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

30

TOWN AND VILLAGE

WALLS

which is used in the

traditional timberhouses

ofN(M-\vay. It

is, in fact, the simplest method

for ensuriuj^

s^ooil horizontal

jointsin thewallsofwooden houses.

Brick

and

stonewalls inan aneient

Indianvillage

ortown

wereconstructed

eitheronthe

principle of the

"embattled

fret"

(lio-.

ii), which

follows

closely the i)utline

of

the

timber

railinj;-, or in a wavy

line like

the

edge

o{ a lotus

leaf,

or "like the wreath of

waves rising" in

the milky

ocean."

'

The

lattertypecan

be seen in the villai;e

plan

called PadmAka,

(.le.scribeil in

the Mc^nasar.i(lij;-.

4).

Itwas

probably built of mutl or

brick, but miyht have been

simply a bambu fence bent

round alineofupright posts.

PI. VII, B,

from

the

/\inara\ati

sculptures, shows atown

t^atewaybuilt of brick, with a wooden j^iiard-house over itof

the same

description as

that given in PI. VI. This is the

prototype

of later Indian fortress-gateways

like that of the

Purana

Kilaat Delhi (PI. VII,

c),

and

the Hdtht PAl of Akbar's

I''ortat Agra.

The origin of another im-

portant feature in later Indian architecture is also staled in

• UmmagnaJ.ltaka,
  p.
  98. Itmay be noticedthatthe wliilcncss o(housesami

walls isoften referred toin SanskritandI'aii iilL'raiino, showing that the practice of

plasteringbrick,stone,andclaywallswithfine|)olishoilcluiiianiwascommon in ancient

India. Theplasterwasaprotectionagainstdaiupintherainyseasonand

kept

liicwalls

coolinthehotseason.