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80
ŚRNGĀRAMAÑJARIKATHA
with broad and heavy doors (vitataghanakapāta). There was a moat (parikhā) encircling the entire city wall. In the city there were main roads and streets (rathyā) lined with shops (vipani) and palatial mansions (prāsāda), stuccoed (saudha) and lavishly decorated with various precious stones and gold. The residential quarters were variously called prāsāda, bhavana, grhaka, veśma and sanniveśa-sthāna.
Besides the extensive outskirts of the buildings (bhavanopasalyāni) the city had innumerable public parks (upavana, udyānu, pramadavana), artificial hills (kridā-saila), lakes (saras, tadāgu), wells and tanks (vāpī, dirghikā, puskarini) and public baths (dharugrha) artificially watered (yantra-dhārā-g?ha). These were in such an abundance in the city that it appeared to be प्रासादमयमिव भवनतलं केवलं, सौधमय इव नतनः सर्गावतारो, विधेर्दाधिकामयमिव महिमण्डलं उपवनमयमिव दिशां 7795 i (p. 2) Prāsādas were palatial mansions. They were very high and were white-washed as the term 'saudha' signifies.2.1 But they are variously designed as 'kanaka-saudha', 'sphatika-vesma', 'marakata-maņi-prāsāda' etc. probably because of the predominance of the decorative materials.
Some of the architectural details are very well brought out in the descriptions. The salient features are pinnacles of gold (kanakaśikhara) or of precious stones.25 The candraśālās were the special apartments on the terraces from which the moonrise was observed.20 These rooms were white-washed and the walls and ceiling were decorated with paintings, and were studded with sapphires.
The buildings had several storeys (tala) besides the terraces (utsanga). Utsanga is explained as any horizontal area or level as of a roof of a house. The floors were studded with crystals and were resorted to by the people in the summer. The roof was sloping and the porjecting eaves (valabhikā) had water channels made of moon. stones at the end of the ridges (valabhikā-candramani-pranāli). The valabhikä was also a small projecting balcony, sometimes called vadabhi, and was studded with emeralds (garutmata-valabhika) or made of ivory (danta-vadabhi). Niryhas are generally explained as dove-cotes. Besides these there were particular projections in the houses at certain heights on which rows of swans or pigeons were carved. These were called hansa-pālis and kapota-pālis. The walls of the mansions were whitewashed on the outside, but decorated within with pictures and precious stones. The floorings had
24.
26.
Tato fata PITT ATRATI (Ibid., p. 87, vs. 12)
Fusios a TTTTT24 Tafel (Ibid., p. 160, vs. 18) The Candraśālās were apartments in the terraces, white and decorated with paintings. Because of the paintings these apartments were also called Citraśālās. They were reserved for the newly weds. Even now in Rājasthān there are similar apartments and they are called Cittasaris.
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