Practically every Hindu
and Buddhist in the world (we’re talking hundreds of millions of people here) has
heard of the ancient flying machines referred to in the Ramayana and other
texts as Vimānas.
Vimāna
(pronounced—Vi+māna) is a word with a number of possible meanings ranging from
temple or palace to mythological flying palaces described in the epics of Sanskrit.
You might say the epics
referenced here are lengthy narrative poems, ordinarily concerning a serious
subject containing details of events important to a culture or nation. To take things
a step further, the ancient Sanskrit Epics, incorporated into both
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata Epics, may be termed the “History” or “Great
Compositions”, referring to epic poems that form a canon or rule of early Hindu
scripture; and we all know that “Sanskrit” is an ancient language of
India that is used mainly in literature and Hindu religious writings.
The
forerunners of the flying Vimanas described in the Sanskrit Epics are typically
referred to as “flying chariots” that were used by various “gods”. The first flying Vimāna mentioned in Hindu texts
was the vehicle used by the king of Sri Lanka in the Ramayana. It was described
as follows:“The Pushpaka [“flowery”] Vimana that resembles the Sun and belongs
to my brother was brought by the powerful Ravana [the 10-headed king of the
demons]; that aerial and excellent Vimana
going everywhere at will ... that chariot resembling a bright cloud in the sky
... and the King [Rama] got in, and the excellent chariot at the command of the
Raghira, rose up into the higher atmosphere.”
It’s
not to terribly difficult to acknowledge that “Flying chariots,” “celestial
cars,” “mechanical birds,” “winged vehicles,” or “aerial cities” were most
common in ancient India. But then as we related in an earlier post (early October of 2011), chariots flown by gods are not unique to Indian epics. Other
examples include the Greek god Apollo who flew the “Sun Chariot”; the
mythological Persian king, Kay
Kavus, piloted a “Flying Throne” to China; and Thor, of
the Norse tradition, steered the “Chariot of Thunder”.
There’s
far more to the notion of ancient flying machines. Most are accounts from
ancient scriptures such as the Bible
or other holy books. However the most impressive and detailed description of
all must be the ancient Indian flying machines or Vimānas
described
in the
ancient Sanskrit Epics. As indicated above, writings about these machines can
be found in many Indian scripts. In
1875, the Vymaanika-Shaastra, a fourth century BC text which is an ancient
Hindu manuscript purporting to be an ancient document
on the construction and use of flying machines, was discovered in a temple in
India. The book dealt with the operation of ancient Vimānas and included
information on steering, precautions for long flights, protection of the
airships from storms and lightning, and how to switch the drive to solar
energy, or some other “free energy” source, possibly some sort of “gravity
drive.”
In fact, the
ancient Indians wrote entire “flight manuals” on the care and control of
various types of Vimānas. The Samara
Sutradhara is a scientific publication dealing with every possible aspect
of air travel in a Vimāna; there you’ll find no less than 230 stanzas dealing
with construction, take-offs, cruising for thousands of miles, normal and forced
landings, and even what to do when a collusion with birds occur!
Writings
vary as to the type of fuel these aircraft used, some assert that the Vimānas operated
on a mercury powered vortex engine; others describe a yellow liquid. In the Vymaanika-Shaastra text referenced above,
which claims its sources are from ancient writings, there is dialog about three types
of flying machines; in addition, 31 parts for these vehicles and 16 materials are described
that have been used in their construction. The “ancient” named Bharadvajy the Wise who used prior /
earlier scientific texts as his source described about 70 experts and 10 specialists
with aerospace proficiency. Here, the Vimanas purportedly “traveled with the
speed of wind” and “gave forth a melodious sound”.
The
fact of the matter is that aerial battles and chases are common in ancient
Hindu literature too, but what, you might ask, did these airships look like.
Basically there were two different types of Vimāna. The first was possibly “man-made” and had wings; you might say these flying machines are very much like our modern airplanes, the second is a non-aerodynamic shaped, disc-like or cylinder-
shaped craft most likely not made
by human beings. These particular aircrafts (disc-like) were capable of
astonishing maneuvers by today’s standards and are generally associated with
modern UFO’s.
Basically there were two different types of Vimāna. The first was possibly “man-made” and had wings; you might say these flying machines are very much like our modern airplanes, the second is a non-aerodynamic shaped, disc-like or cylinder-
The
ancient Mahabharata, one of the two
major Sanskrit Epics of ancient India, speaks of a Vimāna as “an aerial chariot
with sides of iron and clad with wings.”
In the Ramayana Epics (second
of the Sanskrit Epics) a Vimāna is described as a double-decked, circular
(cylindrical) aircraft with portholes and a dome. Here too it was said to fly with the “speed
of the wind”, and generated a “melodious sound”.
Vimānas
are mentioned even today in standard Indian literature and media reports. An
article titled “Flight Path” by the
Indian journalist Mukul Sharma appeared in the major newspaper, The Times of India, on April 8, 1999
which talked about Vimānas and ancient warfare.
So, you might say according to some interpretations of surviving epics,
India’s “future” seems to have happened a long time ago.
And
why not . . . in 1997 someone actually built a scaled-up radio controlled (RC)
version
of the “object” depicted here. However this RC model included the additions of
an engine and a propeller. You might say the flight tests were quite
successful; in fact the radio controlled aircraft not only flew but performed
several airborne loops, rolls and other maneuvers, and then finished up with a
perfect landing.
Sources:
https://www.google.com/search?q=vim%C4%81na&safe=active&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=dWAvU9S9KKfI2gW-8YHwAw&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=596
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_poetry
