INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION INTRODUCTION; 1.

It is situated in the bank of Indus river which rises western Tibet and flows northwest across Jammu and Kashmir and then southwest through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea which is 1800 miles in length. 2. It is a Bronze Age civilization that flourished in the lower Indus river valley from about 2500-1700 BC. 3. It was the earliest known civilization in South Asia and with Mesopotamia and Egypt one of the earliest anywhere in the world. EXCAVATION; 1. The Indus valley civilization was first defined by the British archaeologist Sir John Marshalls diggings at Mohenjo-Daro and M.S.Vats excavations at Harappa in the 1920s, it is called Harappan after the latter site. 2.

3. In 1946 the British archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler, excavating at Harappa, stylistically different pottery in the earliest occupied areas. Subsequent discoveries at nearby Kot Diji established that this early Pottery at Horappa belong to the early Bronze Age Kot Diji culture. 4. Since 1960 Indian, Pakistani, and western scholars have defined several additional early Bronze Age cultures at Goth Amri, Sothi, Gumla, and other sites in Pakistan, each of which has some traits in common and contributed to the formation of the Indus Valley Civilization.

SPECIAL FEATURES; Mohenjo- Daro Harrapa Indus civilization Indus art and architecture ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER; 1. The earliest significant buildings in brick come from west of the Indus valley, on the edge of Iranian plateau. 2. Excavated settlements reveal blocks of mud brick buildings separated by streets, and the cities, such as Mohenjo- Daro and Harrapa are dominated by large public buildings. 3. These buildings were at one time identified as colleges, temples, granaries, and palaces but later research has not confirmed such interpretations. 4. The cities are usually divided into two distinctive groups of buildings one of which may be closed with an enclosed wall. 5. Sites in the Indus valley itself also should advances in the town planning and some of the groups even had small monumental buildings. 6. The work of Indus valley artisans shows a high degree of craft specialization. Characteristics artifacts include a distinctive block on red-pottery, ceramics toys and figurines, etched carnelian beads, metal (bronze, silver and gold) ornaments and tools, and stamp seals with an undeciphered script. Unfortunately, the nature of the social organization in this complex culture still evades complete interpretation.

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8.

To the west and separated by open ground there was a higher citadel mound, walled and fortified with square massive public buildings and installation set or mud break podia and oriented north south. Among the most important were communal granaries and at some sites a cemetery associated with the town and citadel. Sometime after 2000 B.C., complex ecological changes occurred in the Indus valley area, forcing abandonment of many settlements and altering the basic characteristics of the civilization. Late Indus valley culture is known mainly from excavated small farming villages. Artifacts associated with these sites are stylistically similar to earlier types but show more regional variation.

CITY DETAILS; 1. The residential areas of Harappan cities were oriented north south and east west in regular, rectangular blocks separated by streets which contained what may have been the worlds most advanced public water supply and sewerage system, which served both the private houses and public wells and privies. 2. Within the urban blocks were shops and single and two storey courtyard houses with flat roofs, these were entered by way of narrow winding alleys which cut through the regular rectangular blocks. 3. Blank windowless walls faced the main streets. 4. Every house has boundary wall shape based sloped. 5. The universal material were brick formed burnt brick and mud mortar. The stability of the structure was very strong. The English bond found that time in the structure. 6. There was drainage system for every house and dustbin structure also available there. 7. Every house has open courtyard, well, separate latrine. The windows situated at boundary wall. 8. The finish material was well developed. The houses two storied or more than high. The floor was made of wood. No true arch structures were found. 9. 39 feet long, 23 feet wide, and 8 feet depth swimming pool was found with so many individual baths that were three storied. 10. In Mohenjo- Daro there were 230 feet long and 78 feet high and in Harappa there was 200 feet long and 150 feet high granary which have ventilation system. 11. The living standard was high quality. Women use ornament like pilling ornament and lipstick. 12. This city has a trade route with Egypt and Persia. A tunnel was found that connects Harappa with Persia. 13. Both water and sand was available due to river. There was use of one plaster quality cement on roof structure.

14. Wheat and barley were cultivated on Mohenjo Daro on the bank of Indus River at 2480 B.C. The citys inhabitants also eat millet, dates, melons, and other fruits and vegetables. 15. The Harappans invent a method of writing that consists of 500 characters. They also used a system of weights and measures in which lower weights follow a binary(two digit)system and higher weights follow a decimal(ten digit) system at 2350 B.C. 16. Wheeled vehicles appear in the Indus Valley and the central Asian steps in 2500 B.C.

17. Fowl are domesticated in the Indus River Valley, probably from a red jungle fowl, ancestor to the chicken in 2000 B.C. 18. The Indus Valley civilization, with its magnificently planned cities, begins a rapid decline. Causes for the decline of this civilization include flooding, tectonic activity, and other ecological changes, as well as socio political and other agricultural changes. The decline begins as early as1900 B.C., ends by 1700 B.C. DIFFERENCE between Indus valley and Vedic civilization; 1. Indus civilization was town centered but Vedic civilization was village centered. 2. Public facilities were the character of Indus which was unknown to the Vedic; they tried to survive that time. 3. Vedic people knew the use of iron in construction but Indus people use brick in construction. 4. Indus settlement totally developed on the bank of river but Vedic settlement grows beside jungle. 5. Worship of Matridevi, Pashupati was important rituals of Indus which was Unknown to Vedic. 6. Indus people buried dead bodies but Vedic people burnt it. The Vedic civilization; INTRODUCTION; 1. In about 1500 B.C. the Aryans, a nomadic people from central Asia. Settled in the upper reaches in the Indus, Yamuna, and Gangetic plains. 2. They spoke a language from the Indo European family and worshiped gods similar to those of later era Greeks and northern Europeans. 3. The Aryans are particularly important to the Indian history because they originated the earliest forms of the sacred Vedas. 4. By 800 B.C. the Aryans ruled in most of the northern India, occasionally fighting among themselves or with the local peoples called Dravid of the land they were settling. 5. There is no evidence what happened to the people displaced by the Aryans. In fact they may not have been displaced at all but instead may have been incorporated in Aryan culture or left alone in the hills of northern India. 6. The Vedas which are considered the core of Hinduism provide much information about the Aryans. The major gods of the Vedic people remain in the pantheon of present day Hindus; the core rituals surrounding birth, marriage and death retain their Vedic form. The Vedas also contain the seeds of great epic literature and philosophical traditions in India. 7. As the Aryans slowly settled into agriculture and moved southeast through the Gangetic plain, they relinquished semi nomadic style of living and changed their social and political structures. 8. Instead of warrior leading a tribe, with a tribal assembly as a check on his power, an Aryan chieftain ruled over territory, with its society

divided into hereditary groups. This structure became the beginning of the caste system which has survived still now. Development of the settlement: 1. From righved- we get that Aryans settled first in sapta sindh. - We get reference of Himalaya. - And 25 rivers, mostly branches of Indus. - The rivers found in Righved are; Ganges, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Saraja, Sutly, Vipasa, Ravi, Jhelum. 2. Principle settlement of Aryans was Punjab and Aryans didnt settle in Bangladesh in Vedic age because we get reference of lion not tiger. 3. In late Vedic age Aryans started to expand toward the east. Between 1000-800 B.C. main settlement of Aryans were in Madhadesha that is the plain from the river Sarasvati, to the bank of Ganga. 4. Before 800B.C. Aryans didnt settle in north Bihar to south Bihar and east Bihar to Bengal and the region was known as Prachi. 5. Between 2000 B.C. from Himalaya to Bindhya and from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal all lands became included in Aryan settlement. The effort of building construction: 1. At the end of the 2000 B.C. Vedic culture produced the elementary type of forest dwelling. 2. They were actually nomads, lived in forests and fields, and became partly pastoral and partly agricultural. 3. Built their habitation as rudimentary structures of reeds and bamboo thatched with leaves. Component of Vedic settlement; Material: 1. Bamboo 2. Reed 3. Thatch 4. Timber Development of Vedic village: People started to live in the clearings from the primeval forest. Gramma; To protect themselves from the wild animals, they surrounded their little collection of huts (gramma) with palisade (special kind of fence), from this term Gramma the word gram comes which means village. Fence; 1. This fence took the form of a railway. 2. It was used for protecting grammas. 3. It was consisted of two upright posts called Thabasand three horizontal bars called Sun chi. 4. Firstly Thabas were made of bamboo later of timber. Gateway; 1. The entrance to a Gramma is very important as it controls the entering and exit of a Gramma as well as protection. 2. The gate was called Gamadvara.

3. Gamadvara was formed by projecting a section of the bamboo fence at right angle and was controlled by a portcullis. 4. Portcullises were a large grating of iron bars of heavy timber suspended by chain over the gateway. 5. The entrance to the temple in south India Gopuram (cow gate) and the Buddhist architecture torana were developed from this gateway. 6. Japanese Toril and Chinese Piu-lu both gateways developed from Torana. Huts; 1st stage; 1. Plan was circular and of beehive pattern. 2. Circular walls of bamboo held together with withes and covered either with a domicile roof of leaves or thatched with grass. nd 2 stage; 1. The previous circular plan was elongated into an oval one. 2. Barrel roof formed on a frame of cover with thatch. 3rd stage; 1. Plan became rectangular. 2. Courtyard organized by grouping of two or three squares. 3. Roofs were covered with planks of woods particles. 4. Walls of upper class houses were made of unbaked bricks. 5. Double doors were used with square heads. 6. Barrel shaped roof were made of stretching a thong or writhe across the end of the arch. 7. This type of arch way refers to Chaitya or sun window; became characteristics of the subsequent Buddhist architecture. Expansion of Vedic community and cities; From the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata we get that- by about 450 B.C. four rival states became prominent; 1. Kashi 2. Kushala 3. Magadha 4. Virji Concept of fortified city developed. Prominent towns were; 1. Saravasti 2. Champa 3. Rajgriha 4. Ayodhya 5. Kaushambi 6. Kashi Features; Towns were strongly fortified. Cities were surrounded by rampart and wooden palisades within the enclosure building were also almost entirely of wood. Thus the Vedic civilization enters an era of timber construction.

Most of the capitals were planned by Mohagovinda (500 B.C.) first known architect of the subcontinent; it was said by Darmapala in his book. The city plan was rectangular. City was divided in four quadrants. Two main streets intersect at right angles, leading to a city gate. City layout was almost of grid iron pattern. 1st quadrant- Citadel and royal apartments. 2nd quadrant- residence of the well offs. 3rd quadrant- resident of the middle class. 4th quadrant- Accommodation for traders alongside their shops. Rudimentary form of sewage drains. Comparison between Vedic palace and Mughal palace; Interval; long interval of 2000 years separates the Vedic period from that of the Mughals. Courtyard; both were built around an inner courtyard within the citadel. Darshan; both had a large central window of the Darshan or the salutation of the king. Hall; each had an official enclosure containing audience and assembly halls. Material; pavilions of Mughals were of marbles but in the Vedic era even the Royal residence had not advanced beyond thatched roofs and timber construction. Similarities; both had 1. A court of justice. 2. A music gallery. 3. An arena for wrestling displays. Ancient Jana pads of Bengal; Gaur; 1. Graveyard of several civilizations. 2. Presently it is Murshidabad, Maldha, and part of Nawabganj in Bangladesh. 3. One of the most important archeological place Evidence- arthashastra by Kutllya - Brihotsonhita by Borahmihir - Kamasutra by Batsayana. 4. Later it became Laksmanaboti in the period of shasanka. 5. The capital is now at Bhagalpur. Bhang a; 1. Area started from west medinipur district near Kasai River. 2. Presently it is south east Bhang a. 3. Spread over river Bahmaputra. 4. Later divided into two parts a) North and b) South. 5. Evidence; Abidjan Chintamony. Samatata; 1. Presently in Arakan. 2. Capital was Tripura. 3. Evidence a) Alahabad Prosasty and b) Brihat Sanghita Harikela; 1. Individually situated between Bhang a and Samatata. 2. Presently it is the eastern province of India.

Pundra; 1. Presently it is in North Bengal. 2. Capital was Pundravardhana. 3. Spread over the east bank of Ganga. 4. Dhaka, Rajshahi is included in this area. Varendra; 1. Presently it is Rajshahi and Dinajpur between Ganga and Korotoa. 2. Spread over Rajshahi, Dinajpur and Bogra. 3. Somapura Bihara and Nalanda University were in this place. 4. Evidence; Ramcharitkabya by Sandhyakar Nandi. Rada; 1. Presently it is in Hawra, Hugli and Bardhaman district. 2. Divided into two parts a) North and b) South. 3. Murshidabad was in this place. 4. Evidence; Nayakandaly. Tamralipta; 1. Presently it is in Medinipur district. 2. Evidence; Ptolemys writings. Gautama Buddha and Buddhism: Buddha; Buddha born in (567-563 B.C.) Lumbini a village under the reign of Kapilabostu, Nepal. He was an Indian philosopher and founder of Buddhism. He was the son of the head of the Sakya warrior caste, with the private name of Siddhartha; in later life he was also known as Sakyamuni (sage of the Sakyas). The name Gautama Buddha is a combination of the family name Gautama and the appellation Buddha meaning the enlightened one. All the surviving accounts of Buddhas life were written many years after his death by idealizing followers rather than by objective historians. Consequently it is different to separate facts from the great mass of myth and legend in which they are embedded. From the available evidence Buddha apparently showed on early inclination to meditation and reflection, displeasing his father who wanted him to be a warrior and ruler rather than a religious philosopher. Yielding to his fathers wish he married at an early age named Jasodhora at the age of 16. His mothers name was Mayadevi. After marriage he participated in the worldly life of the court. Buddha found his carefree, self indulgent existence dull, and after a while he left home at the age of 29 and began wandering in search of enlightenment. One day in 533 according to tradition, he encountered an aged man, a sick man and a corpse, and he suddenly and deeply realized that suffering is the common lot of humankind. He then came upon a mendicant monk, calm and serene, whereupon he determined to adopt his way of life and forsake family, wealth and power in the quest for truth. This decision known in Buddhism as the great Renunciation is celebrated by Buddhist as a turning point in history. Wandering as a mendicant over northern India, Buddha first investigated Hinduism. He took instruction from some famous Brahman teachers one named

ArdhaKalam, but he found the Hindu caste system repellent and Hindu asceticism futile. He continued his search attracting but later losing his five followers. About 528 whiling sitting under a bo tree near Gaya, he experience the great enlightenment which revealed the way of salvation of sufferings. Shortly afterward he preached his first sermon in the deer park near benaras. This sermon the text of which preserved contains the gist of Buddhism. Many scholars regard it as comparable, in its tone of moral elevation and historical importance to Jesus Christs Sermon on the Mount. The five disciples rejoined Buddha at benaras. Accompanied by them he traveled through the valley of the Ganges River, teaching his doctrines, gathering followers and establishing monastic communities that admitted anyone regardless of caste. He returned briefly to his native town and converted his father, his wife and mother and other members of the family to his beliefs. After 45 years of missionary activity Buddha died in Kusinagara, Nepal, as a result of eating contaminated pork at 80 years old. Buddha was one of the greatest human beings, a man of noble character, penetrating vision, warm compassion, and profound thought. Not only he did establish a new great religion, but his revolt against Hindu hedonism, asceticism, extreme spiritualism, and the caste system deeply influenced Hinduism itself. His rejection of metaphysical speculation and his logical thinking introduced an important scientific strain heretofore lacking in oriental thought. Buddhas teachings have influenced the lives of millions of people for nearly 2500 years. Three pillars of Buddhism; Buddha or knowledge. Dharma or religion.

 Shanga or order. Base of Buddhism; Sorrow, illness and death are a common part of life. Causes of pain and sorrow. These have to be restricted and there are ways to do so. Achievement of truth is the extreme solution. This Aryan eightfold path, that is to say; right view, right aim, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, right contemplation. MAGADHA; Magadha kingdom of central power of India from the 6th century B.C. to the 6th century A.D. Magadha was a fertile and resourceful country. Doing business through sea it became stronger. An ancient kingdom centered in the Gangetic plain of present day Bihar state, it rose to a position of dominance under its first great king Bimbisara (reigned about 543-491 B.C.) and was further expanded by his son Ajatasatru (reigned about 491-451 B.C.) By the 4th century B.C. Magadha included most of northern India. Falling briefly under the sway of Alexander the great and his Macedonian successors, it was conquered in 321 B.C. by Chandragupta Murya who made it the center of his Mauriyan Empire. Although Magadha declined after Mauriyan dynasty died out in 180 B.C. it was raised to new heights of the glory under the Gupta dynasty (320-550 A.D.) during whose rule a stable peace encouraged intellectual and artistic accomplishments. With the disintegration of the Gupta dynasty in the 6th century, Magadha lost its primacy as an Indian power. Temporarily revived under King Dharmapala (reigned about 770-810 A.D.) it fell to the Muslims at the end of the 12th century after which it became a mere province of the Delhi sultanate. Chandragupta Murya; The architect of Murya dynasty established in 4th century B.C. He is called Sandrocottus by Greeks, he is said to have Alexander the great in Punjab in 326 B.C. He was originated from a lower caste system. His mother was Mura. Some say that he was the sub wife of the king Nanda. From Buddhist comment we get that his father died in a battle with the neighbor king. Later he was adopted by a farmer who took him to Chanakya. Chanakya a Brahman of Takkyashila taught him fighting and other political knowledge. Chanakya wanted to take revenge from Nanda because he was insulted by him. Thats why he met Alexander but he was send to custody. He escaped from there and after Alexanders death with the help of Chanakya and the criminals of the custody he defeated Nanda.

He wrested the Punjab region from the Macedonian. By furthering conquest he extended Magadha until it comprised all northern India between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Chandraguptas power was challenged by King Seleucas 1 of Syria, Alexanders successor, who invaded the northern subcontinent in 305 B.C. but suffered a crashing defeat. Chandragupta thereupon added to his lands all the territory north to the Hindu Kush, including Baluchistan and Afghanistan. According to traditional accounts, Chandragupta abdicated, became a monk and while in voluntary exile in the south of India, committed suicide by fasting to death. Invasion of Alexander; Alexander the Great the world conquering hero once came to the Indian subcontinent and the countries around it. He came from Hindu Kush and crossed the Indus River in 326 B.C. and invaded the Punjab as far as the river Hyphasis. At the point the Macedonians rebelled and refused to go further. He than constructed a fleet and passed down Indus, reaching its mouth in September 325 B.C. Some visitors come with Alexander from Greek empire to visit India. One of them was Megasthenes known as Greek ambassador. He wrote in a detail about the civic life of Bengal the part to which is known to us as Megasthenes account. 1. This is about 4th century or 3rd century B.C. At that time Alexander marched towards Persia in about 327 B.C. Then he came to India at Bokhara Samarkhand. Ombhi the ruler of Taxila send bribes to Alexander. It was the first instance of treachery and other states also surrendered to Alexander influenced by Ombhi. 2. Only Poros decided to fight against Alexander and a great battle held at the mouth of river Silam where Poros were defeated. 3. Two powerful cities of that time of invasion of Alexander were rich in fortification Gangaridai was the best. It holds an enormous defensive force, so Alexander decided not to invade it. 4. Numerous rivers made it unsuitable to attack. Some say when Alexander reached the river Bipasha he thought that the kings of those two nations were ready to fight with massive armed forces or may be he loses the war and return back. 5. No more worlds to conquer this saying unfortunately fail to invade Bengal. Gangaridai and Praisioi nation; In the ancient Bangladesh there were two very powerful rulers; a) Gangaridai and b) Praisioi. Some says that the Ganges marked the border. From the Greek author Deoderous we learnt that India was split into different races of which Gangaridai was the best. It had an enormous defensive force. At that same time Greek hero Alexander was in the invasion in Asia. He was planning how to capture more areas of the subcontinent. He came near the river Bipasha. But because of the hugeness of the Gangaridai force he dicided not to invade the region. Praisioi was the other nation which was at the west of the Gangaridai. It was a region of the junction of numerous rivers. So it was not easy to attack such terrain. Some say that Gangaridai and Praisioi were waiting for Alexander with the massive force and they were ready to defend themselves.

These two states capital was Palinbothra and the king was of the Nandas dynasty called Agrammes by Greek historians and according to Indian historians it was Ugrasena. The forces retreated through Jehlem, Chelan which had a strong local ruler. It is said that Ugrasena had 200000 normal soldiers, 20000 horse raiders, 3000 elephants, 2000 chariots. Megasthenes account; Megasthenes visit to India 1. Megasthenes was send to India as a Greek ambassador by Seleucus in 302 B.C. 2. He went to the court of Pataliputra of Chandragupta Murya. He wrote a book named Indica. 3. The ambassador employed his leisure in making an excellent description of the geography, institutions and products of India, Muryan administration and chronicles, the Indian Jain society. 4. This continued to be the Principle authority on ancient India until the 19th century. 5. Unfortunately his accounts could not be preserved as a whole. 6. A great part of his description has been preserved in the form of extracts by the two Greek authors named Daimex and Dionisus. Geographical, political and social condition; Geographical: 1. The land was highly fertile. 2. Lots of rivers. 3. Produced grain was collected twice a year. 4. There were no famines. Political: 1. King only went out from his palace for 4 purpose: For judgment To lead the battle For hunting For religious purpose 2. There were female guards engaged at the palace. 3. Chandragupta had a minister parliament lead by Chanakya. 4. It was consisted of six boards, 30 members, 5 in each board were given the administrative power of the municipality and the administration was very fine. Six boards for different purposes; First board; for industrial purpose and product supervisor. This board determined the value of product in the market also supervised the supply of raw material in the industries. Second board; Deal with foreigners. This board took the responsibility of the foreigners and the outsiders; they usually served them and looked after them. They were also responsible for the death and illness of the riders.

Third board; Keeps record of birth and death. It also counts the birth and death rate of Pataliputra. Fourth board; this board controlled the quality of the goods also their measurement. They also order the people to sell their products before the expiry date. Fifth board; this board controls the selling condition of the industrial products. They looked after whether old materials or foods are sold with the new ones. Sixth board; this board was engaged in revenue collection. They give death penalty to the persons who did not give taxes. They extracted 1/10th tax on the goods sold, 1/6th of the harvest went to king as taxes, depending upon the harvest the tax varied from 1/4th to 1/10th in different places. 5. The capital was Pataliputra. 6. The king ruled with the help of councilors. Chanakya was the head of the councilors. 7. The city was metropolitan. 8. Defense of Chandragupta was divided into; a) Armed forces b) Horse riders c) Elephant riders. The city of Pataliputra; Historians annotations Justin; capital of Murya dynasty near Patna. Plutarch; Armed forces with 600000 men. Megasthenes; A city of striking beauty. 1. Area; occupying a narrow parallelogram. 2. Dimension; It is about 9.5 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. 3. River; It ranged along the banks of the river Ganges. 4. Boundary; There were boundary walls around the city. It was a palisade of timber with hop holes for arches. 5. Entry; City was entered by as many as 64 gateways. 6. Tower; at intervals there were bastions with towers. They were 500 in number. 7. Moat; city was externally protected by a wide moat of 4 feet depth. 8. House; houses of entire city was of timber but some brick houses were seen. Royal palace; 1. Stood near the modern village Kumrahar in Patna. 2. Structure; It was mostly a grand version of the familiar rectangular hut. 3. Material; Chiefly constructed of timber. 4. Hypostyle hall; the main portion of the imperial residence consisted of a series of hypostyle halls. 5. Columns; a) The columns of hypostyle hall were made of wood. b) 100 of columns. c) Each was clasped around with vines embossed in gold. d) They were ornamented with designs of birds and embossed in gold or silver. 6. Walls; around the whole palace.

7. Roof; A series of barrel vaulted roofs supported over rows of stone columns instead of brick. 8. Window; horse shoe typed. 9. Center; centers of the halls formed of golden pillars. 10. Garden park; Palace was set within beautiful parks studded with lake Fountains Sprays Swings Artificial hillocks Trees It was constructed with the Sumerian palace of Susa. Structure and fortifications; Fortification surrounded this great city now survived at Bulandi bag near Patna. 1. The structures existing here are; Wooden ramparts; unearthed Horizontal beams; upright posts tanned. 2. The actual size of the beams show that the Megasthenes account of its dimensions was by no means exaggerated. 3. Foundation; consisted of timber laid in parallel lines at 2 feet distance like railway sleepers each 12-13 feet long corresponding to the thickness of the stockade at the base. 4. Upright posts were tanned to these horizontal beams. They were fixed by ten on mortise joint. 5. Some of the upright posts were 9 feet high. 6. Houses were built over these structures. 7. Pilling features were seen. 8. The soil beside the river is soft, so the increase of strength and to bear the load of the building, pillars are set Shawl teak is used for this purpose. 9. Later on the structures were made of stone to protect flood. City planning during Murya dynasty; According to Megasthenes account the civic architecture of that time is amplified by material derived from the different sources. At that time the famous cities are Kashinagar; under the walls of which was waged the war of the relics. Kapilavastu; the place of Buddhas birth. Uruvilva; The scene of the serpent miracle. Rajgriha; The old Magadhan capital. These towns appear to be of one established type and were of almost same architectural characters as follows; 1. Strongly fortified and surrounded by high walls having battlements with the merinos corbel stepped like the Assyrian bas relief. 2. Outside is almost in which floated lotus and other aquatic plants were present. 3. The whole is enclosed within the usual palisade railing. 4. All the city gates are of same style.

5. These gates had a tall pylon of entrance with the gateway defended by a square bastion protecting each side. 6. Near the gateway there seems to be an angle tower. Timber work at the early Indian carpenters 1. Skill; the early Indian carpenters were very skilled in timber works. 2. Teak; the timber used by them is called teak. 3. Trimming; timbers were carefully trimmed into the required shape with an order. 4. Joints; not a large variety of joints were available, a simple but effective joint was used. 5. Pins; workmen knew the use of pins where required and insert of bamboo pegs were needed. 6. Wooden construction; the wooden construction was found in the Muryan period. 7. Teak platform; this was consisted of a number of teakwood platforms each 30 feet in height. 8. Faade support; there was a kind of raft to support the foundation of the faade. 9. The foundation; the foundation consisted of several the foundation of several beams laid in parallel lines like railway sleepers each 12-13 feet long corresponding to thickness of the stockade at the base. 10. Upright post; the upright posts were tanned to these horizontal beams. 11. Height; some of these posts were 9 feet tall. 12. Vaulted roof; the most interesting was the construction of the wooden vaulted roof. The structure of the roof was built by a series of covered wooden ribs or groins placed in closed pattern or order. 13. Flat roof; the flat roof was also constructed in timber which was supported by wooden pillars. 14. Decoration; timber was also used for decorative purpose in that period.