Chapter 3 - Construction of Forts

[Sanskrit text for this chapter is available]

On all the four quarters of the boundaries of the kingdom, defensive fortifications against an enemy in war shall be constructed on grounds naturally best fitted for the purpose: a water-fortification (audaka), such as an island in the midst of a river, or a plain surrounded by low ground, a mountainous fortification (pārvata) such as a rocky tract or a cave; a desert (dhānvana), such as a wild tract devoid of water and overgrown with thicket growing in barren soil; or a forest fortification (vanadurga), full of wagtail (khajana), water and thickets.

Of these, water and mountain fortifications are best suited to defend populous centres; and desert and forest fortifications are habitations in wilderness (aṭavīsthāna).^[1]

Or having no refuge in times of dangers, the king may have his fortified capital (sthāniya) as the seat of his treasury (samudayasthāna) in the centre of his kingdom: in a locality naturally best fitted for the purpose, such as the bank of the confluence of rivers, a deep pool of perennial water, or of a lake or tank, a fort, circular, rectangular, or square in form, surrounded with an artificial canal of water, and connected with both land and water paths (may be constructed).

Round this fort, three ditches with an intermediate space of one daṇḍa (six feet) from each other, fourteen, twelve and ten daṇḍas respectively in width, with depth less by one-quarter or by one-half of their width, square at their bottom and one-third as wide as at their top, with sides built of stones or bricks, filled with perennial flowing water or with water drawn from some other source, and possessing crocodiles and lotus plants shall be constructed.

At a distance of four daṇḍas (24 feet) from the (innermost) ditch, a rampart, six daṇḍas high and twice as much broad, shall be erected by heaping mud upwards and by making it square at the bottom, oval at the centre, pressed by the trampling of elephants and bulls, and planted with thorny and poisonous plants in bushes. Gaps in the rampart shall be filled up with fresh earth.

Above the rampart, parapets in odd or even numbers and with an intermediate space of from 12 to 24 hastas from each other shall be built of bricks and raised to a height of twice their breadth.

The passage for chariots shall be made of trunks of palm trees or of broad and thick slabs of stones with spheres like the head of a monkey carved on their surface; but never of wood, as fire finds a happy abode in it.

Towers, square throughout and with moveable staircase or ladder equal to its height, shall also be constructed.

In the intermediate space, measuring thirty daṇḍas, between two towers, there shall be formed a broad street with two-storied buildings covered over with a roof, and two-and-half times as long as it is broad.

Between the tower and the broad street there shall be constructed an Indrakośa, which is made up of covering pieces of perforated wooden planks, affording seats for three archers.

There shall also be made a road for gods which shall measure two hastas inside the (Indrakośa), four times as much by the sides, and eight hastas along the parapet.

Paths (chārya, to ascend the parapet?) as broad as a daṇḍa (six feet) or two shall also be made.

In an unassailable part (of the rampart), a passage for flight (pradhāvitikā), and a door for exit (niṣkuradvāra) shall be made.

Outside the rampart, passages for movements shall be closed by forming obstructions such as a knee-breaker (jānubhañjanī), a trident, mounds of earth, pits, wreaths of thorns, instruments made like the tail of a snake, palm leaf, triangle, and of dog’s teeth, rods, ditches filled with thorns and covered with sand, frying pans and water pools.

Having made on both sides the rampart bulge out to the extent of a daṇḍa-and-a-half, an entrance gate (to the fort) one-sixth as broad as the width of the street shall be fixed.

A square (caturaśra) is formed by successive addition of one daṇḍa up to eight daṇḍas commencing from five, or in the proportion, one-sixth of the length up to one-eighth.

The rise in level (talotsedha) shall be made by successive addition of one hasta up to 18 hastas, commencing from 15 hastas.

In fixing a pillar, six parts are to form its height on the floor, twice as much (12 parts) to be entered into the ground, and one-fourth for its capital.

Of the first floor, five parts (are to be taken) for the formation of a hall (śālā), a well, and a boundary house; two-tenths of it for the formation of two platforms opposite to each other (pratimañcau); an upper storey twice as high as its width; carvings of images; an uppermost storey, half or three-fourths as broad as the first floor; side walls built of bricks; on the left side, a staircase circumambulating from left to right; on the right, a secret staircase hidden in the wall; a top-support of ornamental arches (toraṇaśira) projecting as far as two hastas; two door-panels, (each) occupying three-fourths of the space; two and two cross-bars (parigha) to fasten the door; an iron bolt (indrakīla) as long as an aratni (24 aṅgulas); a boundary gate (āṇidvāra) five hastas in width; four beams to shut the door against elephants; and turrets (hastinakha) (outside the rampart) raised up to the height of the face of a man, removable or irremovable, or made of earth in places devoid of water.

A turret above the gate and starting from the top of the parapet shall be constructed, its front resembling an alligator up to three-fourths of its height.

In the centre of the parapets, there shall be constructed a deep lotus pool; a rectangular building of four compartments, one within the other; an abode of the Goddess Kumāri (Kumārīpura), having its external area one-and-a-half times as broad as that of its innermost room; a circular building with an archway; and in accordance with available space and materials, there shall also be constructed canals (kulyā) to hold weapons, and three times as long as broad.

In those canals, there shall be collected stones, spades (kuddāla), axes (kuṭhāri), varieties of staffs, cudgels (musṛṇṭhi), hammers (mudgara), clubs, discus, machines (yantra), and such weapons as can destroy a hundred persons at once (śataghni), together with spears, tridents, bamboo-sticks with pointed edges made of iron, camel-necks, explosives (agnisaṃyogas), and whatever else can be devised and formed from available materials.^[2]

[Thus ends Chapter III, “Construction of Forts,” in Book II, “The Duties of Government Superintendents ” of the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya. End of twenty-fourth chapter from the beginning.]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Ka. IV, 57-62.

[2]:

In śloka-metre.