Kos (unit)
The kos is an ancient unit of distance that has been in use in the Indian subcontinent for over three thousand years; evidence exists from Vedic times to the Mughal period, and even now elderly people in rural areas refer to distances from nearby areas in kos. A kos is about 2.25 miles.
It is variously spelled "Kos", "Kosh", "Krosh", and "Koss" when rendered in the Latin alphabet.
The Arthashastra gives this breakup of Indian units of length:[1][dubious ]
- 1 Angul (approximate width of a finger) = approx. 3/4 of an inch;
- 4 Angul = Dharnugrah (bow grip) = 3 in;
- 8 Angul = 1 Dhanurmushti (fist with thumb raised) = 6 in;
- 12 Angul = 1 Vitastaa (span-distance of stretched out palm between the tips of a person's thumb and the little finger) = 9 in;
- 2 Vitastaa (from the tip of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger) = 1 Aratni or Hast (cubit or Haath) = 18 in;
- 4 Aratni (Haath) = 1 Dand or Dhanush (bow) = 6 ft;
- 10 Dand = 1 Rajju = 60 ft;
- 2 Rajju = 1 Paridesh = 120 ft;
- 2000 Dand (Dhanush) = 1 Krosh or Gorut = 4000 yards or 21⁄4 miles - nearly 3.66 km;
- 4 Krosh = 1 Yojan = 9 miles - nearly 15 km;
Kos may also refer to about 1.8 km (1⅛ mile) or 3.2 km (2 miles).[2]
Along India's old highways, particularly the Grand Trunk Road, one still finds Kos Minar, or mile markers, erected at distances of a little over two miles[3]
References
- ↑ [unreliable source?] Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Measure for Measure, Young & Glover, 1996
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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