Book Title: Cultural Study of Nisitha Curni
Author(s): Madhu Sen
Publisher: Sohanlal Jain Dharm Pracharak Samiti Amrutsar

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Page 285
________________ FINE ARTS 265 lating. Water could come out through passages made inside the walls or through holes made for drains ( panāla-chidda ). Bridges ( saṁkama ) were required either for spanning the marshy grounds ( visama-kaddama ) or for crossing the rivers. There were two varieties of bridges-bridges built upon earth, and bridges whose spans were based on pillars ( khambha ) or beams (veli ).' These could be made either by a single piece of wood or by joining various pieces together. Wooden bridges seem to have been a familiar feature in Gujarat. The contemporary Valabhi inscriptions mention that the moat around the wall, which surrounded the city of Valabhí, was pierced by a number of gates, and at each of these gates there was a wooden bridge to cross the moat. * Bridges were both movable or permanent fixtures according to their construction. 5 Wells, Ponds and Miscellaneous Architectural Structures-A number of wells, pools, artificial lakes and ponds have been mentioned, which were a source of recreation for the people and also solved their water problem. While kūpa, tada ga and dahal were ordinary wells and ponds, vapi is mentioned as a rectangular construction (samavrta)? and pukkharani as quadrangular in shape ( caturassa ).8 Dihiya was another variety of water-reservoirs and sometimes many such ponds or lakes were built together in a circular form ( mandali-samthiya ).' The Paumacariya of Vimala Sūri informs us that reservoirs of water which were square in shape were known as vāvi, the 1. Ibid. -2. NO. 2, p. 34; Brh. Vf. 5, p. 1492. 3. Ibid. 4. Information as given by Prof. Nadvi of Ahmedabad 10 K. J. Virji, Ancient History of Saurashtra, p. 220. 5. garantit antifashistat at:-NC. 2, p. 34. 6. NO. 3, p. 346. 7. HHH arg-Ibid. 8. IOTEAT gratuit-NC. 3, p. 346. 9. Ibid. Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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