Re: [INDOLOGY] Aṅgula

[James Hartzell]

Patrick:

Very interesting, thanks. Do you think in the 'objective'-use instances of
the terms the tradition somehow developed an 'average' version of the
personal measurements?

I've worked mostly on yogic-tradition related texts, where the term aṅgula
was used mostly for personal body measurements (length of arm, elbow to
wrist, distance between cakras, etc).

James

On Thu, Jan 14, 2021 at 5:42 PM Olivelle, J P <jpo at austin.utexas.edu> wrote:

> James:
>
> There are numerous instances where aṅgula is not personal but an objective
> measure:
>
> See Arthaśāstra, 2.11.76, 80, 84; 2.19.11, 12 etc. I have assumed it to be
> approximately 2 cm long.
>
>
> Patrick
>
>
>
>
> On Jan 14, 2021, at 10:24 AM, James Hartzell via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
> Hi Jacob
>
> From the Sanskrit text translation work I've done on measurements, the
> aṅgula or finger-width measurement is specific to the individual. My finger
> widths differ from yours or my wife's, etc., but when I measure distances
> on my body using my finger widths, those will match the same distances on
> my wife's body using her finger widths. I've tested this quite a few times
> and was a bit astonished to find it consistently true. Others may differ
> (I'm very interested to hear if that's so), but the idea as I understand it
> is that an aṅgula is personal measurement, not a standardized measurement
> like a metre/meter, cm, mm, inch, etc. In this sense there is no
> uncertainty involved, just inter-individual variation.
>
> No doubt there's more to this topic, but this is my bit I can comment on.
>
> Cheers
> James
>
> On Thu, Jan 14, 2021 at 5:03 PM Jacob Schmidt-Madsen via INDOLOGY <
> indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
>
>> Dear list,
>>
>> Is there any consensus on what an aṅgula corresponds to in the metric
>> system? Or should we not consider it an absolute standard, but rather
>> take it literally as the breadth of a finger (with all the uncertainties
>> that follow)? There are a lot of suggestions floating around on the
>> internet, but I would be interested in any scholarly references.
>>
>> Best,
>> Jacob
>>
>> Jacob Schmidt-Madsen
>> Postdoctoral Researcher in Indology
>> Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies
>> University of Copenhagen
>> Denmark
>>
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>
>
> --
> James Hartzell, PhD (2x)
> Donostia-San Sebatián, Spain
> Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), The University of Trento, Italy
> Center for Buddhist Studies, Columbia University, USA
>
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-- 
James Hartzell, PhD (2x)
Donostia-San Sebatián, Spain
Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), The University of Trento, Italy
Center for Buddhist Studies, Columbia University, USA


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