History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c32.s2.t8.4

v1.c32.s2.t8.4

In the days of the Mauryan rulers, the farmers had to pay a revenue tax of 1/4 of the produce for using wells fitted with machines (AS. II. 24.117; see also Shama sastry, Eng. tr. 1967, p. 131). Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī (IV. 2.73-74) mentions two types of wells: karkaṇḍu and sakandu. He also mentions wells on the banks of the river Vipāsā (Beas). Those dug on the right bank of the river were permanent wells, and those on the left bank were temporary ones subject to annual inundations.