Ibn Battuta found cities in the subcontinent full of exciting, opportunities for those who had the necessary drive, resources and skills. They were densely populated and prosperous, except for the occasional disruptions caused by wars and invasions. The bazaars were not only places of economic transactions, but also the hub of social and cultural activities.

The main features of Mauryan administration were:

• There were five important political centres in the Mauryan Empire: Patliputra (the capital city) and the provincial centres of Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri.
• It was not possible for such a large empire to have a uniform administrative system so historians believe that the administrative control was perhaps strongest in the capital and in provincial centres.
• Communications along the land and riverine routes were developed to administer the Empire.
• The army was an important tool for not only extending the territories of the empire but also for administering them.
• Committees and sub-committees were formed for coordinating military activities. They looked after the navy, horses, chariots, elephants, recruiting soldiers and managing transport and food supplies for soldiers.
• Asoka held his Empire together by propagating the doctrine of Dhamma, whose principles were simple and universally applicable. The doctrine propagated the ideas of peace, non-violence and respect towards elders. Dhamma mahamattas were appointed to spread the principles of Dhamma.

The last feature of the Mauryan administration is evident in the Asokan inscriptions that we have studied. It is because Ashoka inscribed the main features of his policy of 'dhamma'. According to the inscriptions, he had also appointed Special officers called Dhamma Mahamtras to spread Dhamma. 

(a) Fortification : (i) The different parts of the city of Vijayanagara were enclosed with the great fortress walls. There were seven lines of forts. These encircled not only the city of Vijayanagara but also its agricultural land and forests. The outermost wall linked the hills surrounding the city. This wall was built with wedge shaped blocks of stone. They fixed well into each other and had no use of mortar or cementing agent. The inner portion of the walls was of earth packed with rubble.
(ii) This fortification enclosed agricultural tracts like cultivated fields, gardens and forests. The modern archaeologists have found an evidence of an agricultural tract between the sacred centre and the urban core. To irrigate this tract, there was an elaborate canal system which drew water from the Tungabhadra. The agricultural tracts were incorporated within the fortified area with a purpose. In the medieval periods, sieges were laid to starve the defenders into submission. These sieges could last even for months and years. So the rulers built large granaries within fortified areas. So the rulers of Vijayanagara adopted an elaborate strategy to protect their agricultural belt.
(iii) However a second line of fortification surrounded the inner core of the urban complex. A third line of fortification went round the royal centre. There were well guarded gates to enter the fort. These gates led to the major roads. They had distinctive architectural features. There was an arch on the gateway and a dome over the gate.
(b) Roads : The roads linked different parts of the city of Vijayanagara. They also led out of the city. They went through the whole valley. They avoided rocky terrain. Many important roads started from temple gateways. They were lined by bazaars.

(i) The Harappans was planned cities. Most cities were divided into two parts. The upper part (Citadel) and lower part (Lower Town).
(ii) Streets of the cities cut each other at right angles. The cities had proper town-planning of houses, roads, drains etc.

Reconstructing religous beliefs and practices of past is not an easy task. Now reconstructions of Harappan religion are made on the assumption that later traditions provide parallels with earlier ones. This is because archaeologists often move from the known to the unknown, that is, from the present to the past. While this is plausible in the case of stone querns and pots, it becomes more speculative when we extend it to “religious” symbols.

However attempts have been made by the scholars to reconstruct the religious beliefs and practices by examining the seals of the harappan civilization. And studying these seals and the motifs printed on it scholars have come out with ideas regarding the religious practices of the Harappan people. For example there are some seal which seem to depict ritual scenes. Others, with plant motifs, are thought to indicate nature worship. Some animals – such as the one-horned animal, often called the “unicorn” – depicted on seals seem to be mythical, composite creatures. In some seals, a figure shown seated cross-legged in a “yogic” posture, sometimes surrounded by animals, has been regarded as a depiction of “proto-Shiva”, that is, an early form of one of the major deities of Hinduism.

Even then there still remain doubts when it comes to religious practices for instance, at the “proto-Shiva” seals. The earliest religious text, the Rigveda (compiled c. 1500-1000 BCE) mentions a god named Rudra, which is a name used for Shiva in later Puranic traditions However, unlike Shiva, Rudra in the Rigveda is neither depicted as Pashupati (lord of animals in general and cattle in particular), nor as a yogi. In other words, this depiction does not match the description of Rudra in the Rigveda. 

Hence even though seals does help in reconstructing religious beliefs and practices of the Harappan civilization but even then it is no more than a speculation.

1. Urban Civilisation: The sight of the towns of Mohenjodaro and Harappa reflect the supremacy of the then architecture and town planning. There were wide roads ranging from 9 to 34 feet in width. The horizontal roads cut the vertical ones on right angles. The towns had brick houses, both big and small ones. There was provision of cross ventilation and sufficient lighting. The sight of drains and huge dustbins outside the houses revealed that there must have been some local institution to manage sanitation and such other activities smoothly.
2. Architecture: There were varieties of building that were unearthed:
(i) Buildings for the dwelling of the citizens.
(ii) Buildings for public purposes.
(iii) Public fire places.
3. The Great Bath: The Great Bath, discovered during excavations was 39 feet in length, 23 feet in width and 8 feet in depth.
Verandahs and rooms were constructed around it. There was a provision of filling the bath with water and emptying it. There was a well closely which might have been serving as the source of filling fresh water into the bath. This structure is an excellent symbol of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
4. Food: The people of Indus Valley ate barley, wheat, fruit and flesh also.
5. Clothes: The available needles and spinning and weaving tools and button show that the people knew spinning and weaving. Both the cotton and woollen clothes were worn. The people wore coloured clothes. There was a close similarity in the clothes of men and women-folk.