History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c32.s2.t3.2

v1.c32.s2.t3.2

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.