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History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c32.s2.t7: Dykes

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c32.s2.t7

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Dykes

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Dyke is a thick bank or low wall or embankment built to control water and prevent flooding. It is also a narrow passage or water- course dug to carry water away. Besides the use of canals and wells for irrigation, the construction of dykes (setu, which also stands for a dam) was known and used in ancient times. The importance of the construction of dykes is duly recognised by the Smṛti writers. Narada (Nārada smṛti, XI. 18) classifies the dykes according to their utility. Two main classes of dykes are mentioned in the Nārada Smṛti (XI. 20-2), namely Kheya which is dug into the soil in order to drain off excessive water and another called bandhya which is constructed as an embankment to prevent water from flowing away. The former serves the purpose of irrigation and the latter protects the fields from excessive water.

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Both Yājñavalkya (Yājñavalkya Smṛti, II. 156) and Nārada (Nārada smṛti, XIV. 17) state that the erection of a setu made by the owner of one field in the neighbouring field should not be forbidden by owner of that field, if the loss of soil it causes (to the latter) is small as compared with the great benefit that it may offer. They also prescribe that one should make a dike or water-course on another’s land with the permission of that man or with the permission of the king as otherwise he cannot reap the benefit thereof. In South India such types of dykes might have been used for agricultural purposes; but we hardly come across any reference to them in inscriptions.

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