On Unit of Length Measurement in the

Indus-Saraswati Civilization, and Speed of

Light in the Vedic Literature

Dr M R Goyal <mrgoyal@gmail.com>

October 11, 2010

Abstract
Exact value of the unit of length measurement used in Indus-

Saraswati Civilization, has been determined from the precise scale dis-

covered by Ernest Mackay in the 1930-31 season excavation at Mohan-

jo-daro, and correlated with the present day units of measurement. It

has been shown that the speed of light as given in the Vedic Literature,

when correlated with the unit of length measurement used in Indus-

Saraswati Civilization, works out to be precisely equal to the speed of

light as per modern measurements.

1 The Precise Scale

In his 1930-31 season at Mohan-jo-daro, Ernest Mackay discovered a broken

piece of shell bearing 8 divisions of precisely 6.7056mm each, with a dot and
circle ve graduations apart, which suggests a decimal system. However,
attempts by Mackay, to relate such a unit to dimensions in Mohan-jo-daro,
were not very successful (ref Michel Danino [mD2010]).
Michel Danino also notes that only three other scale-like objects have
come to light in the Harappan cities so far. But none of the other scales is
precise.

2 Units of Length in Chanakya's Arthashas-

tra

In Arthashastra, Chanakya mentions two types of Dhanusha s as units for

measuring length and distances. One is the ordinary Dhanusha, consisting of

1
96 Angula s, Dhanusha is mentioned as Garhpatya Dhanusha
and the other
and consists of 108 Angulas. Chanakya also mentions many other units
including a Dhanurgraha, which consists of 4 Angula s and a Yojana, as con-
sisting of 8000 Dhanusha s.
It is also mentioned in Arthashastra that the Garhpatya Dhanusha was
used for measurement of roads and city walls. Here it is interesting to note
that Kalibangan, a city in the Indus-Saraswati civilization had street widths
standardized in arithmetic progression of 1.8, 3.6, 5.4 and 7.2 meters respec-
tively (ref Michel Danino [mD2010]). In the next section we will see how
these street widths relate to Dhanusha.

3 Decoding the Mohan-jo-daro scale

Dhanurgraha
If we keep ten divisions of the Mohan-jo-daro scale as equalling a
or 4 Angula s, the precise length of an Angula works out to be 16.764mm and
a Dhanusha works out to be 108 ∗ 16.764mm = 1.810512meters.
This corroborates that the street widths at Kalibangan were standardized
as 1 Dhanusha, 2 Dhanusha s, 3 Dhanusha s, and 4 Dhanusha s.
Also a Yojana (consisting of 8000 Angula s), works out to be 8000 ∗
1.810512meters = 14.484096km, which is exactly equal to 9 modern miles
with precision to the last centimeter.
Thus the precise scale found at Mohan-jo-daro has an exact correlation
with the present day units of length.

4 Speed of light as quoted by Sayanacharya

In the commentary on Rig-Veda, Mandal 1, Sukta 50, Mantra 4, which is in

1
praise of the Sun god, Sayanacharya (14th Century AD) writes :

ta;Ta;a . ca .sma;yRa;tea . . .
ya;ea:ja;na;a;na;Ma .sa;h;~å:òMa :dõe :dõe Za;tea :dõe . ca ya;ea:ja;nea Á
O;;ke+:na ;a;na;a;ma;Sa;a;DeRa;na kÒ+:ma;ma;a;Na na;ma;ea;~tua .tea Á Á
It is remembered that . . .
Salutations to Thee (the Sun) who approacheth (at a speed of )
2202 yojanas in a nimishardha (half nimisha ).
1 Bhatta Bhaskara (10th century) mentions the same sukta in his commentary on the
Taittreya Brahmana. In Bhatta Bhaskara 's commentary the sukta is referred to as an old
Puranic tradition (ref Subhash Kak [sK2001]).

2
 In the Vishnu Puran (Book 1, Chapter 3, Shloka 8,9), it is stated that:

15 Nimisha s = 1 Kashtha
30 Kashta s = 1 Kala
30 Kala s = 1 Mahurta
30 Mahurta s = 1 day & night (A;h;ea:=+a:ˆa;m,a)
Thus one day & night = 405,000 Nimisha s.
In Surya Sidhant (Chapter 1, Shloka 12), it is stated that 60 Nadis consti-
tute one Sidereal Day and Night (na;a;[a:ˆa;m,a A;h;ea:=+a:ˆa;m,a) . It is also well known
1

that a Mahurta = 2 Ghati s or 2 Nadi s. It is clear from this that in Astronom-

ical calculations, the sidereal day was taken as the unit of time. A sidereal
day is the time taken by the stellar constellations to complete one revolution
around the Earth. A sidereal day is equal to 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.1
seconds, or equivalently 86,164.1 sec (ref Wikipedia Article [wPsidereal]).
Thus one Nimishardha comes out to be 86164.1/810000 = 0.1063754sec.
The speed of light as given in the Vedic Literature therefor comes out to be:

2202 ∗ 14.484096 km
= 2.998 ∗ 105 km/sec
0.1063754 sec
This is precisely equal to the speed of light as per modern measurements.

References

[mD2010] Michel Danino, The Lost River  On the Trail of Saraswati, Pen-
guin Books, 2010.

[sK2001] Subhash Kak, The Speed of Light and Puranic Cosmology, 2001.

[wPsidereal] Wikipedia Article on Sidereal Time,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidereal_time

1 As per Mahabharat, Shanti Parv (231.12), 1 Mahurta = 30.1 Kala s. It is clear that

this slightly smaller Kala as given in the Mahabharat is to take Sidereal day into account.