[BITList] Taj builders used Harappan measurement units

[John Feltham]

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090906/spectrum/main4.htm

Sunday, September 6, 2009


Taj builders used Harappan measurement units
K. S. Jayaraman

DESIGNERS of the 17th century Taj Mahal, the finest piece of Mughal  
architecture, employed the same unit of measurement used by the  
Harappan civilization of 2000 BC, according to a new study reported in  
the latest issue of Current Science.


An ancient unit of length called angulam, mentioned in Kautilya’s  
treatise Arthasastra dated 300 BC, has been used as the unit of  
measurement right from the Harappan times till the pre-modern era when  
the Taj Mahal was built   Photo: Renu Manish Sinha

The study by R. Balasubramaniam of the Indian Institute of Technology,  
Kanpur, has for the first time shown that the unit of length called  
angulam — mentioned in Kautilya’s treatiseArthasastra dated 300 BC —  
was used without a break by Indian builders for over 3,900 years until  
the British imposed their units in the 18th century.

The ancient angulam has been found to be equal to 1.763 modern  
centimetres, according to Balasubramaniam, a professor of materials  
and metallurgical engineering. He has carried out dimensional analysis  
of some of India’s historical structures, built during different  
times, to identify the measuring units used in their engineering plans.

He says he was surprised that angulam and its multiplesvitasti (12  
angulams) and dhanus (108 angulams) have been used as the unit of  
measurement right from the Harappan times till the pre-modern era when  
the Taj was built.

Balasubramaniam, who last year studied the dimensions of the 1,600- 
year-old Delhi Iron Pillar at the Qutub Minar complex, found that  
angulam and its multiple dhanus were used as the basic units of length  
in its design. For example, the total height of the pillar is exactly  
4 dhanus, adds Balasubramaniam.

And now in a paper published in Current Science, Balasubramaniam has  
shown that the modular plan of the Taj Mahal complex is based on use  
of grids of sides measuring 60 and 90 vitasti.

He says the study has established that the design and architecture of  
the Taj is based on traditional Indian units codified inArthasastra  
and that "there is nothing foreign" in its design.

"The fact that the unit of angulam of 1.763 cm could match very well  
the dimensions of historical monuments establishes the continuity of  
India’s engineering tradition through the ages for as long as 3,900  
years," says Balasubramaniam in his paper.

"With the new knowledge we can analyse all the important ancient  
structures in India," he says, and hopes the findings "will open a new  
chapter in the study of metrology (science of measurements)".

But how did the angulam tradition remain unbroken for so long? As  
quoted in the website of Nature India, Balasubramaniam believes the  
workers from the Harappan days were perhaps using some kind of scale  
"that was handed over through generations". — IANS



ooroo

Bad typists of the word, untie.




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