Re: [INDOLOGY] Aṅgula

Thu Jan 14 18:42:34 UTC 2021

Aṅgulimāla

A murderous robber "wearing a necklace of [human] fingers", known from
Buddhist sources.

Question: Apart from Angulimala, is there any mention in ancient Indian
texts of someone wearing a finger necklace?

Is there - perhaps - any mention of someone wearing a measuring tape around
their neck?

With New Year's Greetings,

Artur Karp

University of Warsaw
Retired Senior Lecturer

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czw., 14 sty 2021 o 19:06 jmdelire via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info>
napisał(a):

> Hi, Everybody,
>
> First of all, I wish all the colleagues on the Indology list a very
> happy year 2021.
> The fact that aṅgula is defined in the BaudhŚulb. as 14 aṇu (I,3-4
> Thibaut numbering) or 34 tila (I,5) is not to be taken too seriously.
> The last one has something to do with the approximate value given by
> BaudhŚulb. I,62 to the dvikaraṇii (square root of 2, in a modern view)
> as 1 + 1/3 + 1/12 - 1/(12.34) and the first one with MānŚulb 10.1.2.6-7
> (Van Gelder), that implies an approximate value of 7/5. I developped all
> this in my book "Les mathématiques de l'autel védique" (Droz, 2016) and
> in a previous article : « Quadratures, circulature and the approximation
> of square root of 2 in the Indian Śulba-sūtras », Centaurus
> (International Magazine of the History of Mathematics, Science and
> Technology), vol.47 (2005), pp.60-71.
>
> All the best,
>
> Jean Michel Delire,
> Lecturer on Science and civilization in India - Sanskrit texts, IHEB
> (University of Brussels)
>
>
> Le 14.01.2021 18:15, Michaels, Axel via INDOLOGY a écrit :
> > Dear Patrick,Jacob and all,
> >
> > If _aṅgula_ would be ca. 2 cm, the length of a man (_puruṣa_)
> > would be acc. to BaudhŚulvS I,19 together with I,16 and 1,7 approx.
> > 190 cm, which might be too much. If you calculate anthropometrically
> > in a realistic way, assuming that the average length of the male was
> > between 160 and 175 cm, _aṅgula_ would be approx. 1,6 cm. This
> > implies that _aṅgula_ might not be the breadth of a thumb but of the
> > middle fingertip, see also MānŚS VIII,13,7 (_aṅgulaparvan_).
> >
> > Another calculation could be based on palaeobotanic grounds: In the
> > Śulvasūtras and other texts, 1 _aṅgula_ is often equal to 34
> > _tila_ (Sesamum indicum) or 14 _aṇu_ (Panicum miliaceum) or 6 resp.
> > 8 _yava_ (prob. Hordeum hexastichon). Whether this leads to a better
> > result, depends on whether it is measured broadside or longside,
> > whether the seeds are shucked or not, and whether the present seeds
> > are genetically manipulated or not. No easy task.
> >
> > More on this in my _ Beweisverfahren in der vedischen Sakralgeometrie_
> > (Wiesbaden 1978), pp. 156-7.
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Axel Michaels
> >
> > FROM: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> on behalf of
> > "indology at list.indology.info" <indology at list.indology.info>
> >  REPLY TO: "jacob at fabularasa.dk" <jacob at fabularasa.dk>
> >  DATE: Thursday, 14. January 2021 at 17:03
> >  TO: "indology at list.indology.info" <indology at list.indology.info>
> >  SUBJECT: [INDOLOGY] Aṅgula
> >
> > 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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