The kos (Hindi: कोस), also spelled ''coss'', ''koss'', ''kosh'', ''krosh'', and ''krosha'', is a unit of measurement which is derived from a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

term, क्रोश ''krośa'', which means to "call", as the unit was supposed to represent the distance at which another human could be heard. It is an ancient

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

al standard unit of distance, in use since at least 4 BC. According to the ''Artha-śāstra'', a ''krośa'' or ''kos'' is about 3000 meters or 1.8 miles. Another conversion is based on the Mughal emperor Akbar, who standardized the unit to 5000 ''

guz A guz or the Mughal yard is a unit of length used in parts of Asia. Historically, it was a regionally variable measurement similar to the English yard both in size and in that it was often used for measuring textiles. Values of the guz ranged from ...

'' in the

Ain-i-Akbari The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' ( fa, ) or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl in the Persian language. It for ...

. The British in India standardized Akbar's ''guz'' to 33 inches, making the ''kos'' approximately 4191 meters. Another conversion suggested a ''kos'' to be approximately 2 English miles.

Arthashastra Standard units

Mughal-era Kos Minar in the Delhi National Zoo

The ''"

Arthashastra The ''Arthashastra'' ( sa, अर्थशास्त्रम्, ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is ...

'': Chapter XX. "Measurement of space and time", authored in 4th century BC by

Chanakya Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭilya o ...

(Vishnugupta Kauṭilya), sets this standard breakup of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n units of length:Arthashastra, Chanakya, 4th century BC, p. 151
/ref> * 1 Angul (approximate width of a finger) = approx. 3/4 of an inch; * 4 Angul = Dhanurgrah (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; * 10 Rajju = 1 Goruta = 219 yards or miles - nearly 200 m; * 10 Goruta= 1 Krosh/ Kos = Nearly 3350 Yards or 3060 meters or 1.9 Miles

Conversion to SI units and Imperial units

Kos may also refer to roughly 1.8 km (1.12 mile) ''Arthashastra Standard unit'' of Kos or krosh is equal to 3075

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

s in

SI units The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes Pleonasm#Acronyms and initialisms, pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most wid ...

and 1.91

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

s in

Imperial units The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units (also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1826) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed thro ...

.Cosmic Order and Cultural Astronomy: Sacred Cities of India, By Rana P. B. Singh with a Foreword by John, 2009. pp.4

Usage of kos

Evidence of official usage exists from

Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betw ...

to the

Mughal era The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. Elderly people in many rural areas of the Indian subcontinent still refer to distances from nearby areas in kos. Most Hindu religious

Parikrama Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indic religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only to the path along ...

circuits are measured in kos, such as

48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra The 48 kos parikrama is a parikrama (a circumbabulatory pilgrimage) of various ''Mahabharata''-related and other Vedic-era tirthas (Hindu sacred sites) around the holy city of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana, India. Associated with Kri ...

. Along

's old highways, particularly the

Grand Trunk Road The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...

, one still finds 16th to early 18th century ''

Kos Minar The Kos Minars (translated: ''Mile Pillars'') are medieval Indian milestones along the Grand Trunk Road in northern Indian subcontinent, that were introduced by the 16th-century Pashtun ruler Sher Shah Suri. Kos Minars were erected to serve as ...

s'', or mile markers, erected at distances of a little over two miles.

References

Customary units in India Hindu astronomy Indian mathematics Obsolete units of measurement Units of length {{Pakistan-stub

Arthashastra Standard units

Conversion to SI units and Imperial units

Usage of kos

See also

References