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第63回アジア都市建築研究会 ■ 講師：Mohan Pant（京都大学） ■ 日時：2004.04.30（金） 17:00〜19:00
Stupa is the well known Buddhist symbolic architecture and are popular religious monuments in Kathmandu Valley. In Patan, an ancient city of Kathmandu Valley, there are four large stupas situated at the four directions of the city. Swastika is a sacred symbol in Buddhism and Hinduism and the symbol was also popular in Indus culture. In Buddhist symbols swastika is one of the auspicious signs represented in Buddha's Footprints and is known to all regions with Buddhist traditions. But this symbol is also a practical geometry and is enumerated as one of the ideal plans for cities or palaces in classical architectural texts. Our recent research has shown that the four Stupas are the pivots in the planning of Patan and swastika symbol is all pervading as a plan form. The symbol is manifested in the configuration of the city defined by the four Stupas. The form is also employed in planning the plot divisions around an open courtyard and also in the layout of rooms of dwellings in the four wings of a courtyard house or the wings of a palace or a Buddhist monastery. The seminar will discuss how the Stupa and swastika together is the 'Wheel of Law' (Hourin) governing the planning of the settlement of Patan. The seminar will illustrate instances of such planning principles from early Buddhist Stupas of India, and from ancient monasteries and settlement forms to residential courtyards of Patan of early modern times. The seminar will also discuss on the ancient system of measure and planning modules of Patan which is also found to have been present in early historic city of Taxila in Pakistan and in Mohenjodaro of Indus Valley civilization, thus linking the town planning tradition of Indus Valley to Kathmandu Valley. System of Measure and Planning Modules of Patan, Kathmandu Valley This seminar will introduce a system of measure and the planning employed in the historic cities of Kathmandu Valley Towns. Recent studies have shown that the measuring system corresponds to the standard of measure described in Arthasastra, a work credited to Kautilya, the prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya who lived in the later quarter of 4th century BC. This system of measure is in the multiples of a basic unit hasta (cubit). The hasta is divided into angula (digits), and its larger multiples are called danda and rajju. Multiples larger than this are also described in Arthasastra. The employment of this standard was unknown in town planning and planning of buildings, besides the common knowledge that hasta unit was in common use in countries of South Asia and in other regions such as Cambodia and Indonesia. Field measurements in Patan has demonstrated that the system of measure from angula to rajju and its larger multiples was in extensive use in Kathmandu Valley at least from 6th century to the last quarter of 19th century. Further studies showed that the use of this system extends to prehistoric times in Nepal and back to Mohenjo-daro, a town of Indus that flourished during 3rd millennium BC. This presentation will show the exact measure of this system in metric values as found in Patan. It will also discuss the planning modules and patterns in the division of urban blocks, plot divisions and courtyard layouts that is based on this ancient system of measure. The division patterns and the modular measures both suggest a direct link of Kathmandu Valley towns to Mohenjodaro. This finding extends the horizon of the expansion of Indus Valley civilization in space and time. |
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