The Hanuman Chalisa and the distance to the Sun
AI-drafted · awaiting admin review
A popular claim says the line 'Yug sahastra jojan par bhanu' gives the Earth–Sun distance. The result depends on unit values chosen to fit the modern figure.
Indian claim not supported by evidenceMathematics & astronomy
Indian claim
Tulsidas' Hanuman Chalisa states the distance to the Sun: 1 yuga (12,000) × 1 sahasra (1,000) × 1 yojana (8 miles) = 96 million miles, close to the real value.
Evidence for the Indian claim
- The arithmetic 12,000 × 1,000 × 8 miles gives 96 million miles (about 154 million km), close to the average distance of about 150 million km.
Commonly credited to
The distance to the Sun was first measured with reasonable accuracy by Cassini and Richer in 1672 using the parallax of Mars.
Evidence for the other claim
- A yuga is not a standard 12,000; traditional texts give many different yuga lengths, and the yojana varied widely between texts and regions.
- The line is part of a devotional poem about the young Hanuman leaping for the Sun, not an astronomical statement.
- Indian astronomical texts themselves (such as the Surya Siddhanta) gave much smaller Sun distances.
What historians and scientists say
The match comes from choosing units after the fact. There is no evidence the verse was meant as, or worked out as, a measurement.