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A CULTURAL STUDY OF THE NISITHA CURNI
belvederes bave wooden flat-roofed rooms, and are coated with chunam, and covered with tiles burnt or unburnt.... The (houses ) thatched with coarse or common grass are of bricks or boards; their walls are ornamented with chunam; the floor is purified with cowdung and strewn with flowers of the season."
Staircases, Drains and Bridges Staircases known as sova na or padamagga were an integral part of the buildings. They were of two types--staircases made by digging the earth, as required in case of the underground cells, and staircases built over the ground with bricks and stoness which afforded a way for ascending the upper stories. On the basis of situation these could be again divided into two groups-staircases attached to the inner apartments of a house ( vasahisambaddha ) and staircases away from it ( vasahiasambaddha ), as in case of the staircases of the courtyard (amgaña ) or near the frontal entrance ( aggadāra ).
Proper system of drainage was a necessary must specially because of the damp climate. Drains ( dagavīņiya ) were made to take away the rain-water.5 The drains connected to a house could be built at three particular spots-(i) drains outside the houses, (ii) drains inside the houses and (iii) drains upon the roof or terrace. Drains outside the house were underground ( nicca-parig gala ),6 drains inside the house were constructed by digging the floor,' and drains upon the roof or terrace were made to extract the rain-water from accumu
1. Watters, op. cit., 1, p. 147; Beal, op. cit., 1, pp. 73–74. 2. gefa a afisiu mal-NC. 2, p. 34. -3. START FETITEta ft Fiat-Ibid. 4. Asi que ftat, Tel 37007 377074 HAR AL-NC. 2, p. 34. 5. The trattare ti-NC. 2, p. 36. 6. AT AT THEtiqa alat ar farsaffrat_Ibid. 7. ET H BI TI OTTH Shafa-Ibid.
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