2. Literature review
2.3 Settlement planning in Vedic period
2.3.10 Site planning and folk planning
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Figure 2.7: A Street Market Scene in India by Edwin Lord Weeks (1887) showing outdoor commercial activity
The streets of most ancient towns were lined with walls on both sides and no lane or window opened up on them. Later on, windows on the second stories were allowed to be placed on the road side. Small stalls for shopping were placed in rows against the wall. The height of the stalls did not exceed the height of the wall. Sometimes, the streets were identified by an entire profession or business class.
The streets were elevated in the middle which provided a curved profile and the country roads were provided with sufficient culverts and bridges. The streets had drains on both side of the roads for drainage. The streets were paved with stone slabs or macadamized with broken stones and gravels (Dutt, 1925).
46 professions and castes as well as allotting sites to a particular pada or block. The rules of Silpa Shastras describes that the number of padas or quadrangular blocks in any place should vary from one to one thousand and twenty four in correspondence with its area and structural requirements.
The method for dividing a village or town into padas (পদ) is to draw two to thirty three parallel line along the horizontal axis and as many vertical parallel lines required. Each of these thirty-two schemes are distinguished by specific names assigned to them according to the number of squares into which the whole area is divided out. The names in order are Sakala (স াল), Pechaka (বপচ ), Pitha (নপঠ), Mahapitha (মহানপঠ) etc. ending with the thirty second Indrakanta (ইন্দ্র ান্ত). The scheme has been arranged in a way that the number of divisions represent the square of the serial number. Therefore, the seventh scheme, which is called Sthandila (স্থানন্ডল) contains 49 squares, the eighth scheme Chandita (চনন্ডতা) or Manduka (মন্ডু ) has 64 squares and the ninth scheme Paramasayika (পরমসানয় া) has 81 squares. Each of these divisions or squares are assigned to different presiding deities (Figure 3.5).
According to Mayamata, a city planner may select any scheme from the first (Sakala) to tenth (Asana; আসন) while designing a village. The civic architect was at his own liberty to choose at what extent he is willing to follow the schemes as they are not as rigid they may seem. Even so, the generally recommended scheme was Paramasayika with 81 squares.
In terms of shape, the blocks were not necessarily square. The physical shape of these blocks were governed by the peripheral shape of the village or town. Thus rectangular settlements had rectangular blocks and settlements with triangular periphery or located on contour sites had irregular blocks.
Each blocks were again subdivided by narrower and smaller streets into building blocks. Each block was considered as individual and thus were divided according to their character and necessity. Thus diversity within uniformity was introduced. A single town often had various types of village plan adopted to divide the wards. In order to ensure uniformity of life and consequent economic efficiency, people from same caste and profession were being allotted to the same ward or block.
47 Kautilya (ব ৌনটলয), Sukracharya (শুরাচাযয), Agni Purana (অনিপুরাণ) and many other literary sources provides different methods for allocating population from various castes and professions. Mayamata describes the typical site-planning procedure for a village in the following way.
After dividing the settlement into 49, 64 or 81 blocks, they are reclassified into different zones which are organized in tiers. The innermost zone is called Brahma (ব্রহ্ম), the next annular zone is called Daivika (বদনে ), the third tier is termed as Manusha (মানুষ) and the outermost tier is known as Paisacha (বপোচ).
The houses of Brahmans were supposed to be placed in the second and third tier. The outermost tier was occupied by the artisans and laboring classes. In the central quarter the shrine of Brahma should be placed. At the north-east and south-east corner of this shrine, shall be located the town-hall. The cattle-sheds should be placed to the south of the settlement and the north will have flower gardens. The hermitages should be provided to the east or west adjacent to the gates. Tanks, wells or reservoirs are to be distributed evenly throughout the village. The houses of the Sudras were stationed to the right and by the side of Vaisyas or trading class. The potters, barbers and craftsmen were provided with housing plots towards the eastern or the northern quarters.
Figure 2.8: Diagrams of Padavinyasa: Chandita and Paramasayika (Dutt, 1925)
48 The fishermen and butchers were to be placed in the north-west and west respectively, while the oilmen were given plots on the north. The quarter for architects were being placed either in the south-eastern or north-western plots.
The cottages of sweepers are supposed to be placed a Krosa away from the settlement towards the east. The cremation ground was generally located five hundred dandas to the north-east.
The royal palace should be provided an eastern-quarter dedicated to the deity Apa (অপ) and the royal complex should occupy about one-seventh of the entire settlement. Royal buildings at Jaipur occupy a closer proportion.
According to Bhoja, the central sites should be reserved for the nobility, physicians, astrologers and the pious. The extreme sites should be allotted to the Mlecchas (বেচ্ছ) or foreigners, people from lower castes, cruel professionals, soldiers and sentinels. The barracks of these soldiers should be placed adjacent to the town-gates. The quarter for ministers and counsellors should be relegated adjoining to these barracks for he believed the king should not live in proximity with his counsellors as it poses life risks.
However, the nobility, infantry and ministers should not be placed too far away. The quarters of the officers needed to be systematically placed throughout the town (Dutt, 1925).