History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c32.s2.t1.4

v1.c32.s2.t1.4

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.