The Positive Sciences of the Ancient Hindus c5.s6.3

c5.s6.3

The natural measure of length was the cubit (Hasta), of which there were two fixed standards, the greater and the lesser cubit. The smallest measure of length mentioned in the Śilpa-śâstra (Technology) is the Paramânu, which is about 1/349525 of an inch. This is the same as the Trasareṇu of the Nyâya-Vaiśeṣika school, which stands for the thickness of the *minimum visibile* (the finest mote perceptible in the sunbeam as it comes slanting into a dark room through a chink).