The
kos is an ancient
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n unit of measurement which has been in use for over three thousand years; evidence exists from
VedicVedic may refer to:* the Vedas, the oldest preserved Indic texts** Vedic Sanskrit, the language of these texts** Vedic period, during which these texts were produced** Vedic pantheon of gods mentioned in Vedas/vedic period...
times to the
MughalThe Mughal era is the historic period of the Mughal Empire in India, it ran from the early sixteenth century, to a point in the early eighteenth century when the Mughal Emperors' power had dwindled...
period, and even now elderly people in rural areas refer to distances from nearby areas in kos.
It is variously spelled "Kos", "Kosh", "Krosh", and "Koss" when rendered in the Latin alphabet.
Kautilya's Artha Shastra, gives this breakup of Indian units of length:
- 1 Angul (approximate width of finger) = approx.
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The
kos is an ancient
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n unit of measurement which has been in use for over three thousand years; evidence exists from
VedicVedic may refer to:* the Vedas, the oldest preserved Indic texts** Vedic Sanskrit, the language of these texts** Vedic period, during which these texts were produced** Vedic pantheon of gods mentioned in Vedas/vedic period...
times to the
MughalThe Mughal era is the historic period of the Mughal Empire in India, it ran from the early sixteenth century, to a point in the early eighteenth century when the Mughal Emperors' power had dwindled...
period, and even now elderly people in rural areas refer to distances from nearby areas in kos.
It is variously spelled "Kos", "Kosh", "Krosh", and "Koss" when rendered in the Latin alphabet.
Kautilya's Artha Shastra, gives this breakup of Indian units of length:
- 1 Angul (approximate width of finger) = approx. 3/4 of present day 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 2 1/4 miles - nearly 3.66 km;
- 4 Krosh = 1 Yojan = 9 miles - nearly 15 km;
Kos may also refer to about 1.8 km (1 ⅛ mile) or 3.2 km (2 miles).
Along India's old highways, particularly the
Grand Trunk RoadThe Grand Trunk Road is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For several centuries, it has linked the eastern and western regions of the Indian subcontinent, running from Bengal, across north India, into Peshawar in Pakistan.- Route :Today, the Grand Trunk Road remains a continuum...
, one still finds
Kos MinarThe Kos Minars are the medieval milestones made by the Afghan RulerSher Shah suri and latter on by Mughal emperors. "Kos" is a sanskritword which means a measurement of distance denoting approximately...
, or mile markers, erected at distances of a little over two miles