Fortification
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uyarvakalan tiṇmai yarumaiyin nāṉki / ṉamaivara ṇeṉṟuraikku nūl.
“Height, breadth, strength, difficult access: / Science declares a fort must these possess.”
“Height, thickness, strength, and impregnability, these are the four requisites that Science demandeth of fortresses.”
Military treatises declare that a fort must combine four qualities: height, breadth, solidity, and difficulty of access.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
உயர்வு அகலம் திண்மை அருமை இந்நான்கின் அமைவு= உயர்ச்சியும், அகலமும், திண்மையும், அருமையும் என்று சொல்லப்பட்ட இந்நான்கின் மிகுதியை உடைய மதிலை; அரண் என்று உரைக்கும் நூல்= அரண் என்று சொல்லுவர் நூலோர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Military science defines an ideal fortress as one possessing formidable height, broad thickness, unyielding structural strength, and near-impenetrability to hostile forces.