SAVol7Dec09IndianCol.. - Saptarishis Astrology

Culled from Valmiki Ramayana, [2/54/29][3/69]The Ancient Indian measures for distance, as per Kautilya's Arth Shaastra, a republication of Penguinare:1 Angul (finger wide space) = 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 andlittle finger) = 9 in;4 Vitastaa = 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 Kosh or Gorut = 4000 yards or 2 1/4 miles - nearly 3.66 km;4 Kosh = 1 Yojan = 9 miles - nearly 15 km; and this being so, the British revenue measured a Yojan as a 5mile distance and Chambers and Oxfords has this 5 mile figure in their dictionaries, while traditionallya Yojan (4 Kosh or Kos) is said to be as a distance of 10 miles.[Taken from Valmiki Ramayan 3/69]Source - http://us.geocities.com/bhagvatjee/vraamaayan/notes/37distance.htmhttp://www.valmikiramayan.net/aranya/sarga69/aranya_69_prose.htmBoth passages are taken from Valmiki Ramayana, but both do not match among themselves. Apparentlywhen these Mythological Texts were written down as text, different authors gave different versionsregarding measurements. Also these are holistic or practical ways of measurements – for example if abow is being manufactured the manufacturer measures the hand of the person and the bow grip isequivalent to 4 anguls or four fingers. If the bow is meant for a young student, naturally his fingers willbe thin, but the measurement for the bow grip will still be 4 anguls. Against this if the person is a fullygrown adult, the bow grip is again 4 anguls but naturally his fingers are fully grown, so the bow gripwill be wider. So, this was rather a tailor made hand crafted way of doing things. Modern daymathematicians may argue over this matter, but this is how measurements were done in Vedic times.Readers are encouraged to do their own research about Hydrological methods in Ancient India. Of thesethis website seems interesting - http://www.nih.ernet.in/nih_rbis/vedic.htmrÉÑaqÉÉeÉaÉÉåqÉiÉçxrÉaÉiÉå zÉzÉɃ¡åû UÌuÉrÉïSÉ MüMïüOûMÇü mÉërÉÉÌiÉ |eÉsÉÇ zÉiÉÉRÇû WûËUMüÉqÉÑïMåüÅkSïÇ uÉSÎliÉ MülrÉÉqÉ×aÉrÉÉåUzÉÏÌiÉqÉç ||27||Sage Parashara says when Sun is in the sign of Cancer and the Moon is either in sign of Gemini, Aries,Taurus and Pisces an equivalent of 100 Aadhaka water bodies (singularly or combined) can be found.When Sun is in Sagittarius half of the above quantity of water bodies can be found. When Sun is inVirgo or Capricorn an equivalent of eighty Aadhaka water bodies can be found.Notes: Position of planets is counted as by Vedic Sidereal Astrology.MÑüsÉÏUMÑüqpÉÉÍsÉiÉÑsÉÉÍpÉkÉÉlÉå eÉsÉÉRûMÇü mÉhhÉuÉÌiÉÇ uÉSÎliÉ |AlÉålÉ qÉÉlÉålÉ iÉÑ uÉiÉçxÉUxrÉ ÌlÉÂmrÉ lÉÏUÇ M×üÌwÉMüqÉï MüÉrÉïqÉç ||28||614