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{{About|the measurement unit|the government program|List of central government schemes in India}}
{{Infobox unit
| symbol = Yojan
| standard = [[Arthashastra]]
| quantity = [[length]]
| units1 = [[SI units]]
| inunits1 = {{val|ul=m}} 
| units2 = [[imperial units|Imperial]]/[[US customary units|US]] units
| inunits2 = {{val|8|ul=mile}}<br /><!
| units3 =
| inunits3 =
}}
A '''yojana''' ([[Sanskrit]]: योजन; {{lang-th|โยชน์}}; {{lang-my|ယူဇနာ}}) is a measure of [[distance]] that was used in ancient [[India]], [[Thailand]] and [[Myanmar]]. A yojana is about 12–15 km.

==Edicts of Priyadarshi (Ashoka) (3rd century BCE)==
[[Devanam Priyadarshi]], in his [[Major Rock Edicts|Major Rock Edict No.13]], gives a distance of 600 yojanas between India, presumably [[Pataliputra]], and "where the [[Yona]] king named [[Antiochus II Theos|Antiyoga]] (is ruling)", identified as King [[Antiochus II Theos]], whose capital was in [[Babylone]].<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/InscriptionsOfAsoka.NewEditionByE.Hultzsch/HultzschCorpusAsokaSearchable#page/n181/mode/2up Inscriptions of Asoka p.43]</ref> Since Pataliputra and Babylone are at a distance of about 4000 km, this would give a yojana of about 7 km.

{{quote |
....And this (conquest) has been won repeatedly by Devanampriya both [here] and among all (his) borderers, even as far as at (the distance of) six hundred [[yojana]]s where the [[Yona]] king named [[Antiochus II Theos|Antiyoga]] (is ruling), and beyond this Antiyoga, (where) four kings (are ruling), (viz, the king) named [[Ptolemy II of Egypt|Tulamaya]], (the king) named [[Antigonus II Gonatas|Antekina]], (the king) named [[Magas of Cyrene|Maka]], (and the king) named [[Alexander II of Epirus|Alikyashudala]], (and) likewise towards the south, (where) the [[Chodas]] and [[Pandyas]] (are ruling), as far as [[Tamraparni]].
|13th Major Rock Edict. Translation by [[E. Hultzsch]] (1857-1927). Published in India in 1925. [https://archive.org/stream/InscriptionsOfAsoka.NewEditionByE.Hultzsch/HultzschCorpusAsokaSearchable#page/n181/mode/2up Inscriptions of Asoka p.43]. Public Domain.
}}

==Yojana as per "Vishnu Purana"==
Yojana is defined in Chapter 6 of Book 1 of the ''[[Vishnu Purana]]''(one of the eighteen Mahapuranas) as follows:<ref>Vishnu Purana, Translated to English: 45:6 In the other three Puráńas, in which this legend has been found, the different kinds of inhabited places are specified and p. 46 introduced by a series of land measures. Thus the Márkańd́eya states, that 10 Paramáńus = 1 Parasúkshma; 10 Parasúkshmas = 1 Trasareńu; 10 Trasareńus = 1 [[Microscopic scale|particle of dust]], or Mahírajas; 10 Mahírajasas = 1 Bálágra, 'hair's point;' 10 Bálágras = 1 Likhyá; 10 Likhyás= 1 Yúka; to Yúkas = 1 heart of [[barley]] (Yavodara); 10 Yavodaras = 1 grain of barley of middle size; 10 barley grains = 1 [[finger]], or [an] [[inch]]; 6 fingers = a Pada, or [[foot]] (the breadth of it); 2 Padas = 1 Vitasti, or [[span (unit)|span]]; 2 spans = 1 Hasta, or [[cubit]]; 4 Hastas = a Dhanu, a Danda, or staff, or 2 Nárikás; 2000 Dhanus = a Gavyúti; 4 Gavyútis = a Yojana. The measurement of the [[Brahmáńd́a]] is less detailed. A span from the thumb to the [[first finger]] is a Pradeśa; to the [[middle finger]], a Nála; to the third finger, a Gokerna; and to the [[little finger]], a Vitasti, which is equal to twelve Angulas, or fingers; understanding thereby, according to the Váyu, a [[joint]] of the finger; according to other authorities, it is the breadth of the [[thumb]] at the tip. (A. R. 5. 104.) The Váyu, giving similar measurements upon the authority of [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]], although such a statement does not occur in the [[Manu Sanhitá]], adds, that 21 fingers = 1 Ratni; 24 fingers = 1 Hasta, or cubit; 2 Ratnis = 1 Kishku; 4 Hastas = 1 Dhanu; 2000 Dhanus = l Gavyúti; and 8000 Dhanus = 1 Yojana. Durgas, or [[strong hold]]s, are of four kinds; three of which are natural, from, their situation in [[mountain]]s, amidst water, or in other inaccessible spots; the fourth is the artificial defences of a village (Gráma), a hamlet (Khet́aka), or a city (Pura or Nagara), which are severally half the size of the next in the series. The best kind of city is one which is about a mile long by half a mile broad, built in the form of a parallelogram, facing the northeast, and surrounded by a high wall and ditch. A hamlet should be a Yojana distant from a city: a village half a Yojana from a hamlet. The roads leading to the cardinal points from a city should be twenty Dhanus (above 100 feet) broad: a village road should be the same: a boundary road ten Dhanus: a royal or principal road or street should be ten Dhanus (above fifty feet) broad: a cross or branch road should be four Dhanus. Lanes and paths amongst the houses are two Dhanus in breadth: footpaths four cubits: the entrance of a house three cubits: the private entrances and paths about the mansion of still narrower dimensions. Such were the measurements adopted by the first builders of cities, according to the Puráńas specified.</ref>

===Units===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Measurement
! Equals to... (in Hindu measurement)
! Notes
|-
| 10 paramanu
| 1 parasúkshma
| [[Paramanu]] refers to [[atom]].<ref>https://scribemag.com/legends-of-science-kanada/</ref>
|-
| 10 parasúkshmas
| 1 trasarenu
|
|-
| 10 trasarenus
| 1 mahírajas (particle of dust)
|
|-
| 10 mahírajas
| 1 bálágra (hair's point)
|
|-
| 10 bálágra
| 1 likhsha
|
|-
| 10 likhsha
| 1 yuka
|
|-
| 10 yukas
| 1 yavodara (heart of [[barley]])
|
|-
| 10 yavodaras
| 1 yava (barley grain of middle size)
|
|-
| 10 yava
| 1 [[aṅgula]] (finger-breadth)
| 1.89 cm or approx 3/4 inch – here angula does not mean 1 inch rather 3/4 inch
|-
| 6 fingers
| 1 pada (the [[breadth]] of a foot)
| other sources define this unit differently: see [[Pada (foot)]]
|-
| 2 padas
| 1 vitasti ([[span (unit)|span]])
|
|-
| 2 vitasti
| 1 hasta ([[cubit]])
|
|-
| 4 hastas
| 1 dhanu
|
|-
| 1 danda
| 2 nárikás equals {{convert|6|feet|m}}
| 1 paurusa ([[human height|a man's height]])
|-
| 2000 dhanus
| 1 gavyuti (distance at which a cow's call or [[lowing]] can be heard)
| {{convert|12000|feet|km}}
|-
| 4 gavyutis
| 1 yojana
|
|-
| 1 yojana
|
| 8 miles or 12 kilometers
|}

==Variations on length==
The length of the yojana varies depending on the different standards adopted by different [[Indian astronomy|Indian astronomers]]. In the ''[[Surya Siddhanta]]'' (late 4th-century CE-early 5th-century CE), for example, a yojana was equivalent to {{convert|5|mi|km|abbr=on|disp=flip}},<ref name=Thompson>{{citation|title=Planetary Diameters in the Surya-Siddhanta|author=Richard Thompson|journal=[[Journal of Scientific Exploration]]|volume=11|issue=2|pages=193–200 [196]|year=1997}}{{rs?|date=February 2020}}</ref> and the same was true for [[Aryabhata]]'s ''[[Aryabhatiya]]'' (499).<ref>{{MacTutor Biography|id=Aryabhata_I|title=Aryabhata I}}</ref> However, 14th century [[List of Indian mathematicians|mathematician]] [[Paramesvara]] defined the yojana to be about 1.5 times larger, equivalent to about {{convert|8|mi|km|abbr=on|disp=flip}}.<ref name=Thompson/> [[A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]] gives the equivalent length of a yojana as about {{convert|8|mi|km|abbr=on|disp=flip}}<ref>[http://vedabase.com/sb/10/57/18 Srimad Bhagavatam 10.57.18 (translation)] "one yojana measures about eight miles"</ref> throughout his translations of the [[Bhagavata Purana]]. Some{{who?|date=January 2020}} other traditional Indian scholars give measurements between 6.4 km and 8 km (4–5 miles) or thereabouts.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} In ''The Ancient Geography of India'', [[Alexander Cunningham]] says that a yojana is traditionally held to be between 8 and 9 miles and calculates by comparison with Chinese units of length that it could have been between {{convert|6.7|mi|km|abbr=on}} and {{convert|8.2|mi|km|abbr=on}}.<ref>[[Alexander Cunningham]], [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.180122/page/n611  Measures of Distance. Yojana, Li, Krosa.] in ''The Ancient Geography of India: I. I. The Buddhist Period, Including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang'', Trübner and Company, 1871, pp. 571-574</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Hindu cosmology]]
*[[History of measurement systems in India]]
*[[Hindu units of time]]
*[[Palya]]
*[[Rajju]]
*[[Sayana]]
*[[List of numbers in Hindu scriptures]]
{{col div end}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{notelist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=East-India Register and Directory|publisher=W.H. Allen|url=https://books.google.com/?id=x_8nAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA370&dq=India+furlong+yard|language=en|year=1819}}
* ''The Artha Shaastra of Kautilya'', [[Penguin Books]]
* [http://www.valmikiramayan.net/bala/sarga5/bala_5_prose.htm Valmiki Ramayana]
* [http://barunroy.com/history/dictionary-of-historical-and-related-terms/ Dictionary of Historical and Related Terms]

[[Category:Customary units in India]]
[[Category:Hindu astronomy]]
[[Category:Obsolete units of measurement]]
[[Category:Units of length]]

Yojana - Revision history

imported>Venkat TL: /* Units */ Paramanu