Sutra 19

Devanagari script

अष्टशताङ्गुलं धनुः पथिप्राकारमानं पौरुषं चाग्निचित्यानाम् ॥ कZ_०२.२०.१९ ॥

Transliteration

aṣṭaśatāṅgulaṃ dhanuḥ pathiprākāramānaṃ pauruṣaṃ cāgnicityānām

Translation

A dhanu is eight hundred aṅgulas; it is the standard measure for roads (pathi) and ramparts/walls (prākāra), and also the pauruṣa standard for fire-altar constructions (agnicityā).

Word by Word

• अष्टशताङ्गुलम्: (measuring) eight hundred aṅgulas (in length)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्गुल
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा/द्वितीया; समासः अष्टशत (संख्यावाचक) + अङ्गुल (परिमाण) → ‘अष्टशत-अङ्गुल’

• धनुः: a dhanu (a bow; a standard length-measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा

• पथि: on the road / on the path
• Type: Noun
• Root: पथिन्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, एकवचन, सप्तमी (अधिकरण)

• प्राकारमानम्: the measure of the rampart/wall
• Type: Noun
• Root: मान
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा/द्वितीया; समासः प्राकार (rampart/wall) + मान (measure) → ‘प्राकार-मान’

• पौरुषम्: a ‘pौरुष’ measure (a man-measure; anthropometric unit)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पौरुष
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, एकवचन, प्रथमा/द्वितीया; परिमाणवाचक-प्रयोगः

• च: and
• Type: Particle
• Root: च
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम्

• अग्निचित्यानाम्: of the fire-altars (agni-cityās)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्निचित्या
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, बहुवचन, षष्ठी; समासः अग्नि + चित्या (altar/platform for piling fire) → ‘अग्निचित्या’

Entities Mentioned

• dhanu
• aṅgula
• pathi
• prākāra
• agnicityā
• pauruṣa

More Details

FAQs

What is the political-administrative significance of very large units like dhanu?

They enable consistent planning and auditing of macro-projects (roads, walls), where small-unit counting would be slow and easier to manipulate.