Yojana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

A yojana is a Vedic measure of distance, possibly somewhere from 9 km to 16 km (5.6 to 10 miles).

A yojan is a form of measuring distance once used in ancient India. The exact measurement is in dispute - one quantification puts it at approximately 9 miles, but another puts it at 4.5 miles. 1 Yojan may be equivalent to 4 Krosas, or 8,000 Danda or Bow; it may also be equivalent to 4,000 Dhanu, or 768,000 Angulas. 1,000 Yojans is known as a Mahayojan.

The Yojana is an ancient measure of distance, where one yojana roughly equals to 8 to 10 miles (13-16 km). It is calculated like this:

  • 1 angula is 3/4 inch
  • 4 angula-s are = one dhanu graha - bow grip;
  • 8 angula-s are = one dhanu muSTi - fist with thumb raised;
  • 12 angula-s are = 1 vitasti - distance between tip of thumb and tip of last finger when palm is stretched;
  • 2 vitasti-s = 1 aratni -s - cubit;
  • 4 aratni-s = one danDa, dhanuS - bow height - 6 ft ;
  • 10 danDa-s = 1 rajju 60 ft ;
  • 2 rajju-s = 1 paridesha - 120 ft ;
  • 2, 000 dhanuS-s = one krosha , and also called goraTa - 4, 000 yards ;
  • 4 krosha-s = 1 yojana - thus one yojana is 9 to 10 miles.

However, the British Revenue measurement scaled it down to 5 miles, and all the dictionaries say that one yojana is 5 miles. But traditionally it is held as 10 miles. More information on these measures can be had from The Artha Shaastra of Kautilya - a republication of Penguin Books.

In modern Hindi yojana means "plan" or blueprint and it is an interesting connection with the Cartesian notion of "distance". Vedic texts are based on a psychogeography rather than cartography and prediction or plan is equated to space and "distance".

[edit] See also

[edit] References

This South Asian history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
This standards- or measurement-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
1 Angula 0.75 inch
4 Angula-s 1 dhanu graha 3 inches
8 Angula-s 1 dhanu musTi 6 inches
12 Angula-s 1 vitasti 9 inches
2 vitasti-s 1 aratni 18 inches
4 aratni-s 1 danDa, dhanuS 72 inches
10 dhanuS-s 1 rajju 720 inches
2 rajju-s 1 paridesha 1440 inches
2000 dhanuS-s 1 krosha, goraTa 144000 inches
4 krosha-s 1 yojana 576000 inches
1 yard 36 inches
1760 yard 1 mile 63360 inches
1 yojana 576000 inches 9.0909 miles
1 yard 36 inches 0.914 meters
1000 meters 1 kilo meters 39387.3085 inches
1 yojana 576000 inches 14.624 kilometers
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../y/o/j/Yojana.html"