The kos (), also spelled ''coss'', ''koss'', ''kosh'', koh(in Punjabi), ''krosh'', and ''krosha'', is a unit of measurement which is derived from a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

term, , which means a '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 physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

al standard unit of distance, in use since at least 4 BCE. According to the

Arthashastra ''Kautilya's Arthashastra'' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of ''Arthashas ...

, a or is about . Another conversion is based on the Mughal emperor Akbar, who standardized the unit to 5000 '' guz'' in the

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

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

Arthashastra Standard units

Mughal-era Kos Minar in the Delhi National Zoo

The ''"

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

Chanakya Chanakya (ISO 15919, ISO: ', चाणक्य, ), according to legendary narratives preserved in various traditions dating from the 4th to 11th century CE, was a Brahmin who assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya, Chandragup ...

(Vishnugupta Kauṭilya), sets this standard breakup of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n units of length:Arthashastra, Chanakya, 4th century BC, p. 151
/ref> * 1 angul (approximate width of a finger) = approx. * 4 angul = 1 dhanurgrah (bow grip) = * 8 angul = 1 dhanurmushti (fist with thumb raised) = * 12 angul = 1 vitastaa (span-distance of stretched out palm between the tips of a person's thumb and the little finger) = * 2 vitastaa (from the tip of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger) = 1 aratni or hast (cubit or haath) = * 4 aratni (haath) = 1 dand or dhanush (bow) = ; * 10 dand = 1 rajju = * 2 rajju = 1 paridesh = * 10 rajju = 1 goruta = * 10 goruta= 1 krosha/kos = nearly

Conversion to SI units and imperial units

Kos may also refer to roughly ''Arthashastra standard unit'' of kos or krosha is equal to 3075

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

s in

SI units The International System of Units, internationally known by the abbreviation SI (from French ), is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. It is the only system of measurement with official st ...

and 1.91

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

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 thr ...

.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 the

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 (–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the e ...

to the Mughal era. 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 Indian religions, Indic religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only ...

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 Hindu holy city of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana, India. Associated ...

. Along

's old highways, particularly the

Grand Trunk Road Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak, 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. It r ...

, one still finds 16th to early 18th century '' Kos Minars'', or mile markers, erected at distances of a little over two miles.

References

{{SI units of length Customary units in India Hindu astronomy Indian mathematics Obsolete units of measurement Units of length

Arthashastra Standard units

Conversion to SI units and imperial units

Usage of kos

See also

References