Sexual Life in Ancient India: A Study in the Comparative History of Indian Culture v1.c6.18

v1.c6.18

⁴ As the ass, indeed in the East is often a big, fine, nimble beast, so in the Indian Epic, too, he is usually looked on as swift and valuable (i, 144.7, 18; ii, 51.19, 20, 25; xiii, 27.9; Rām., ii, 70.23). The mule, especially the she-mule is seen as being still swifter and more highly prized (i, 221.48; iii, 192.51; v, 86.12; viii, 38.5 ff.; xiii, 66.3; 93.31; 103.10; 118.13 ff.). A chariot harnessed to especially swift she-mules travels fourteen yojanas a day (v, 86.12). The "Epic" yojana, therefore, cannot be either 9 or 10 or 7½ English miles, but probably only about 2 to 3 (hardly 4 or 5). Cp. note 5 in my *Twice Told Tales* (Chicago, 1903).