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Weights and Measures

 


 

Nahuta

10,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

A very large number.


Asa¸kheyya

100,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

A measure of years.

 


 

Kah¤pa¼a

 

Kahapanas

A coin described as square, made of copper or silver and possibly of gold weighing about 146 grains. PED describes the purchasing power as being about that of the florin = 2 shillings (in Rhys David's day) Today (Tuesday, April 01, 2003 12:02 PM) a gold kah¤pa¼n would be worth @ $111.50; a silver k. @ $1.47; and a copper K. @ $0.015

Illust. Pali Text Society: Rhys Davids: Buddhist India, Fig. 24. Ancient Indian Coins.

 


 

League

Derived from an ancient Celtic unit and adopted by the Romans as the leuga, the league became a common unit of measurement throughout western Europe. It was intended to represent, roughly, the distance a person could walk in an hour. The Celtic unit seems to have been rather short (about 1.5 Roman miles, which is roughly 1.4 statute miles or 2275 meters), but the unit grew longer over time. In many cases it was equal to 3 miles, using whatever version of the mile was current. At sea, the league was most often equal to 3 nautical miles, which is 1/20 degree [2], 3.45 statute miles, or exactly 5556 meters. In the U.S. and Britain, standard practice is to define the league to be 3 statute miles (about 4828.03 meters) on land or 3 nautical miles at sea.[1]

 


 

Yojana

A measure of distance: the amount that could be travelled with one yoke (two) of oxen, or about 7 miles

 


 

G¤vuta

A measure of distance: about 1/4 of a Yojana,or 1-3/4 miles.

 


 

Usabha

A measure of distance/length: Equal to 20 yaÂÂhis, or 140 cubits (@18") or 210 feet

 


 

YaÂÂhi

A measure of length. The length of a staff or goad or the stalk of the sugar cane (to cane): working back from Usabha, equal to about 10 feet

 


 

Cubit

A measure of length: the distance between the tip of the forefinger to the end of the elbow.

 


 

Span

A measure of length: the distance between the tip of the little finger to the tip of the thumb with the fingers stretched wide.

 


[1]How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement

 


 

References:

See also: Numbers

How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement

Common Units of Measure


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