{{Short description|Measure of distance}} {{About|the measurement unit|the government programme|List of central government schemes in India}} {{Infobox unit | symbol = | standard = Arthashastra | quantity = length | units1 = SI units | inunits1 = {{val|12.8|ul=km}} <!-- based on standard used for the Kos (unit) wikipedia article -->; {{val|16|ul=km}} <!-- based on standard used for the Kos (unit) wikipedia article -->(in ancient Cambodia) | units2 = Imperial/US units | inunits2 = {{val|2.7|ul=mile}}<br /> | units3 = | inunits3 = }}
A '''yojana''' (Devanagari: योजन; Khmer language: យោជន៍;<ref>{{Cite book |last=MISTI |url=https://misti.gov.kh/public/file/202107151626325399.pdf |title=រង្វាស់រង្វាល់ខ្មែរបុរាណនិងសម័យ |publisher=Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI) |year=2021 |edition=1st |pages=15}}</ref> {{langx|th|โยชน์}}; {{langx|my|ယူဇနာ}}) is a measure of distance that was used in ancient India, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. Some sources define the unit as the distance an army can march in a day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=yojana {{!}} Dictionary of Buddhism {{!}} Nichiren Buddhism Library |url=https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/Y/16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714094934/https://www.nichirenlibrary.org/en/dic/Content/Y/16 |archive-date=2024-07-14 |access-date=2025-09-21 |website=www.nichirenlibrary.org |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> Various textual sources from ancient India define Yojana as ranging from 3.5 to 15 km.<ref name="decline">{{Cite book |last=Thapar |first=Romila |url=http://projects.mcah.columbia.edu/indianart/pdf/asoka_thapar.pdf |title=Aśoka and the decline of the Mauryas |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1997 |edition=Revised |pages=250–266}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Gupta |first=C. C. Das |date=1951 |title=A NOTE ON AN EXPRESSION IN ROCK EDICT XIII OF AŚOKA |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44303939 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=14 |pages=68–71 |jstor=44303939 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref>
==Edicts of Ashoka (3rd century BCE)== Ashoka, in his Major Rock Edict No.13, gives a distance of 600 yojanas between the Maurya empire, and "where the Yona king named Antiyoga (is ruling)", identified as King Antiochus II Theos, whose capital was Babylon. A range of estimates, for the length of a yojana, based on the ~2,000 km from Baghdad to Kandahar, on the eastern border of the empire, to the ~4,000 km to the Capital at Patna, have been offered by historians.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/InscriptionsOfAsoka.NewEditionByE.Hultzsch/HultzschCorpusAsokaSearchable#page/n181/mode/2up Inscriptions of Asoka p.43]</ref><ref name="decline" />
{{blockquote | ....And this (conquest) has been won repeatedly by Devanampriya both [here] and among all (his) borderers, even as far as at (the distance of) six hundred yojanas where the Yona king named Antiyoga (is ruling), and beyond this Antiyoga, (where) four kings (are ruling), (viz, the king) named Tulamaya, (the king) named Antekina, (the king) named Maka, (and the king) named Alikyashudala, (and) likewise towards the south, (where) the Cholas and Pandyas (are ruling), as far as Tamraparni. |13th Major Rock Edict. Translation by E. Hultzsch (1857–1927).<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/InscriptionsOfAsoka.NewEditionByE.Hultzsch/HultzschCorpusAsokaSearchable#page/n181/mode/2up Inscriptions of Asoka p.43]. Published in India in 1925. Domain.</ref> }}
==The Mahabharata (500 BCE – 300 CE)== Offers: {{Blockquote |text= ...<br /> The Moon is handed down by memory to be eleven thousand yojanas in diameter. Its peripheral circle happens to be thirty three thousand yojanas when calculated.<br /> ...<br /> The Sun is eight thousand yojanas and another two thousand yojanas in diameter. From that its peripheral circle comes to be equal to thirty thousand yojanas.<br /> ... |title="verses: 6.12.40–45 |source=''Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata"''<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jadhav|first=Dipak|date=2018-01-01|title=On The Value Implied in the Data Referred To in the Mahābhārata for π|url=https://www.academia.edu/37922665|journal=Vidyottama Sanatana: International Journal of Hindu Science and Religious Studies|volume=2|issue=1|pages=18|doi=10.25078/ijhsrs.v2i1.511|s2cid=146074061|issn=2550-0651|doi-access=free}}</ref> }}
Given the Moon's diameter is now known to be approximately 3,475 km and mean radius of 21,833 km, while the Sun's diameter is approximately 1,391,400 km, the stated values offer conflicting lengths for a yojana, in the verse, between - 0.316 km and 139.14 km.
==Yojana in geodesy== {| class="wikitable" |+Earth's diameter and/or circumference in yojanas as mentioned by classical Hindu astronomers{{Efn|Some cells are left empty because those astronomers did not explicitly give a value. The values not mentioned in the table can be approximated using the value of π prevalent during their period.|group=note}} ! !Diameter (12,756 km) !Circumference (40,075 km) |- |Aryabhata (476–550 CE) |1,050 yojana | |- |''Surya Siddhānta'' (500-800 CE)<ref name=":Thompson">{{Cite book|last=Thompson|first=Richard L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TZmDSr-1msC|title=The Cosmology of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Mysteries of the Sacred Universe|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=2007|isbn=978-81-208-1919-1|pages=15–18|language=en}}</ref> |1,600 yojana | |- |Varahamihira (6th century CE) | |3,200 yojana |- |Bhāskara I (c. 600 – c. 680 CE) |1,050 or 1600 yojana | |- |Brahmagupta (<abbr>c.</abbr> 598 – <abbr>c.</abbr> 668 CE) |1,581 yojana |5,000 yojana |- |Bhāskara II (1114–1185 CE) |1,581 yojana |4,967 yojana |- |Nilakantha Somayaji (1444 – 1545 CE) | |3,300 yojana |}
==Hindu units of length==
===Units=== In Hindu scriptures, Paramāṇu is the fundamental particle and smallest unit of length. {| class="wikitable" |- ! Measurement ! Equivalence (in Hindu measurement) ! Notes |- | 8 to 30 Paramāṇus | 1 trasareṇu{{Efn|Trasareṇu is also known as ''Rathāreṇu'' or ''Rathadhuli''. Each scripture gives number of Paramāṇus in a Trasareṇu differently. In Ayurvedic scriptures, 1 Trasareṇu is 30 Paramāṇu; in Vasushastra texts, one Rathadhūli is 8 Paramāṇu <ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2014-08-03 |title=Paramanu, Paramāṇu, Parama-anu: 30 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/paramanu |access-date=2023-09-17 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> |group=note}} |As per ''Manusmriti'', one trasareṇu is the size of the smallest moving speck of dust visible to the naked eye.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jha |first=Ganganatha |date=2016-12-11 |title=Manusmriti Verse 8.132 |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/manusmriti-with-the-commentary-of-medhatithi/d/doc201047.html |access-date=2023-09-17 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bühler |first=George |url=https://sacred-texts.com/hin/manu/manu08.htm |title=The Laws of Manu |chapter= |quote=}}</ref>{{Efn|''jālāntaragate bhānau yat sūkṣmaṃ dṛśyate rajaḥ {{!}} prathamaṃ tat pramāṇānāṃ trasareṇuṃ pracakṣate'' {{!}}{{!}}132 {{!}}{{!}}<br /> The small mote that is seen when the sun shines through a lattice-hole they declare to be the ‘triad,’ the very first of measures.—(132)}} |- | 8 trasarenu | 1 bālāgra (tip of a hair strand) | |- | 8 bālāgra | 1 likhsha (size of a nit)<ref>{{Cite web |title=लिक्षा |url=https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/translate?search=likSA&dir=se |website=learnsanskrit.cc}}</ref>{{Efn|As per ''Manusmriti'' and ''Arthashastra'', eight Trasareṇus equals one Liksha.|group=note}} | |- | 8 liksha | 1 yūka (size of a louse)<ref>{{Cite web |title=यूका |url=https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/translate?search=yUkA&dir=se |website=learnsanskrit.cc}}</ref> | |- | 8 yūka | 1 yava (width of barley grain of medium size)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kalita |first=Kushal |date=2021-07-01 |title=The Matsya Purana (critical study) |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/essay/matsya-purana-critical-study/d/doc628496.html |access-date=2023-09-17 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> | |- | 8 yava | 1 aṅgula (finger-breadth) | Estimated between {{Convert|1.73|cm|inch|abbr=in}} to {{Convert|1.91|cm|in|abbr=in}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Issues in Indian metrology, from Harappa to Bhāskarāchārya |url=https://asc.iitgn.ac.in/assets/publications/research_papers/Issues_in_Indian_Metrology_from_Harappa_to_Bhaskaracharya_M_Danino_2015.pdf |journal=Gaṇita Bhāratī |volume=37 |pages=125–143}}</ref>{{Efn|The angula is defined in the Śulbasūtras as the length covered by 14 grains of millet arranged width-wise; Kautilya and later authors prefer 8 grains of barley (yava).|group=note}} |- | 6 angula | 1 pada (the breadth of a foot) | other sources define this unit differently: see Pada (foot) |- | 2 pada | 1 vitasti (span or distance between the tip of the forefinger and wrist)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sanskrit Dictionary |url=https://www.sanskritdictionary.com/?q=vitasti}}</ref> | ~ 22.86 cm (9 inches) |- | 2 vitasti | 1 hasta (cubit) | ~ 45.7 cm (18 inches) |- | 2 hasta | 1 náriká |~ 91.5 cm (36 inches / 3 feet) |- | 2 náriká | 1 dhanu |~ 183 cm (72 inches / 6 feet) to 192 cm ( 75.6 inches / 6 feet 3.5 inches)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shrivastava |first=Shailaj Kumar |date=2017 |title=MEASUREMENT UNITS OF LENGTH, MASS AND TIME IN INDIA THROUGH THE AGES |url=https://www.academia.edu/32739570/MEASUREMENT_UNITS_OF_LENGTH_MASS_AND_TIME_IN_INDIA_THROUGH_THE_AGES |journal=Self Published}}</ref> |- | 1 paurusa | a man's height with arms and fingers uplifted (standing reach)<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2017-04-17 |title=Paurusha, Pauruṣa: 21 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/paurusha |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> |~ 192 cm (75 inches) |- | 2,000 dhanu<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shamasastry |first=Rudrapatna |date=2020-01-09 |title=Kautilya Arthashastra Measurement of Space and Time [Chapter 20] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/kautilya-arthashastra/d/doc366066.html#note-t-128561 |access-date=2023-09-17 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> | 1 gavyuti or gorutam (distance at which a cow's call or lowing can be heard) | ~ 3.66 to 3.84 km |- | 4 gavyuti | 1 yojana | ~ 15 kilometers<ref name=":0" /> |}
==Variations in length== The length of the yojana varied over time and locale, its length has been estimated as: * {{convert|8|mi|km|abbr=on|disp=flip}} - 14th-century mathematician Paramesvara.<ref name="Thompson" /> * {{convert|8|mi|km|abbr=on|disp=flip}} - A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada<ref>[http://vedabase.com/sb/10/57/18 Srimad Bhagavatam 10.57.18 (translation)] "one yojana measures about eight miles"</ref> throughout his translations of the Bhagavata Purana. * {{convert|6.7|mi|km|abbr=on|disp=flip}} to {{convert|8.2|mi|km|abbr=on|disp=flip}} - From ''The Ancient Geography of India'', 1871, Alexander Cunningham, estimated by comparison with Chinese units of length.<ref>Alexander Cunningham, [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.180122/page/n611 <!-- pg=571 --> Measures of Distance. Yojana, Li, Krosa.] in ''The Ancient Geography of India: I. I. The Buddhist Period, Including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang'', Trübner and Company, 1871, pp. 571–574</ref> * {{convert|5|mi|km|abbr=on|disp=flip}} - 1997, Thompson, from dividing the earths diameter by the yojana circumferences offered In the ''Surya Siddhanta'' and ''Aryabhatiya'' (late 4th-century to 5th-century CE)<ref name="Thompson">{{citation|title=Planetary Diameters in the Surya-Siddhanta|author=Richard Thompson|journal=Journal of Scientific Exploration|volume=11|issue=2|pages=193–200 [196]|year=1997}}{{unreliable source?|date=February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{MacTutor Biography|id=Aryabhata_I|title=Aryabhata I}}</ref>
==See also== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} *Hindu cosmology *History of measurement systems in India *Hindu units of time *Palya *Rajju *List of numbers in Hindu scriptures {{col div end}}
==References==
=== Notes === {{NoteFoot}}
=== Sources === {{reflist|2}} {{notelist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book|title=East-India Register and Directory|publisher=W.H. Allen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x_8nAAAAYAAJ&q=India+furlong+yard&pg=PA370|language=en|year=1819}} * ''The Artha Shaastra of Kautilya'', Penguin Books * [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga5/bala_5_prose.htm Valmiki Ramayana] * [http://barunroy.com/history/dictionary-of-historical-and-related-terms/ Dictionary of Historical and Related Terms] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106125348/http://barunroy.com/history/dictionary-of-historical-and-related-terms/ |date=2016-11-06 }}
Category:Customary units of length in India Category:Hindu astronomy Category:Obsolete units of measurement