A query re. aa;sviina as a measurement

Ashok Aklujkar ashok.aklujkar at UBC.CA
Wed Sep 28 23:37:30 UTC 2011


The dictionaries give aa;sviina as a measurement of distance: 'distance traveled by a horse, that is, by a horse-rider, in one day.' Saaya.na in his commentary of Pa;nca-vi.m;sa-braahma.na clarifies that a twenty-four hour day, ahoraatra, is meant in this context. Has anyone of you come across a statement expressing ancient understanding, especially ancient Indian understanding, of how much distance a horse/mare being normally ridden covered, assuming that the horse/mare did not stop? 

(In actual practice, a horse/mare could have been changed at certain stops, but this possibility is obviously to be ignored in associating a distance with aa;sviina.)

ashok aklujkar





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