Chapter VI. Durga (Fort or Capital)

Volume III pp. 178–183

Chapter VI. Durga (Fort or Capital)

Manu IX. 294 places the capital (pura) even before rāstra Medhātithi (on IX. 295) and Kullūka explain that the loss of the capital is a more serious danger than even the loss of some territory, because if the capital, which possesses all the stocks of food, in which are centred the principal elements and the army, is saved, then it is possible to retrieve even lost territory and to protect the country. It is as it were the pivot of the whole machinery of government. Other writers (and even Manu in VII 69–70) place the capital or fort after the rāstra It is probably due to the geographical situation in North India and the nature of the fighting in ancient times that made the capi- tal and forts of great importance in the several elements of the State. The capital mirrored the prosperity of the country and if properly walled also provided security Yaj I. 321 says that forts are meant for the safety of the king, the people and the treasury (janakośātmaguptaye) The reason for the construction of forts is well put by Manu VII. 74 viz that a single archer under the shelter of the fort-wall can fight a hundred of the enemy and a hundred can fight ten thousand The Pañcatantra (I. 229 and II. 14) has a similar verse. Bṛhaspati quoted by the Rājanītiprakāśa²²⁸ p 202 states that the king should construct a fort with walls and a gate for the protection of himself, his wives, the people and the (wealth) collected by him Kaut (II. 3 and 4) deals at length with the construction of durgaş and the laying out of the capital in one of theṃ He says that in the four quarters of the boundaries of the kingdom forts should be built for offering resistance (to the enemy) on ground naturally fitted for the purpose He speaks of four kinds of forts viz 'audaka' (water-protected, which is on an island surrounded by water or on a plain surrounded by low ground), pārvata (mountain one, such as a rocky hill or a cave), dhānvana (desert fort, on a waterless tract full of thickets or waste land), a forest fort full of wagtails and water and thickets of reaḍ He says that the first two are suited for the protection of populous places and the last two for the protection of foresterṣ Vayu 8. 108 refers to four kinds of durgaṣ Manu VII. 70, Śānti 56. 35 and 86. 4-5, Visņudharmasūtra III. 6, Matsya 217. 6-7, Agnipurāṇa 222. 4-5, Viṣṇudharmottara II. 26. 6-9, III. 323. 16-21, Śukra IV. 6 speak of six kinds of forts viz dhanvadurga (which is waterless five yojanas round a raised plain), mahidurga (a land fort, which is surrounded by a wall built of stones or burnt bricks, that is at least twelve feet high and twice as high as it is broad), jaladurga (water fort, surrounded on all sides by deep water), vṛkṣa durga (fort that is surrounded for one yojana on all sides with thorny and tall trees and thorny creepers and bushes), nṛdurga (fort that is guarded by a numerous army of four sections on all sides), giridurga (mountain fortress, difficult to climb and with only one narrow access). Manu VII. 71 says that the mountain fortress is the best of all, while Śānti 56. 35 states that nṛdurga is the most difficult to conquer. The Mānasollāsa (II. 5 p. 78) speaks of nine kinds of durgas (adding those built with stones, bricks and mud). The Paraśurāma- pratāpa enumerates eight kinds of durgas (Rāja- vallabhakāṇḍa, folio 1) and states that the wall of a fort may be of stones or of baked bricks or of muḍ Manu VII. 75- Sabhā 5. 36 (=Ayodhyā 100, 53), Matsya 217. 8, Kāṃ IV. 60, Mānasollāsa III. 5 (verses 550-555), Śukra IV. 6 12-13, Viṣṇu- dharmottara II. 26. 20-88 prescribe that forts should possess plenty of arms, grain, drugs and other materials, wealth, horses, elephants, beasts of burden, brāhmaṇas, artisans, machines (called Śataghnis acc to Matsya, that kill a hundred), water and fodder. The Nītivākyāmṛta (durga-samuddeśa p. 199) says that there must be means of leaving it secretly, otherwise it will be a prison and that no one should be allowed to enter it or leave it without a pass or without being searcheḍ Kaut. (II. 3) gives detailed instructions for the construction of fort walls, towers, ditches, pillars, lotus ponds and buildings inside the fort, which are all passed over for want of space. Vide the Rājadharmakāṇḍa pp. 28-36 and the Rājadharmakaustubha pp. 115-117 for numerous quotations from the Dhanurveda of Uśanas, the Mahābhārata, the Matsya, the Viṣṇudharmottara and other works on durga

In the Ṛgveda we have frequent mention of citieṣ In I. 63. 7 Indra is said to have shattered seven cities for Purukutsa and in ll 20 8 it is narrated that Indra killed the dasyus and destroyed their cities of `ayus` (copper, `halvi` `dasyun` `pura` `ayusir` `nt` `u` `il`). This shows that walled cities were known even at that distant date There is difference of opinion as to whether the walls were of mud and wood or of stones and brickṣ Vide Hopkins `m` J. A O. S. XIII `pp` 174-176 Tho Tai S VI 2 3 1 speaks of the three cities of `asura` constructed with `ayus`, silver and gold (`purūṇi`) In the `ayasma` as described in the Sat Br `thousands` of baked bricks were required The excavations at Mohenjo-daro show that walls were built of burnt bricks (Marshall, vol I. `pp` 15-26) there is no reason to assume that houses, palaces and city walls could not have been built of bricks, simply because no purely Hindu ruins anterior to Alexander have yet been discovered or because Megasthenes describes that Pataliputra had a wall of wooden palisades One must demur to the remarks of Hopkins, on `pp`. 174-178 of J. A O S vol XIII. Walls (`prakāra`), `toranas` (arched gates) and upper stories (`aṭṭalakas`), `moats` are very often spoken of in connection with capitals in both epics The gates were sometimes called after cities `e` g in Vanaparva I 9-10 the Pāṇdavas are said to have gone out of Hastināpura from the gate called Vardhamānapura ² Vide also Āsramavāsi-parva 16 3 The Mahābhārata states that palaces had dancing halls (`nartanāgāra`) attached to them (Virāta-parva 22 16 and 25-26) Sānti 69 60 states that the capital was rendered gay by `natas` (players) and dancers and Sānti 86 (4-15) describes how cities were to be founded in durgas, how they were to be full of music, festivals and merry gatherings (`samājotsavau`) and what stores they should contaiṇ In the Rāmāyaṇa (V. 2. 50-53) Lankā is described as having palaces of seven or eight stories and mosaic pavements The Bṛhatsamhitā (chap 53) contains in 125 `verses` very accurate ,directions and measure-ments about palaces, houses &c (i. e on `vāstuśāstra`) It states that the best kind of royal palace was to be 108 `cubits`.broad, that palaces of 100, 92, 84, 76 `cubits` `may` be built, that the length in each case was to be one-fourth as much more as the breadth. It speaks of the dimensions of mansions for the commander-in-chief, ministers, the queen, crown prince, purohita, physician &c In v 23 it states that the walls `may` be of baked bricks or of wood The king was to have his capital inside a fort or in- dependent of it Manu VII. 70, 76, Āśramavāsī 5. 16-17, Śānti 86. 6–10, Kāṃ IV. 57, Matsya 217. 9ff, Śukra I 213–217 describe where and how a capital was to be built Kauṭilya (in II. 4) describes at great length how the capital was to be laid out viz the extent should be demarcated by three royal roads from west to east and three from south to north, the capital should have twelve gates, provided with concealed land and water exits : the chariot roads, the royal roads and roads leading to droṇa-mukha, sthānīya, the rāṣṭra and pastures should be four dandas (16 cubits) in width. He then prescribes the width of roads for various other purposeṣ Occupying one-ninth of the whole area of the capital, but to the north from the centre of the capital and in the midst of people of all castes the king's own palace should be built facing the east or north To the north-east of the palace should be the residences of the king's teacher (ācārya), purohita, ministers and the sacrificial place and water reservoir. He then assigns appropriate places round about the palace for the offices of the several superintendents, to merchants, principal artisans, brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, prostitutes, wool workers, śūdras &c In the centre of the capital were to be constructed apartments for the images of Aparājita, Apratihata, Jayanta and Vaijayanta and the temples of Śiva, Kubera, the Aśvins, Lakṣmī and Madirā (Durgā ?) The principal gates named after Brahmā, Yama, Indra and Kārtikeya were to be constructed At a distance of 100 bows (400 cubits) beyond the ditch, platforms for holy trees, groves and embankments should be built The cemetery should be to the east or north but to the south for the higher varṇas Heretics and cāṇḍālas should have a place of residence beyond the cemetery. For each group of ten families there must be a well; oil, grain, sugar, salt, medicines, dried vegetables, fire-wood, arms, and other essential commodities should be stored in such large quantities that they might last for several years in case of a siege or invasioṇ The Matsyapurāṇa (217. 9–87) differs from the above description in many wayṣ It prescribes four wide roads, at the ends of which a temple, the royal palace, the court of justice and the principal gate are to be respectively constructed Almost the whole of the description in the Matsya is quoted by the Rājanītiprakāśa (pp. 208-213) and also in the Rājadharmakāṇḍa pp. 28-36. The former also quotes (pp 214-219) a long passage from the Devīpurāṇa with regard to the construction of a nagara. a pura, a haṭṭa (market), a puri, a pattana³ and the temples of several deities that are to be built in each, the rites to be observed in measuring out the ground for each and accurately finding out of the east and other directionṣ Pāņinī (VII 3. 14 prācām grāmanagarāṇām) distinguishes between grāma and nagara, while Patañjali thereon (vol III. p. 321) explains that grāma, ghoṣa, nagara, and samvāha are the appellations of different groups or settlements of people. The Vāyupurāṇa (94 40) separately mentions cities (purāņi) ghoṣas (hamlets of cowherds), villages and pattanaṣ Vide Sukranītisāra I. 213-258 for provisions about the laying out of the capital, the palace, the court of justice, other state offices and public buildings, ditches &c and Yuktikalpataru pp 22 ff, Vāyu 8. 108 ff, Matsya 130. Śukra (I. 260-267) describes how four royal roads should start from the palace in four direc-tions, how the best, middling and inferior royal roads should be 30, 20 and 15 cubits in breadth; he defines padyā (a foot-path), vīthi (a lane) and mārga as respectively equal to 3, 5 and 10 cubits in breadth, that in the capital there should be no narrow street like a padyā or vīthi, that even in villages the public road should be at least 10 cubits in width, that all roads should slope down from their middle and that all houses should face the royal roaḍ For a description of Ayodhyā vide Rāmāyaṇa II. 100. 40-42, which says that it was full of valiant men, had strong gates, was full of elephants, horses, and chariots, was inhabited by energetic people of all castes that were devoted to their duties, that had mansions of various sizes, that it was prosperous and had many physicianṣ From the Rāmāyaṇa (VI 112. 42 śikharathāyan-tarūpaṇī) and the Mahābhārata (Ādi. 221 36) it appears that the roads of the capital were watereḍ In the Harṣacarita (III) Bāṇa gives a graphic description of Sthāṇvīśvara (modern Thanesar). For the local administration of the capital, vide the duties of the nāgaraka described above (p 149) from Kauṭilya (II. 36). From the Paharpur plates (dated Gupta samvat 159 i e 478-9 A. D.) it appears that a nagara-śreṣthin (the chief of the bankers and traders of the capital) was nominated (probably by the king). Vide E I. vol 20 p. 59 at p. 61. There was probably a board of the elders of the city (pauramukhyas or pauravṛddhaṣ II] as in Kauṭilya) appointed to help the Governor of the capital (nāgaraka) in administratioṇ In the Damodarpur copper plates also a nagaraśreṣṭhin is mentioned along with others who were approached for consenting to a purchase of land (E I. vol XV at pp. 130, 133, dated Gupta saṁvat 129). Megasthenes (in McCrindle’s ‘Ancient India’, Fragment XXXIV p 187) describes the city of Palibothra (Pāṭaliputra) and its administratioṇ He says that six committees of five each looked to the affairs of the city and were respectively in charge of (1) industrial arts, (2) entertainment and care of foreigners, (3) inquiries about births and deaths, (4) trade and commerce, weights and measures, (5) manufactured articles, (6) collection of the 10th of the prices of articles solḍ Fragments XXV–XXVI (pp 65–67) inform us that Palibothra was 80 stadia in length and 15 in width, that in shape it was a parallelogram, that it was surround- ed by a wooden wall with holes for discharging arrows and a ditch in front. Arrian states (pp 209–210 of McCrindle’s ‘Ancient India’) that Palibothra had 570 towers and 64 gateṣ Patañjali in his Mahābhāṣya frequently brings in Pāṭaliputra (e. g in vol. I p. 380 he states that Pāṭaliputra is alongside of the river Śoṇa, on Pāṇ II. 1. 16), in vol. II p 311 (vārtika 4 on Pāṇ IV 3. 66) he refers to its walls and to its palaces, in vol. II p. 321 (on Pāṇ IV. 3. 134). In Fa-Hien’s time (399–414 A. D) the royal palace and halls in the midst of the city built of stone still existed and were so grand that they were then believed to have been the work of spirits (vide Legge p 77). Vide Rhys Davids’ ‘Buddhist India’ pp 34–41 for the ancient Indian capitals in the 7th century B. C. In the Bhāgavatapurāṇa (IV. 18. 30–32) it is narrated that Pṛthu, son of Vena, first levelled the earth, established human habitations in villages, towns, capitals, forts &c., and that before Pṛthu people resided where they liked and there were no such groups as villages or townṣ Bhṛgu quoted by Śrīdhara accord- ing to Rājanīti-kaustubha defines grāma as the habitation of brāhmaṇas, their hired labourers and śūdras, that kharvaṭa is on the bank of a river and of a mixed character, one side being a village and the other a towṇ Śaunaka quoted by the Rājanīti-kaustubha (pp 103–4) defines kheṭa as a place where brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas reside, that a place where all castes reside is called a town, that brāhmaṇa householders should be established on soil that is whitish and has sweet odour, kṣatriyas should be established in towns where the soil is reddish and vaiśyas on yellowish soil.