A transliteration of the Sanskrit yojana， an Indian measure of distance. Depending upon the source， either seven or nine miles， the distance appropriate for one day's travel for an emperor. According to A.L. Basham， in his The Wonder that was India:
"The commonest table （of measurements）， omitting microscopic measurements was:
8 yava （barleycorns） = 1 angula （finger's breadth， 3/4 of an inch）
12 angulas = 1 vitasti （span， 9 inches）
2 vitastis = 1 hasta or aratni （cubit， 18 inches）
4 hastas = 1 da.n.da （rod） or dhanus （bow， 6 feet）
2，000 dhanus = 1 kro'sa （cry） or goruta （cow-call， 2 1/4 miles）
4 kro'sas = 1 yojana （stage， 9 miles approximately）
"Though most sources give the kro/sa （in modern Indian languages kos） as of 2，000 dan!d!as the Artha/sa^stra gives it as only 1，000， the yojana， which was the commonest measure of long distances in ancient India， being thus of only 4 1/2 miles. It is therefore clear that there were at least two yojanas， and distances as given in texts are thus very unreliable. It would seem that for practical purposes the shorter yojana was more often used than the longer， especially in earlier times." （from an e-mail post on Buddha-L by Joseph Crea）