The ''hasta'' ( (hásta); ()) is a traditional
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n
unit
Unit may refer to:
General measurement
* Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law
**International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system
**English units, histo ...
of
length
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...
, measured from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It equals 24 ''
aṅgula
Aṅgula (from - 'a finger; the thumb; a finger's breadth') is a measure of length. Twelve ''aṅgulas'' make a Vitasti or span, and twenty-four a Hasta or Cubit
The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the ...
s'' orﾠ about 18
inch
The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...
es, about 45 centimetres.
4 ''hastas'' make one ''dhanus'',
and 400 ''hastas'' make one ''
nalva''. 8 ''hastas'' make one ''rajju''.
See also
*
Cubit
The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding Noah ...
Notes
Units of length
Customary units in India
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