Kos (unit)
Ancient Indian unit of distance
title: "Kos (unit)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["customary-units-of-length-in-india", "hindu-astronomy", "indian-mathematics", "obsolete-units-of-measurement"] description: "Ancient Indian unit of distance" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kos_(unit)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Ancient Indian unit of distance ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox unit"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| symbol | kos |
| standard | Arthashastra |
| quantity | length |
| units1 | SI units |
| inunits1 | |
| units2 | imperial/US units |
| inunits2 |
| | --> {{val|656|ul | ft}} | ::
| symbol = kos | standard = Arthashastra | quantity = length | units1 = SI units | inunits1 = | units2 = imperial/US units | inunits2 =
-- | units3 = | inunits3 =
The kos (), also spelled coss, koss, kosh, koh(in Punjabi), krosh, and krosha, is a unit of measurement which is derived from a Sanskrit term, क्रोश sa, 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 subcontinental standard unit of distance, in use since at least 4 BCE. According to the Arthashastra, a sa or hi is about 3000 m.
Another conversion is based on the Mughal emperor Akbar, who standardized the unit to 5000 guz in the Ain-i-Akbari. The British in India standardized Akbar's guz to 33 in, making the kos approximately 4191 m. Another conversion suggested a kos to be approximately 2 English miles.
A related unit is the gavyuti (also called gow, gaou/gau, gorutam, gāvuta, gavuva, and gavi), said to be equal to the distance at which a cow's call can be heard. This length is usually considered synonymous with the kos, being translated as the equivalent of a western league, though some systems do reckon them to be different (e.g. in the Arthashastra and in Burmese units).
Arthashastra Standard units
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Mughal-era_Kos_Minar_in_the_Delhi_National_Zoo.jpg" caption="[[Kos Minar]] in Delhi"] ::
The "Arthashastra: Chapter XX. "Measurement of space and time", authored in 4th century BC by Chanakya (Vishnugupta Kauṭilya), sets this standard breakup of Indian units of length:
- 1 angul (approximate width of a finger) = approx. 3/4 in
- 4 angul = 1 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 yd
- 10 goruta= 1 krosha/kos = nearly 3350 yd
Conversion to SI units and imperial units
Kos may also refer to roughly 1.8 km Arthashastra standard unit of kos or krosha is equal to 3075 metres in SI units and 1.91 miles in imperial units.
Usage of kos
Evidence of official usage exists from the Vedic period 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 circuits are measured in kos, such as 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra. Along India's old highways, particularly the Grand Trunk Road, one still finds 16th to early 18th century Kos Minars, or mile markers, erected at distances of a little over two miles.
References
References
- Yule, Henry. (1903). "Hobson-Jobson : being a glossary of Anglo-India colloquial words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive". John Murray.
- Prinsep, James. (1840). "Useful Tables, Forming an Appendix to the Journal of the Asiatic Society". Bishop's College Press.
- [https://archive.org/details/Arthasastra_English_Translation Arthashastra, Chanakya, 4th century BC, p. 151]
- (September 2007}} {{cite web). "Valmiki Ramayana / Book III: Aranya Kanda - The Forest Trek / Chapter (Sarga) 69".
- ''Measure for Measure'', Young & Glover, 1996
- Cosmic Order and Cultural Astronomy: Sacred Cities of India, By Rana P. B. Singh with a Foreword by John, 2009. pp.4
- C.D. Verma. (2006-07-10). "Signposts lost in history". Tribune India.
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