers was practised for the purpose of irrigation.

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The Kunāla Jātaka (prior to 4th cent. B.C.) mentions a dispute between the Sākiya and the Koliya tribes for the distribution of water from the dam across the river Hohini (Cowell, p. 19; Gupta, 1933). The earliest known reservoir with a dam is the famous ‘Sudarśana’ lake in Kathiawar (c. 300 B.C. - 457 A.D.) (EI, VIII, No. 6, p. 46). This lake was formed by a natural dam and furnished with well-provided conduits and drains. An important fact about this reservoir-cum-dam is that it continued to serve the Saurashtra region for about 400 years without any major repairs. The masonary work must have been very strong. However, the lake suffered heavy damage by a storm during the region of Rudradaman I in 150 A.D. The restoration work was carried out by his governor. After a gap of 300 years the lake again burst out during the reign of Gupta Skandagupta whose governor carried out the repairs and restoration of the embankment in 456 A.D.

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In a late Tamil literary work, Cola-maṇḍala Śatakam (verse 28) we find a reference to the construction of a great dam known as Kal-Aṇai or the Grand Anaicut across the river Kaveri (Nilakantha Sastri, 1932, p. 36). This anicut was not made of earth but of brick and stone. These is no conclusive proof to ascribe the still existing ‘Grand Anicut’ to the early Cola king Karikalan. So the speculation is still rife as to the ruler who was responsible for this great work. Probably the greatest achievement of ancients in executing a large dam-cum-reservoir was the Bhojapur lake near Bhopal built in the 11th century by Bhoja Paramāra (died A.D. 1055-56), the King of Dhārā. This lake was created by carefully erected dams of moderate size and covering an extensive area of 250 square miles. They consisted of an “earthern central band faced on both sides, outer and inner, with immense blocks of stone laid one on the other without mortar, but fitting so truly as to be watertight, the two faces sloping inwards from the base. The lesser opening (barrage) was closed by a band 87 feet in height, and 300 feet thick at the base, or even more the greater (barrage), by one in places 40 feet high, and about 100 feet broad on the top; and, though the first mentioned band is now a complete wreck, the latter is intact and still continues to turn the river Kaliasot into Betwa, and from its top the old bed of the stream is recognisable” (IA, XVII, p. 350ff). The lesser but higher barrage was breached by Shah Hussain (Hoshang Shah) in the 15th century, and has never been restored.

Reservoirs

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Reservoirs are constructed to impound water to irrigate large tracts of arable land in the absence of rivers and dependable channels leading off from them. Usually a reservoir is surrounded on three sides by earthern embankments and the fourth side is open to the catchment area from which water flows down to collect in the basin of the reservoir. The water reaches the fields by gravity flow, below the embankments through openings or sluice gates or valves. The reservoirs which are fed by channels from rivers are known as “system tanks”. These types of reservoirs were constructed mostly in the southern region to augment irrigation needs. The artificial reservoirs, usually referred to in Anglo-Indian jargon as ‘tanks’, were variously known as *śarasi* (Sanskrit), *ayam*, *eri*, *taṭāka*(Tamil), *samudra*, *sarovara* (Kannada) and so on. The reservoirs were named after the benefactors, royal dignitaries, rulers, dynasties, deities with the above mentioned names as suffixes. To indicate the variation in size and economic importance of tanks, *eri*, *samudra*, *sarovar* applied to very big water formations. Lesser formations, artificial or natural, were also designated by such names.

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Much attention was paid to the proper location of tanks and dams. The *Mahābhārata* (Roy, Eng.Tr. II, p. 14) stresses that large tanks and lakes should be constructed at proper distances. Manu, the Law giver, advocates that dams, wells, tanks and *prasarvaṇas* should be built where boundaries meet (*MS*, VIII, 248; vide also Eng.Tr by Buhler). As their locations were vulnerable to attacks by the enemies the idea of locating them on the boundary lines was not advocated by Kauṭilya. He recommends that the tanks and dams should be constructed in the centre of a province or village (*AŚ*, III, 51, Shamasastry, 1961). Tiruvalluvar in his *Tirukkuṛal*; ‘Sacred Couplets’ (22.5; vide Eng.tr. Pope, 1886) compares wealth in the hands of the liberal minded people to the water in the Central tank and this confirms that tanks were located at the central place for all to benefit, such public tanks were known in Tamil Ūruṇi-kuḷam (drinking water pond for public).

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The site selected for the construction of large reservoirs by the tank builders was in between two mountains; for the mountain slopes on either side served as the natural embankment. This sort of arrangement undoubtedly increased the storage capacity of the reservoir. This technique is, of course, possible where there is such a natural arrangement. The famous Sudarsana lake in Kathiawar was located round the mountain Girnar. It was “so well joined in construction as to rival the spur of a mountain” (EI, VIII, No. 6, p. 46). The Ciramegha taṭāka constructed in the first quarter of the 7th century A.D. by the Pallava Mahendravarman is by far the largest tank in the Cingleput district, Tamil Nadu. It is situated in between two hills which form the natural embankment for it. “The bund rests upon the bases of two hills and lets rise here and there in the centre of the reservoir making it the prettiest tank in the district” (Madras District Manuals: North Arcot, II, p. 305). As already mentioned, the Bhojapur lake near Bhopal was created by constructing two solid masonry dams across the watershed of a circle of hills. The Rāmappa lake constructed during the reign of the Kākatīya Ganapatideva at a distance of 44 miles north-east of Warangal (Andhra Pradesh) is an excellent testimony to the skill of the Kākatīyas in irrigation works of a high order. This magnificent lake is formed by a ring of hills on three sides with a colossal bund (embankment) on the northern side (Gopal Reddy, p. 62). The same technique was applied by them in constructing a tank at Buddhapuri (Andhra Pradesh) (CTI, p. 52).

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After selecting the site either in a hilly tract or in plains, the bed of the reservoir in the basin system was strengthened with hard clay. Further, the entire area enclosed by a group of hills or earthern embankments was adjusted to form the bed of the reservoir. The elevation (kūrma) in the middle of the tank bed was totally avoided. Otherwise, the storage capacity of the reservoir would be reduced. The bed of the reservoir at the egress was formed of stony bed along a tortuous line, so that the water issued from it whirled round with great force, forming strong eddies (EI, XIV, p. 108, f.n. 8). It was provided with an inlet and outlet channels and the inlet channel was normally three yojanas distant from its source. In the basin system it was also the practice to carry the flood waters into the basin by canals. Main canals carried the water from a river. Distribution canals fed the water from the main canals into the basin. A dam across the portions of hills was constructed of a firm and compact stone wall. The stones from the quarry were straight and long to withstand pressure and strain. In the mountainous tract the question of an earthern embankment strengthening it with stone facing did not arise; whereas in the level plain it was necessary to throw up earthern banks all around the tank bund.

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Taṭākas were dug and built either in the middle or the peripheral area of the village. Care was always taken that in the site chosen there were springs of good drinkable water. A well was usually dug in the middle of the tank with its length in the north south direction. The tank was also fitted with an inlet and outlet channels for filling and emptying it (Kalavali, 2:4; Nānmaṇikkaḍigai, 73:3). Big tanks attached to temples were provided with a number of deep sunk wells (urai-kiṇaru) and maṇḍapa at the centre which was known in Tamil as nīrāli maṇḍapa. Such tanks were generally provided with flights of steps, a covered verandāh or corridors or platform all round and ornamental gateways on all the four sides (VV. p. 51).

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Although isolated tanks which were fed by the run off waters from their own catchment did exist, it was common to have tanks as part of an interconnected chain of tanks, wherein the surplus waters of one flowed down to the next tank down the line and so on. It would be of topical interest here to quote the rules laid down in the Arthaśāstra.

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“The water of the lower tank, excavated later on, shall not irrigate the field (already) irrigated from the higher tank; and the natural flow of water from a higher to a lower tank shall not be stopped, unless the lower tank has ceased to be useful for three consecutive years” (AS. II. 9). The real significance of this injunction laid down by Kauṭilya is that there was such a system of carrying the surplus water of one tank to another in ancient times. We have two classic instances from the south. The Vīranārāyaṇa eri or Viranam tank (first half of the 10th century A.D.) is at the fag end of the Kaveri delta near Kattumannar Koil (South Arcot District) and 8 miles west of Gaṅgaikoṇḍasolapuram (Tirucirappalli district). The bund of the extant reservoir alone is 10 miles in length and has amean width of some 3 miles. “The circumference of the tank when it is full is nearly 25 miles” (GAAD, 1906, p. 132). The surplus water of the famous ‘Colaganam’ tank (now in ruined condition) constructed by the Cola Rajendra I in 1012-14 A.D. at Gaṅgaikoṇḍa-solapuram went to make up this tank through a canal. Another interesting instance comes from Karnataka. A Kannada inscription (IA, VI. No. 32, pp. 138 ff.) dated 1096-97 A.D. from Kāṭṭageri (Bādāmi Taluk, Katadgi district) refers to the existence of a ‘Larger Big tank’ during the rule of the Western Calukya ruler Vikramaditya VI. J.F. Fleet, who identified the place and the tank based on the inscription, attributes three reasons for the sustained water supply in that area after in situ inspection of the place. “The system of tanks at Kāṭṭageri was formerly a large one. First, there is the small tank, on the west of the Fort, and close under the walls ... Secondly, there is a larger tank, on a slightly higher level, which if repaired, would, when full, include the proceeding in itself, formed by an embankment running to the south from just below the south-east corner of the Fort. And thirdly, about 1/4 of a mile away to the south-east of the proceeding, and on a lower level there are the remains of a large embankment, now breached and quite useless, which when in repair, evidently formed a tank of considerable area”. From the above description, it is discernible that the method of draining the surplus water from the tank at the higher level to the tank at the lower level must have been successfully applied in this case. These two instances prove that the ancients had a sound knowledge of hydraulic engineering while planning and executing the irrigation works.

Sluices

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Sluices are contrivances in the form of gates or valves through which the flow of water can be controlled or stopped. They are also used for surplus vents. For better flow of water from the reservoir, the sluices are usually installed at points of maximum depth and quite far from the embankments. The sluices were not unknown to the pre-Aryans who had barricaded the streams of seven rivers, Sapta-Sindhavah (RV. I. 51.4; VII 82.3). It is disappointing to note that the northern sources do not offer any tangible material in this connection. Udagabandha (Sanskrit), madagu, kalingu, tūmbu (Tamil), tubu (Kannada) and tumus (Telugu) are the terms generally met with in the inscriptions to denote a sluice (EI. III. No. 20; Silappadikāram, X. 109; XII. 4.1; ANRIE No. 257, 1952; No. 552, 1902, SII, III, p. 392).

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In the Paripāḍal (verse, 20, ll.90-107; see also Balakrishna Mudaliyar, 1960, p.38), one of the Sangam anthologies, we come across a passage in which it is mentioned that the river Vaigai near Madurai was then a mighty river, and to control and regulate it when in freshes, several water-heads and large underground sluice shutters were constructed for the purpose. So it is not a matter of coincidence that we notice in the early and later Pāṇḍya records from the 8th century onwards a good number of references to the construction of sluices to river channels and small-sized reservoirs in and around Madurai.

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References to the installation and renovation of sluice gates are more in South Indian lithic records pertaining to the Pāṇḍyas, the Pallavas and the Colas. It is equally interesting to note that the tanks constructed in one period were provided with sluices in another period. But they add a little to our knowledge of the types of sluices used in the regulation of water.

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Depending on the size and water-spread of the reservoir the number of sluices were determined. The Tirayaneri in the Cingleput district constructed in the first half of the 8th century A.D. by some predecessor of the Pallava Nandivarman II was provided with 23 sluices and stone revetment (Sewell, 1882, p.188). The extant Viranam tank or Vīranārāyaṇppereri, a large reservoir, constructed by the Cola Parāntaka I (c. 950 A.D.) at the fag end of the Kaveri delta (South Arcot district, Tamil Nadu) has 74 sluices (GAAD, 1906, p. 132).

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Similarly, the ‘Colagaṅgam’ reservoir constructed by the Cola Rajendra I was provided with several sluices and channels for the irrigation of a large area. During the period under review, the sluices were installed by the use of dressed granite slabs in place of laterite blocks; and some times the planks of palmyra trees joined together by means of ropes were also used as a make-shift arrangement (ANRIE, No. 417, 1912). A single evidence from Sirgāli (Tanjavur district, Tamil Nadu) records the exact measurement of a sluice (ANRIE, No. 499, 1918). It measured in modern conversion 35 inches in length and 8 inches in breadth. It is presumable that this sort of narrow sluice shutters were put to use to regulate the water-supply from the branch channels.

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Head Sluice: The Head-sluice (Kūṛṛan-vay), as we understand from the Pallava records, is a sort of regulator. It is usually a strong masonary work at a point where the canal takes off from a river or tank; and its purpose here is to control the supply entering the canal. Muka-vāy, talai-vāy, vāyt-talai are the other terms in Tamil to be identified with the head-sluices (SII, I, 151; EI; V p. 49). Above the head-sluice was constructed a ‘head of water’ (uvantri or taluippelai) with a large mouth or opening which conveyed the excess flow of water entering the canal from the main sluice (SII, II. No. 93, p. 11; III, p. 530).

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A remarkable piece of native engineering work, which is still in a fairly good condition supplying water to the town of Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) is the massive head-sluice (Vayttalai) of the Uyyakondan channel, which branches off from the Kaveri near the Veṭṭuvāyttalai Railway Station. This head sluice is made of a solid granite block.

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On the bridge which crosses the head-sluice is placed a stone, which is stated to have originally formed part of one of the pillars of the sluice itself. This head-sluice was constructed about A.D. 1205-06 for conducting water to flow into the Uyyakondan Channel during the reign of the Cola Kulottunga III (ANRIE, No. 70, 1890; 1891 para 4; SII, IV, no. 394, p. 119). Another example of such a nature comes from the same district. This head-sluice, now popularly known as nāṭṭu-vāykkāl (native channel) or Periya-vāykkāl (big channel), is on the northern bank of the Kaveri near Musiri (Tiruchirappalli district). This head- sluice is spanned by a bridge across the channel Periya-vāykkāl. On one of the side walls of the sluice close to the bridge is an inscription of Rājarāja Cola III which records that in the fourth year of his reign (A.D. 1219), the head-sluice was built of stone at Musiri (ANRIE, No. 72, 1890; 1891, para 4; SII, IV. No. 396, p. 120).

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The major part of the Pandya region in the South (Madurai and Rāmanāthapuram districts) depended on rain-fed servoirs for irrigation. They were carried out by the early Pāṇḍyas (7th and 8th centuries) and continued by the later Pāṇḍyas from the 9th century onwards. All the surviving reservoirs, mostly medium- sized, with stone sluices (Karttūmbu) of the period would indicate the technical skill involved in the construction of reservoir for irrigation. “The position and depth of the sluices demonstrate adequate knowledge in choosing the most suitable points and ascertaining the correct sill level” (Rajan, 1986, p. 159).

v1.c32.s2.t3.10

The following information regarding the working of the tūmbu sluices is based on in situ inspection of certain early sites by Rajan Gurukkal, since none of the tūmbu inscriptions is published (Fig.1). “The tūmbu was a single valve system operated without any devices for mechanical advantage. It consisted of two granite pillars installed in the reservoir on either side of the sluice-mouth. The pillars varied in height, according to the depth of the reservoirs. The distance between the two pillars was about one to one and a half meters. The pillars were connected to each other by a series of cross-slabs from the base of the sluice to the top. Each cross-slab had a hole in the centre with a diameter of about 5 to 8 inches. The base of the system was a rectangular enclosure built in granite on the bed of the reservoir. It had a rectangular opening of 1 ×2 feet. The stone above the opening had a long aperture and the stones on either side of the opening had slots, obviously for the movement of the shutter plank. It appears that, through the series of holes in the cross-slabs, a wooden rod lowered to the sluice-mouth. The edge of the rod must have been connected to a shutter-plank lowered through the long aperture so as to cover the opening of the sluice. The operation of the system was quite simple. The sluice-mouth could be opened by lifting the rod. The lifting of the rod was not difficult since a little opening would cause enough upward thrust from the flow of water for the shutter-plank to move easily. The sluice opened into an underground conduit which lead water to a well called etirakkiṇaru built outside the embankment. Unlike the ordinary wells, the etirakkiṇaru was constructed upwards Fig. 1. Tūmbu (sluice) system

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Valve-rod

v1.c32.s2.t3.12

Shutter-plank

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Sluice-mouth

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Shutter-ball

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Sluice-mouth

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Fig. 2. Kumiḷi (sluice-pit) system (reproduced from Studies in History, Vol. 2, No. 2, 1986)

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from the ground level. It had openings at its base into channels running in various dissections. The flow of water through the channels required no contrivance since it worked on gravitational force.

v1.c32.s2.t3.18

"The sluice-pit" (*kumiḷi*) was another system (Fig.2) for the regulation of the flow of water from the reservoir, used at required centres. In this case, the sluice-mouth was a pit, also enclosed and with a circular opening on the surface. The rod lowered through the cross-slabs in the system must have been connected to a global stone or wood that acted as the shutter. Here the difference was in the nature of the valve of the sluice. In the case of the *tūmbu*, water from the reservoir flowed into the sluice from the side and, in that of the *kumiḷi*, from above" (Rajan, 1986, pp. 160-161).

Canals

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The canals system of irrigation probably had its beginnings in the use of artificial water courses by the Vedic people. The word *kulyā* (*RV*. III, 45.3; X.43.7) refers to artificial courses flowing into a river. The expressions *khanitrima* meaning ‘produced by digging’ as an epithet of *āpaḥ* clearly refers to artificial water channels used for irrigation. Such artificial canals were dug by using a tool called *Khanitra* (*RV*. VII. 49.2; *AV*. I. 6.4). Rituals were practised before leading the river water into the canals (*AV*. III. 13; I. 6.4; XIX. 2.2; Ramgopal, 1953, p. 133). Kautilya classifies the countries making use of the water channels in agriculture as *kulyāvāpaṇam* (*AS*. II. 24.116, Shamasastry (tr), p. 130). Patañjali in his *Mahābhāṣya* speaks of canals for irrigating paddy fields *śalyartham kulyāḥ* (Patañjali I.1.24; I. 82, see also Agrawala, 1953, p. 204).

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In Sanskrit literature the expressions such as *nāla*, *nālikā*, *praṇāḷi* are used to designate different types of canals, drains and channels and these unmistakably point to the existence of artificial water-courses used in irrigation in North India. The canals which also helped to stop inundation by rivers are referred to as *Jalanirgamah* (drains) in the *Amarakośa* (9.7; 9.36).

v1.c32.s2.t4.3

A survey of South Indian epigraphical evidence shows that a number of canals and channels bearing different names would indicate their specific use. The reason is that in the South each agrarian unit had a network of channels to supply water in each field, leading either from the river or the village reservoir. Generally the canals were known as *vāykkāl* (Tamil) and *kāluve* (Telugu and Kannada) (*SII*. II. Nos. 4 & 5). In the Tamil speaking areas the channels were dug from every conceivable source, natural or otherwise. The channels dug to bring water from the rivers to feed the tanks in the vicinity were known as *ārruk-kāl* (*SII*. II. p. 352). In the days of the Pallavas, there were native channels (*nāṭṭukkāl*) dug from the river Palar for irrigating the adjacent fields (*SII*. I. p. 150).

v1.c32.s2.t4.4

The high level channels *meṭṭu-vāykkāl* or *mugaṭṭu-kāl* (*SII*. II. p. 435) were expressly dug to conduct water from the tanks to water the fields. The drinking water channels cut from the rivers and tanks were specifically known as *sennir-poduvinai* and for digging such channels there was a provision of free labour known as *sennir-veṭṭi* or *sennīr-amañji* (*EI*, XVIII, p. 124; XV, p. 72).

v1.c32.s2.t4.5

Branch channels from the main canals and tanks were variously named as *kuraṅgāru*, *kāl* and *kilai-kāl* (SII, II. p.352, III, p.106 & 154; *EI*, V. p.49). Similarly, the field channels flowing towards the fields in a village were either called *kai-yāru* or *ahai-vāykkāl*. Small irrigation channels issuing from the reservoir was known as *kaṇṇāru*. The famous Vairamegha *taṭāka* constructed by the Pallava Dantivarman (c. 795-845 A.D.) had three branch channels and as many as twenty five such *kaṇṇārus* taking water from this tank and watering the fields in and around Uttiramerūr (Chingleput district). This is attested by a number of Pallava and Cola records.

v1.c32.s2.t4.6

*Feeder Channel*

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Feeder channels were dug from rivers to feed tanks which in turn were used as the main source of supply to fields by means of branch channels. Such a channel is mentioned in a record of the Pallava Parameśvaravarman who dug a feeder channel from the river Pālār to feed the Paramesvara *taṭāka* which was constructed by him at Kañcipuram (Cingleput district) in the 2nd half of the seventh century A.D. (*SII*. I. p. 154). From the Udayendiram grant of the Cola Parantaka I (920 A.D.) we learn that a feeder channel was constructed to the tank at Vinnamangalam (Ambur, North Arcot district) (*SII*. II. p. 389).

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Among the many feeder channels dug in the extreme South India, the Uyyakoṇḍān Channel dug by Rājarāja Cola I (c. 985-1013 A.D.) is an important native irrigation work which is still serving the district of Tiruchirappalli. This channel branches off from the Kaveri near the Veṭṭuvāyttalai Railway station, supplies water to a good portion of the district and eventually falls into a large tank in the village Valavandān-koṭṭai, about 10 miles to the North-East of Tiruchirappalli. Robert Sewell remarks “there is no doubt that the channel is a very old work” (*ANRIE*, No. 72, 1890; *SII*.IV, No.396,p. 120; Sewell, I, p. 269).

v1.c32.s2.t4.9

*Inundation Canals*

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The method of irrigating fields through inundation canals is indeed very ancient. Though the northern source materials are silent about this practice, but considering the geographical conditions and the river systems, the inundation canals dug from the rivers for irrigation purposes must surely have existed in many parts of north India. In the south, irrigation by means of inundation canals was quite common in the days of the Pallavas as evidenced by the records of the period. Shallow cuts are made through the river banks (*kulai*) into which the excess water flowed when the level of the water in the river rose higher in the floods which occur during the monsoon seasons. Usually the head of inundation canals are made on the exact or correct bank of the river from which they draw their supply. In the past, such spots were selected by experience only. In one of the records of Nandivarman Pallavamalla II we notice that the settlers of the newly constituted village were permitted to make inundation canals (*vellakkāl*) on the banks of the rivers Vegavati and Pālār and irrigate all the fields within the village. Though the use of such canals must have been extensively in vogue in other parts of India, but we hardly come across any references to such canals in the records (*SII*. II. p. 352).

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