HISTORY OF TOWNS IN INDIA

• The Hindu culture which developed in India was centered around the four Vedas
namely, Rik, Sama, Yajur and Atharva.

• According to Vedas there are four ages (‘yugas’) of human existence on earth namely
Satyayuga, Tretayuga, Dwapayuga and Kaliyuga.

• The Vedic period started anytime between 15000 B.C.

and 3500 B.C.

• Indus Valley Civilization flourished 3000 B.C.

• Historians claim that there was an identifiably

independent culture at Mohenjodaro and
Harappa that were marked by the development
of wheels, use of metals, knowledge of
arithmetic, use of coinage, architecture and
planning techniques.
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
• The emergence of this civilization is as remarkable as its stability for nearly a
thousand years.

• All the cities were well planned and were built with baked bricks of the same size,
the streets were laid at right angles with an elaborate system of covered drains.

• Circular tubes for drainage and water supply were in use.

• There was a fairly clear division of localities and houses were earmarked for the
upper and lower strata of society.

• There were also public buildings, the most famous being the Great Bath at
Mohenjodaro and the vast granaries.

• Production of several metals such as copper, bronze, lead and tin was also
undertaken and some remnants of furnaces provide evidence of this fact. The
discovery of kilns to make bricks support the fact that burnt bricks were used
extensively in domestic and public buildings.
 Mohenjo-Daro

It lay on a flat, flood plain of the river

Indus 300 miles north of today’s Karachi
in Pakistan. As a busy seaport and
trading Centre that was connected to
other cities by land and water routes.
The city housed a population more than
40,000.

The IVC was a political state because a

vast civilization of that kind could not
have survived without some central
administration.
 A Design for Neatness

Mohenjo-Daro was planned with a broad boulevard 30’ wide, running north and south,
and crossed at right angles every 200 yards or so by smaller east west streets. Along
these impressive avenues were shops and food stands.
The grid layout is an indication of the perception and care that had gone into the
planning of the city.
Mohenjo-Daro being the most well laid out city of
IVC, was sophisticated and was devoted to public
hygiene. Running along the sides of the streets
were neat, brick-lined open sewers much like
those in old Asian cities today, and at intervals
there were catch basins dug below sewer level to
trap debris that might otherwise have clogged the
drainage flow.

Further the sewers were connected to each

house by an open gutter, also constructed of
brick, into which emptied the house drains,
which generally consisted of an enclosed system
of clay pipes. Houses that have been excavated
contained sit-down toilets- imposing structures
of brick and were connected to the drains.

The sewers were built mainly to drain away used bath water. Many houses had
bathrooms, their floors built of waterproof brick and fitted with drains leading directly
to sewer pipes.
 A Home
for
Comfort

Most doors were on the lanes behind the main streets, and they opened into inner
courtyards. Interior courtyards provided light and air and windows were screened
with grilles of terra cotta or alabaster. Most houses had stairways serving second
storey with bedrooms.
 A palace
for
Bathing

The most conspicuous monument to Mohenjo-Daro’s concern for cleanliness was the
Great Bath.

A complex brick structure two stories high, it was one of the most massive structures of
Mohenjo- Daro and a triumph of engineering.
 A Vault for
Community
Wealth

Other building on the Citadel, the most unusual next to Great bath is Granary. More
than 150 feet long, 75 feet wide and probably three stories high.
CITY PLANNING OF MOHENJODARO
▪ There were no fortification.

▪ All the major streets laid north- south direction.

▪ Other roads cut these roads at right angles.

▪ The streets within the built- up areas were narrow.

▪ Zoning were distinct for different groups. The city was divided into three distinct
groups or divisions –

• The religious, institutional and cultural areas around monastery and great
bath in the western part including the temple.
• The north part was principally for the production of agriculture and
industries.
• The southern part principally for the administration, trade and commerce at
the meeting of the east road and the first street near the palace.
SALIENT FEATURES

• The construction technique was very well advanced, buildings were made of
sundried bricks.

• Buildings ranged from two rooms to mansions of many rooms.

• Underground drainage and sewerage systems were also provided to the houses.

• The principal buildings were the monastery and bath, indicating the influence of
religion as the main source of the development of the culture and defense was felt
not as important.

• There was an all round development of arts and crafts, science and technology.
 C

B A

F D
DECLINE OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
The reasons of decline & fall of such a well established and flourishing
civilization are still unclear; probably the IVC declined because of the
considerable ecological changes produced by its own expansion &
activities.

By about 1700 BC, the Harappan culture was on the decline, due to
repeated flooding of towns located on the river banks and due to ecological
changes which forced agriculture to yield to the spreading desert.

The enormous demand of baked bricks & construction timber might have
brought about extensive deforestation in the entire region resulting in more
frequent & destructive floods & changes in the course of the river.

The Aryan invasion about the middle of the 2nd Millennium BC also
might have contributed to the fall of this great civilization.
 INDO – ARYAN PERIOD
TIMELINE
• The Aryans were fair skinned nomadic
cattle herders who originated from Central
Asia and spoke Indo-European language.

• Before the time of the Aryan migration into

the Indian subcontinent in 1500 BCE, there
was the Indus Valley Civilization in ancient
India.

• They crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains

and came in contact with the Indus Valley
Civilization.

• As the Aryans migrated into the Indian

subcontinent, the Aryan language gained
ascendency over the local languages and
agricultural lifestyle. They brought with
them their specific religious traditions.
Map showing spread of the
Aryans from the Central Asia to
the Indian Subcontinent.
 BELIEFS
• They gave the concept of the "Cycle of Life" - reincarnation of the
soul from one earthly life to another. RIGVEDA
•Aryans talked in Vedic Sanskrit which enabled them to write down

THE VEDAS
the legends and religious chants and rituals that had previously been YAJURVEDA
passed down from generation to generation.
•The notion that every element of creation - humans, animals, SAMAVEDA
plants, etc. had a portion of the soul dwelling in them gained
acceptance within ancient Indian society. With it came a respect for ATHARVAVEDA
all living things.

RELIGION
The Aryans brought with them into India a religion based on the worship of gods and
goddesses. They worshipped fire god Agni, as depicted in the Vedas.

Later, the Aryan nature deities lost much of their importance, and three new gods took their
place: Vishnu: the preserver; Shiva: the destroyer; and Brahma: the creator.

Sanskrit epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are said to have their ultimate origins during this
period.
CASTE SYSTEM IN THE VEDIC AGE
PLANNING ACCORDING TO CASTE SYSTEM

►Zones in the above picture shows their spaces in the city.

►Temples are situated in the centre of the city or town.

►After temple, there is a zone of Brahamanas, then of Kshatriyas and after that
the is zone of Vaishyas. At last, the zone of Shudras come.
THE ARCHITECT
• Architects were known as STHAPATI.
• Architecture was mainly confined to VASTUSHASTRA.
• Architect had his team which consisted of following :-
•Draughtsman ( SUTRAGRAHI)
•Carpenter (TAKSHAKA)
•Mason ( VARDHAKI)
• They were considered as four faces of BRAHMA ( The creator of universe).

VASTU
AN ANCIENT SCIENCE OF PLACEMENT AND DESIGN

•It translates literally as wisdom of dwelling places.

•It provides a set of principles for construction, layout and interior design
of houses , temples and even whole city.
At that time, town planning was according to Vedic scripts.

• Sthapatya Veda (Atharva Veda) --------- layout of city

• Smiriti shastra ------------------------------- Street planning (macro & micro)
• Vaastu shastra ------------------------------- house planning

➢ Shilpsasthras refers to four distinct categories:

•Janabhavanas- house for common mass
•Rajbhavanas- ruling class
•Devbhavanas- religious shrines
•Public spaces

➢ Manasara, Mayamata and Vishvakarma prakara for planning

and architecture of janabhavanas.
 PLANNING OF VILLAGES

• The sites of the Villages were chosen according to two principles:

Ritualistic : Governed by the Indo- Aryan rites.
Sanitary : As expounded in Shilpa Shastras and observed in the traditions of the Indo-
Aryan master builder.

• The villages were situated on the river banks, by the sea shore or by the side of the
lake.
• A flowing stream was always preferred over stagnant water for sanitary considerations.
• The Indo-Aryan villages were planned keeping in mind the connection of man with the
environment.
• A typical village plan comprised of a rectangular enclosure with its four sides facing the
four quarters, divided into four wards by the two main streets, with crossed each other
in the center and terminated at the four ends by four principal gates.
• There were four subsidiary gates near the corners of the village enclosure so that the
whole circumference of the walls was divided into eight.
• The Vedic religion was, thus, the moving spirit of the organization of the Aryan village
communities.
• The execution of every minutest planning and design was governed by laws that are
applicable even today.
The names of the four
principal gates of the Northern gate: to Senapati or
Aryan town or village: Kartikeya, the War God.

Eastern gate, the starting

Western gate was
point of the
dedicated to the
circumambulatory, was
setting sun, or to
dedicated to Brahma, the
Yama, the Lord of
Creator, represented by
death.
the rising sun.

Southern gate, symbolized the sun at

noon & was dedicated to Indra, the
Vedic God, who ruled the firmament
during the day.
DWELLING
While creating a dwelling, the basic idea was always to recreate
symbolically a universe.

The concept of a house, however has been changing over the

times.

In the Rig Vedic period, a house was looked upon as a temple.

Later around 1500 BC, a house was compared to a womb.

In individual buildings or room the functional spaces were of different kind

which came under following three broad categories:-

Private spaces
Public spaces
Circulation spaces
VEDIC TOWN PLANNING TYPOLOGY
Different shapes of towns as per Vastushastra :-

❑ Dandaka

❑ Sarvathobhadra

❑ Nandyavarta

❑ Padmaka

❑ Swastika

❑ Prastara

❑ Karmuka

❑ Chaturmukha
 DANDAKA

• Streets are straight and cross each

other at right angles at the centre
• Village has 4 gates on four sides
• Village is rectangular / square
• Width of the street varies
• 2 transverse street at the
extremities have single row of houses
• The village offices located in the
east.
• The female deity located outside the village
and the male deities in the northern portion.
SARVATOBHADRA

• This type of town plan is applicable to

larger villages and towns, which have to be
constructed on a square sites.
• According to this plan, the whole town
should be fully occupied by houses of
various descriptions and inhabited by all
classes of people.
• The temple dominates the village.
 NANDYAVARTA

• This plan is commonly used for the

construction of towns and not for
villages.
• It is generally adopted for the sites
either circular or square in shape,
3000 – 4000 HOUSES
• The streets run parallel to the
central adjoining streets with the
temple of the presiding deity in the
center of the town.
• “Nandyavarta” is the name of a
flower, the form of which is
followed in this layout.
 PADMAKA

• This type of plan was practiced for

building of the towns with fortress
all round.
• The pattern of the plan resembles
the petals of lotus radiating
outwards from the center.
• The city used to be practically an
island surrounded by water, having
no scope for expansion.
SWASTIKA

• Swastika type of plan contemplates

some diagonal streets dividing the
site into certain rectangular plots.
• The site need not be marked out into
a square or rectangle and it may be
of any shape.
• A rampart wall surrounds the town,
with a moat at its foot filled with
water.
• Two main streets cross each other at
the center, running south to north
and west to east.
PRASTARA

• The characteristic feature of this plan

is that the site may be either square
or rectangular but not triangular or
circular.
• The sites are set apart for the poor,
the middle class, the rich and the
very rich, the sizes of the sites
increasing according to the capacity
of each to purchase or build upon.
• The main roads are much wider
compared to those of other patterns.
• The town may or may not be
surrounded by a fort.
KARMUKA

• This plan is suitable for the place where the site of the town is in the form of a
bow or semi-circular or parabolic and mostly applied for towns located on the
seashore or riverbanks.
• The main streets of the town run from north to south or east to west and the
cross streets run at right-angles to them, dividing the whole area into blocks.
• The presiding deity, commonly a female deity, is installed in the temple build in
any convenient place.
CHATURMUKHA

• Chaturmukha type of plan is applicable

to all towns starting from the largest
town to the smallest village.
• The site may be either square or
rectangular having four faces.
• The town is laid out east to west
lengthwise, with four main streets.
• The temple of the presiding deity will
be always at the center.