The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c11.3

c11.3

The measures of distance noted by the Chinese pilgrims are the Indian *yojana* and the Chinese *li*. The first is generally used by the elder traveller, Fa-Hian, and the other by the later travellers, Sung-Yun and Hwen Thsang. The *kroṣa* or kos, which is the common Indian measure of length at the present day, is not used by any of them. Hwen Thsang mentions that the *yojana*, according to tradition, was equivalent to 40 Chinese *li*, but that the measure then in use was equal to only 30 *li*.¹ From a comparison of the different pilgrims' recorded distances between well-known places, it appears that Hwen Thsang adopted the traditional measure of the *yojana* as equal to 40 *li*. I give four distances as an example:—