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@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@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@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