Dhur: 1 Dhur in Gaj and Square Feet

1 dhur is 7.5625 gaj in Patna and Arrah, which is 68.0625 sq ft. The dhur (धुर) is one twentieth of a katha, and the katha changes from district to district in Bihar, so the dhur changes too: from 7.5625 gaj in Patna to 18.15 gaj in Bettiah.

What is a dhur?

Dhur is the smallest everyday land unit of Bihar. It is used to measure house plots and small strips of land, and to state the leftover part of an area after bigha and katha. A Bihar deed or family paper may say "2 bigha 5 katha 10 dhur". The chain is fixed:

• 1 bigha = 20 katha
• 1 katha = 20 dhur
• 1 bigha = 400 dhur
• 1 dhur = 20 dhurki (rarely used)

What changes is the size of the katha. North Bihar districts use a bigger katha than Patna, so their dhur is bigger too.

Size of 1 dhur by district

These are commonly used local values. No official Bihar government page with district values was found, so confirm with the amin or circle office.

Size of one dhur by region

Siwan uses a katha of about 1,520 sq ft. If the same 20 dhur rule applies there, a Siwan dhur would be 76 sq ft, but we found no source that states it directly. Values for Gaya, Bhagalpur, Purnia, Darbhanga and other districts were not found.

1 dhur in other units (Patna measure)

• 1 dhur = 68.0625 sq ft
• 1 dhur = 7.5625 gaj
• 1 dhur = 6.32 sq m
• 1 dhur = 0.1562 decimal
• 1 decimal = 6.4 dhur

What a dhur looks like

A dhur is a small square of land. On the Patna measure it is a square of 8.25 ft by 8.25 ft (68.0625 sq ft). A Hajipur dhur is a square of 9.75 ft (95.0625 sq ft). A Chhapra dhur is about the size of a strip of 8.8 ft by 9.9 ft (87.12 sq ft), and a Bettiah dhur is 16.5 ft by 9.9 ft (163.35 sq ft). So a dhur is roughly the floor of one small room.

Dhur to katha

Divide dhur by 20 to get katha, in every district. 10 dhur = 0.5 katha, and 15 dhur = 0.75 katha. To go from katha to dhur, multiply by 20. So 3.5 katha is 70 dhur.

How to convert dhur

1. Find your district's dhur size in the table.
2. Multiply the dhur count by that size to get square feet.
3. Divide by 9 for gaj, or by 435.6 for decimal.

Example: a plot of 1 katha 8 dhur in Patna is 20 + 8 = 28 dhur. That is 28 x 68.0625 = 1,905.75 sq ft, which is 211.75 gaj or 4.375 decimal. The same 28 dhur in Hajipur would be 2,661.75 sq ft.

Use dhur to square feet, katha to square feet or decimal to katha.

Dhur outside Bihar

In eastern Uttar Pradesh, around Gorakhpur, the words katha and dhur are sometimes used as local names for parcels the size of a biswa and a biswansi. This comes from a single unsourced site, so treat it with care. A pucca biswansi is 68.0625 sq ft, which happens to equal the Patna dhur.

Practical tips

• Bihar jamabandi and khatiyan show area (rakba) in acre and decimal. Convert your dhur figure to decimal and match it with the record.
• Decimal is the same in every district, so it is the safest unit to compare land across Bihar.
• For a sale, partition or court matter, confirm the local katha and dhur with the amin, karmachari or circle office. See the Bihar guide.