The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c11.7

c11.7

The smaller kos of upwards of 6000 feet is certainly an old Indian measure, as Strabo mentions, on the authority of Megasthenes, that along the royal road to Palibothra there were pillars set up at every 10 stadia,* or 6067½ feet apart, to mark the distance. Taking this valuation of the kos, the yojana would be little more than 24,000 feet, or 4½ miles, while the actual Chinese li of 30 to the yojana would be only 800 feet, and the traditional li of 40 to the yojana not more than 600 feet. There would consequently be 6½ of the former, and 8½ of the latter to the British mile. But from a comparison of the recorded distances of the Chinese pilgrims with the actual measured road distances between well-ascertained places, it would appear that there must be some mistake in the value of 30 li, assigned to the Indian yojana by Hwen Thsang.