Mechanical men at the doors
The iron guardsmen
लोहयन्त्रपुरुष
Machines of iron in the shape of men, set at the hall's doors so that the place became "as inaccessible to men as if it were outside the world."
Before the terraces were cut, Bharata's first defence was mechanical: "The King had mechanical iron guardsmen made. Because of these mechanical iron guardsmen the place became as inaccessible to men as if it were outside the world." Then the terraces, and generations later the moat: three defences, each larger than the last.
Hemacandra gives no number and no description beyond iron and mechanism. The map marks them at the four doors and counts nothing.
Measurements and counts
| Of | iron, mechanical |
|---|---|
| Where | the hall's doors |
| Number | not recorded |
| Effect | the place as inaccessible as if outside the world |