The ancient and medieval architecture of India: a study of Indo-Aryan civilisation

lO VILLAGE PLANNING

cosmic cross were broad avenues, probablyplanted

with um-

brageous trees. The long one, running east and west,

was

calledRdjapatha

—King'sStreet;

theshortone,whichpointed

north and

south,was Mahdkala—Broad Street,

or otherwise

Vamana

—South Street—from the nameof the

mythical ele-

N.

d h

u

w

PATH OF AUSPI CI

U

SN

E

S

S

^^^

«3

J

[

trempla K I N G' S

STREET

til

• 
  

Do

ID

D

^^

PATH

OF AUSPICIOUSNESS

-^'r-'^j

S.

3/

Fig.I.—VillagePlancalledDanddka(correctedfromRamRaz,PI.XLIII),

phantwhich

representedthesouth

quarter.^ Theroador

wide

pathrunninground

thevillageinside

thewall or

stockadewas

called Mangala-vttht

—the Wayof

Auspiciousness,

or Good

1

Theelephantwas

therain-cloudwhichcamewith

thesouth-west

monsoon. Vamana

wasalsotheshortarmofthecosmiccross

—otherwiseVishnu'sdwarf

incarnation the

apparentdistancebetweenthesunatitszenith

anditsnadirbeing

lessthanthatbetween

sunriseandsunset,or thelongarm ofthe

cross. Thisstreet

could,therefore,

alsobe

anglicisedas

"

ShortStreet."