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Articles: TP Features | We can do miracles
- Mr. Maharshi Pragna
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Metallurgy:
Monumental architecture required considerable advances in the technology of lifting, loading and transportation of construction materials, building construction ramps, scaffolding, and related tools and implements.
As in ancient Egypt or Babylon, appropriate techniques also had to be developed and implemented in India. But more importantly, stone-based construction presupposes the existence of hard metal based tools and implements for cutting and shaping stone. The discovery of iron thus played an essential role in the development of monumental architecture in India which may have in turn given a further impetus to the development of metallurgical skills.
As early as the 4th C. BC, Kautilya's Arthashastra had a section outlining the processes for metal extraction and alloying. Later Sanskrit texts talk about assessing metal purity and describe techniques for achieving metal purity. Various alloying techniques were in use and some may have had their origin in the Harappan or Vedic periods.
The fifth century Iron Pillar of Delhi is a remarkable example. Standing over 23 feet high it consists of a single piece of iron and has weathered over 1500 monsoons without showing any signs of rust. The pillar is made of wrought iron with an iron content of 99.72 % and appears to have been protected from rust by the application of a thin coating of manganese dioxide.
By the 12th century, construction engineers were using iron girders and beams on a scale unknown in any other part of the world. The most significant use of iron beams was in the temples of Puri and Konarak. The Puri temple contains 239 iron beams and one of the beams in Konarak is 35 feet long. All are 99.64 percent iron and were produced in a similiar manner to the Delhi iron pillar.
During the middle ages, India acquired a reputation for producing very high quality steel and was also able to extract zinc from it's ore by the 14th century.
Irrigation works of enormous size were undertaken time and time again. The reservoirs at Girnar in Kathiawar (built in the 3rd C. BC) had an embankment over 100 ft thick at the base. The artificial lake at Bhojpur (near Bhopal) commisioned by Raja Bhoj in the 11th C covered 250 sq. miles. In the South, also in the 11th C., an artificial lake fed by the Kaveri River had a 16-mile long embankment with stone sluices and irrigation channels. Rajput kings built artificial lakes throughout the desert state of Rajasthan, but irrigation schemes were essential to agricultural prosperity even in Kashmir, Bengal and the delta regions of the South.
The need for accurate prediction of the monsoons spurred developments in astronomy while the intense heat of the summer led to innovations in architecture. Large scale observatories were built in Benaras, Mathura and Ujjain to facilitate advances in the astronomical sciences.
Techniques for pickling and preserving fruits, vegetables, fish and meats were developed throughout the country to prevent or delay spoilage. Manually operated cooling devices were also invented. The Arthashatra mentions the variyantra (probably a revolving water spray for cooling the air).
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