VIMANA

Ancient Conquests of Wind

O Rama of unequaled prowess,
This aerial car shining like the sun,
Moves as one pleases, wonderful and excellent;
This Pushpak of Kuber, robbed by Ravan in battle,
Is retained here for your sake;
The yonder aerial car, looking like a cloud,
Stands here and by which transport,
You can reach Ayodhya without any trouble.
May prosperity attend you!

- Valmiki Ramayan [6.121.9-11]

Dr Uday Dokras-PhD (Stockholm) Sweden

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Introduction: The above verse describes the Pushpak Vimaan, perhaps the most famous airship
mentioned in the ancient Hindu literature. Many Sanskrit epics contain references to such flying
machines called the Vimaans- /Vimanas. These Vimaans were said to be able to travel into space
between different planets and were used by various denizens of the higher Lokas or Gods. In this
post, we shall analyze the evidence in favor of such flying machines being available to the
ancients and their similarities to the modern aircrafts. Whether we consider them advanced aliens
or demi-gods, these beings are far superior to us in scientific as well as spiritual pursuits and the
goal of sharing this knowledge is to follow the path of Gyaan-yoga and detach oneself from
attachment to this mortal body and its entrapments.

All planets, star-systems, nebulae, galaxies, black-holes, universes, multiverse etc. are nothing
but emanations from Shri Hari Vishnu. Eternity manifests itself in endless ways and Arjun got a
rare glimpse of this vision in the Virat Roop of Lord Krishna at Kurukshetra when he witnessed
the dimensions of multiple universes encompassed in the body of the Lord composed of

numerous Suns, Moons, Planets and Galaxies from Past, Present as well as the Future! 1

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Zillions of Universes emerging from Lord Maha-Vishnu's body pores

The Eternal state( Roop) of the Supreme Lord of this never-ending cycle of Birth and Death.

Isvarah paramah krishna saccid-anand vigrahah

anadir aaadir govindah sarva kaaran kaaranam

Catharina "Nina" Hagen (born 11 March 1955) a German singer, songwriter, and actress,
considerably wellknown said, in 1992, in her single titled U.F.O ; Shakuna Vimana “They are
coming they are coming in the Shakuna Vimana.”

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aa

Besides her musical career, Hagen is also a voice-over actress. She wrote three
autobiographies: Ich bin ein Berliner (1988), Nina Hagen: That's Why the Lady Is a Punk (2003),
and Bekenntnisse (2010). She is also noted for her human and animal rights activism. Erich von
Daniken book Chariots of the Gods that was such a phenomenon back in the 1970s, what with its
claim that ancient astronauts visited the earth and left behind various ancient mysteries along
with legends turning them into ancient deities?

Many authors use ancient mythologies to support their theories, most notably the basic tenet of
nearly all ancient creation myths of a god or gods having come from the “heavens” to earth and

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creating man, with the extraordinary adventures of these various gods interpreted as being
modern technologies as seen from the perspective of a simple-minded earthman.

For example, flying machines often show up in ancient texts. One classical example is the
Vimanas, flying machines that can be found in the literature of India in which stories range from
fantastic aerial battles employing various weaponry including bombs, to the mundane relating
simple technical information, flight procedure, and flights of fancy.

In the Biblical Old Testament, God is described as having various attributes that could be
interpreted as primitive descriptions of advanced rockets or other flying machines. He is
described as having an upper body of metal, appearing on a column of smoke and/or fire and
making the sound of a trumpet. These descriptions portray the God of the ancient Hebrews as not
only having the characteristics of a flying machine, but also quite clearly describe God as a
physical presence, not an abstraction. This God follows the Hebrews around and rains lighting
and stones down upon their enemies from His position in the sky. Additionally, the
characteristics of the Ark of the Covenant and the Urim and Thummim are identified as
suggesting high technology, perhaps from alien origins.

Other examples include the very detailed descriptions in the Biblical

Book of Ezekiel, the apocryphal Book of Enoch, and countless ancient stories from China to
Peru. Physical evidence includes the discovery of ancient “model airplanes” in Egypt and South
America, which bear a passing resemblance to modern planes and gliders. Probably the most
famous piece of circumstantial evidence are the Nazca lines of Peru; countless enormous ground
drawings which can only be seen from high in the air. While generally not referencing ancient
astronauts per se — suggest the creation of some monuments was beyond human means, such as
Saxo Grammaticus’ suggestion that giants had created Denmark’s massive dolmens, or in tales
that Merlin had assembled Stonehenge via magic.

Evidence for ancient astronauts often consists of allegations that ancient monuments, such as the
pyramids of Egypt, or Machu Picchu in Peru, or other ancient megalithic ruins, such as Baalbek
in Lebanon, could not have been built without technical abilities beyond those of people at that

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time. Such allegations are not unique in history. Similar reasoning lay behind the wonder of the
Cyclopean masonry walling at Mycenaean cities in the eyes of Greeks of the following “Dark
Age,” who believed that the giant Cyclopes had built the walls. Typical candidates for the lost
civilizations that taught or provided these skills are the lost continents of Atlantis, Lemuria and
Mu. Another frequent theme that can be encountered in many mythologies is a person who
comes from far away as a god, or as the archetype of a “civilizing hero” who brings knowledge
to mankind. Prometheus is the best-known Western example. In Native American lore there are
numerous examples, including Quetzalcoatl of the Aztecs and Viracocha of the Incas. In
Theosophical writings of the 19th and early 20th centuries, many precursors to the ancient
astronaut theories can be found. Theosophy influenced authors such as H. P. Lovecraft and
Charles Fort, and even later authors such as Erich von Däniken.

Ancient astronauts in fiction: The ancient astronaut theory has been addressed frequently in
science fiction and horror fiction. Early occurrences in the genres include H. P. Lovecraft’s The
Call of Cthulhu (1926) and At the Mountains of Madness (1931), and John W. Campbell’s Who
Goes There? (1938) (the last two stories both incidentally set in Antarctica). Arthur C. Clarke
has written several stories utilizing the theme, most famously in 2001: A Space Odyssey. So too
did Walter Ernsting (The Day the Gods Died). Douglas Adams used a satirical version of the
theory in his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. The Doctor Who serial Pyramids of Mars
featured the Egyptian gods being aliens. Even the Tintin adventure Flight 714 references ancient
astronaut theories.

The TV show The X-Files has borrowed the theory, and both the original Battlestar Galactica
and the 2003 remake explored the idea that Earth was colonized by man millennia ago. The
movie Stargate and its spin-off television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis feature
aliens posing as gods to influence early earth cultures, and later on in the SG-1 series, aliens are
found to have traveled to earth millions of years ago to influence human evolution. The Stargate:
Ultimate Edition: Director’s Cut DVD includes a featurette interview with Erich von Däniken
entitled “Is there a Stargate?”

The computer game Rise of Legends features the Cuotl, a Pre-Columbian mesoamerican

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civilisation manipulated by a group of aliens whose spaceship crashed.The manga Bio-Booster
Armor Guyver features numerous ancient astronaut trappings in its explanation of the Creators
and the origin of the Guyver. The ancients had some way of harnessing the winds to fly
particularly in the Hindu(Indian) context where the ancient scripyures speak of flying machines
or vimanas on several occasions. Vimanas are described in ancient Indian literature as the
‘chariots of the gods’, a sort of technological vehicles similar to modern one but also able to have
much more incredible powers in confront to our airplanes.

In the Vedic literature of India, there are many descriptions of flying machines that are generally
called „vimanas”. These fall into two categories:
(1) man made craft that resemble airplanes and fly with the aid of birdlike wings, and
(2) un-streamlined structures that fly in a mysterious manner and are generally not made by
human beings.
The machines in category (1) are described mainly in medieval, secular Sanskrit works dealing
with architecture, automata, military siege engines, and other mechanical contrivances.
(2) Those in category are described in ancient works such as the Rig Veda, the Mahabharata, the
Ramayana, and the Puranas, and they have many features reminiscent of UFOs.

Ancient Flying Machines

Reference to ancient Indian flying vehicles comes from ancient Indian sources, many are the
well known ancient Indian Epics, and there are literally hundreds of them. Most of them have not
even been translated into English yet from the old Sanskrit. It is claimed that a few years ago,
the Chinese discovered some Sanskrit documents in Lhasa, Tibet and sent them to the University
of Chandrigarh to be translated. Dr. Ruth Reyna of the University said recently that the
documents contain directions for building interstellar spaceships!

Their method of propulsion, she said, was "anti-gravitational" and was based upon a system
analogous to that of "laghima," the unknown power of the ego existing in man’s physiological
makeup, "a centrifugal force strong enough to counteract all gravitational pull." According to
Hindu Yogis, it is this "laghima" which enables a person to levitate. Dr. Reyna said that on board
these machines, which were called "Astras" by the text, the ancient Indians could have sent a

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detachment of men onto any planet, according to the document, which is thought to be thousands
of years old. The manuscripts were also said to reveal the secret of "antima", "the cap of
invisibility" and "garima", "how to become as heavy as a mountain of lead."

Additional information on the mercury engines used in the vimanas can be found in the ancient
Vedic text called the Samarangana Sutradhara. This text also devotes 230 verses to the use of
these machines in peace and war. We will not provide the whole description of the mercury
vortex engine here, but we will include a short part of William Clendenon's translation of
the Samarangana Sutradhara from his 1990 book, Mercury, UFO Messenger of the Gods:

"Inside the circular air frame, place the mercury-engine with its electric/ultrasonic mercury
boiler at the bottom center. By means of the power latent in the mercury which sets the driving
whirlwind in motion, a man sitting inside may travel a great distance in the sky in a most
marvelous manner. Four strong mercury containers must be built into the interior structure.
When those have been heated by controlled fire from iron containers, the vimana develops
thunder-power through the mercury. At once it becomes like a pearl in the sky."

This provides a most simplistic idea of the potential of the mercury engines. This is one kind of a
propulsion mechanism that the vimanas of Kali-yuga may use. Other variations are also
described. Not only do these texts contain directions on how to make such engines, but they also
have been found to contain flight manuals, aerial routes, procedures for normal and forced
landings, instructions regarding the condition of the pilots, clothes to wear while flying, the food
to bring and eat, spare parts to have, metals of which the craft needs to be made, power supplies,
and so on. Other texts also provide instructions on avoiding enemy craft, how to see and hear
what occupants are saying in enemy craft, how to become invisible, and even what tactics to use
in case of collisions with birds. Some of these vimanas not only fly in the sky, but can also
maneuver on land and fly into the sea and travel under water.

There are many ancient Vedic texts that describe or contain references to these vimanas,
including the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Rig-veda, Yajur-veda, Atharva-veda, the Yuktilkalpataru
of Bhoja (12th century A.D.), the Mayamatam (attributed to the architect Maya), plus other
classic Vedic texts like the Satapathya Brahmana, Markandeya Purana, Vishnu

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Purana, Bhagavata Purana, the Harivamsa, the Uttararamcarita, the Harsacarita, the Tamil
text Jivakacintamani, and others. From the various descriptions in these writings, we
find vimanas in many different shapes, including that of long cigars, blimp-like, saucer-shapes,
triangular, and even double-decked with portholes and a dome on top of a circular craft. Some
are silent, some belch fire and make noise, some have a humming noise, and some disappear
completely.

Vimanas of Ancient India

India, according to Dr. V. Raghavan, retired head of the Sanskrit department of the prestigious
University of Madras, was alone in playing host to extraterrestrials in prehistory. Dr. Raghavan
contends that centuries-old documents in Sanskrit (the classical language of India and Hinduism)
prove that aliens from outer space visited his nation.

"Fifty years of researching this ancient works convinces me that there are livings beings on other
planets, and that they visited earth as far back as 4,000 B.C.", the scholar says. "There is a just a
mass of fascinating information about flying machines, even fantastic science fiction weapons,
that can be found in translations of the Vedas (scriptures), Indian epics, and other ancient
Sanskrit text". In the Mahabharata (writings), there is notion of divine lighting and ray weapons,
even a kind of hypnotic weapon. And in the Ramayana(writings), there is a description of
Vimanas, or flying machines, that navigated at great heights with the aid of quicksilver and a
great propulsive wind.

"These were space vehicles similar to the so-called flying saucers reported throughout the world
today. The Ramayana even describes a beautiful chariot which 'arrived shining, a wonderful
divine car that sped through the air'. In another passage, there is mention of a chariot being seen
'sailing overhead like a moon' ".

The references in the Mahabharata are no less astounding:

- At Rama`s behest, the magnificent chariot rose up to a mountain of cloud with a tremendous
din. Another passage reads: Bhima flew with his Vimana on an enormous ray which was as
brilliant as the sun and made a noise like the thunder of a storm.

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- In the ancient Vymanka-Shastra (science of aeronautics), there is a description of a Vimana:
"An apparatus which can go by its own force, from one place to place or globe to globe.. The
text's revelations become even more astounding. Thirty-one parts-of which the machine
consists-are described, including a photographing mirror underneath. The text also
enumerates 16 kinds of metal that are needed to construct the flying vehicle: `Metals suitable,
lighare 16 kinds`. But only three of them are known to us today. The rest remain untranslatable.
A study of the Sanskrit texts has convinced me that ancient India did know the secret of building
flying machines-and that those machines were patterned after spaceships coming from other
planets."

The Vedic traditions of India tell us that we are now in the Fourth Age of mankind. The Vedas
call them the "The Golden Age", "The Silver Age", and "The Bronze Age" and we are now,
according to their scriptures in the "The Iron Age". As we approach the end of the 20th century
both Native Americans, Mayans, and Incans, prophecies claim that we are coming to the end of
an age. Sanskrit texts are filled with references to Gods who fought battles in the sky using
Vimanas equipped with weapons as deadly as any we can deploy in these more enlightened
times.

In "Ancient Vimana Aircraft" - a Contribution by John Burrows, he writes: Sanskrit texts

are filled with references to gods who fought battles in the sky using Vimanas equipped with
weapons as deadly as any we can deploy in these more enlightened times.

For example, there is a passage in the Ramayana which reads:

"The Puspaka car that resembles the Sun and belongs to my brother was brought by the powerful
Ravan; that aerial and excellent car going everywhere at will .... that car resembling a bright
cloud in the sky."

".. and the King [Rama] got in, and the excellent car at the command of the Raghira, rose up
into the higher atmosphere."

In the Mahabharatra, an ancient Indian poem of enormous length, we learn that an individual
named Asura Maya had a Vimana measuring twelve cubits in circumference, with four strong

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wheels. The poem is a veritable gold mine of information relating to conflicts betweengods who
settled their differences apparently using weapons as lethal as the ones we are capable of
deploying. Apart from ’blazing missiles’, the poem records the use of other deadly weapons.
’Indra’s Dart’ operated via a circular ’reflector’.

When switched on, it produced a ’shaft of light’ which, when focused on any target, immediately
’consumed it with its power’. In one particular exchange, the hero, Krishna, is pursuing his
enemy, Salva, in the sky, when Salva’s Vimana, the Saubha is made invisible in some way.
Undeterred, Krishna immediately fires off a special weapon:

’I quickly laid on an arrow, which killed by seeking out sound’.

Many other terrible weapons are described, quite matter of factly, in the Mahabharata, but the
most fearsome of all is the one used against the Vrishis. The narrative records:

"Gurkha flying in his swift and powerful Vimana hurled against the three cities of the Vrishis
and Andhakas a single projectile charged with all the power of the Universe. An incandescent
column of smoke and fire, as brilliant as ten thousands suns, rose in all its splendor. It was the
unknown weapon, the Iron Thunderbolt, a gigantic messenger of death which reduced to ashes
the entire race of the Vrishnis and Andhakas."

It is important to note, that these kinds of records are not isolated. They can be cross-correlated
with similar reports in other ancient civilizations. The after-affects of this Iron Thunderbolt have
an ominously recognizable ring.. The survivors fared little etter, as it caused their hair and nails
to fall out.

Perhaps the most disturbing and challenging, information about these allegedly mythical
Vimanas in the ancient records is that there are some matter-of-fact records, describing how to
build one. In their way, the instructions are quite precise.

In the Sanskrit Samarangana Sutradhara, it is written:

"Strong and durable must the body of the Vimana be made, like a great flying bird of light

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 material. Inside one must put the mercury engine with its iron heating apparatus underneath.
By means of the power latent in the mecrcury which sets the driving whirlwind in motion, a man
sitting inside may travel a great distance in the sky. The movements of the Vimana are such that
it can vertically ascend, vertically descend, move slanting forwards and backwards. With the
help of the machines human beings can fly in the air and heavenly beings can come down to
earth."

The Hakatha (Laws of the Babylonians) states quite unambiguously:

"The privilege of operating a flying machine is great. The knowledge of flight is among the most
ancient of our inheritances. A gift from ’those from upon high’. We received it from them as a
means of saving many lives."

More fantastic still is the information given in the ancient Chaldean work, The Sifrala, which
contains over one hundred pages of technical details on building a flying machine. It contains
words which translate as graphite rod, copper coils, crystal indicator, vibrating spheres, stable
angles, etc.

Ancient Indian Aircraft Technology

What we know about ancient Indian flying vehicles comes from ancient Indian sources; written
texts that have come down to us through the centuries. There is no doubt that most of these texts
are authentic; many are the well known ancient Indian Epics themselves, and there are literally
hundreds of them. Most of them have not even been translated into English yet from the old
Sanskrit.

The Indian Emperor Ashoka started a "Secret Society of the Nine Unknown Men": great Indian
scientists who were supposed to catalogue the many sciences. Ashoka kept their work secret
because he was afraid that the advanced science catalogued by these men, culled from ancient
Indian sources, would be used for the evil purpose of war, which Ashoka was strongly against,
having been converted to Buddhism after defeating a rival army in a bloody battle.The "Nine
Unknown Men" wrote a total of nine books, presumably one each.

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Book number was "The Secrets of Gravitation!" This book, known to historians, but not actually
seen by them dealt chiefly with "gravity control." It is presumably still around somewhere, kept
in a secret library in India, Tibet or elsewhere (perhaps even in North America somewhere). One
can certainly understand Ashoka’s reasoning for wanting to keep such knowledge a secret,
assuming it exists. Ashoka was also aware devastating wars using such advanced vehicles and
other "futuristic weapons" that had destroyed the ancient Indian "Rama Empire" several
thousand years before.

Naturally, Indian scientists did not take the texts very seriously, but then became more positive
about the value of them when the Chinese announced that they were including certain parts of
the data for study in their space program! This was one of the first instances of a government
admitting to be researching anti-gravity.

The manuscripts did not say definitely that interplanetary travel was ever made but did mention,
of all things, a planned trip to the Moon, though it is not clear whether this trip was actually
carried out. However, one of the great Indian epics, the Ramayana, does have a highly detailed
story in it of a trip to the moon in a Vimana (or "Astra"), and in fact details a battle on the moon
with an "Asvin" (or "Atlantean") airship. This is but a small bit of recent evidence of anti-gravity
and aerospace technology used by Indians. To really understand the technology, we must go
much further back in time.

The so-called "Rama Empire" of Northern India developed at least fifteen thousand years ago on
the Indian sub-continent and was a nation of many large, sophisticated cities, many of which are
still to be found in the deserts of Pakistan, northern, and western India. Rama existed, apparently,
parallel to the Atlantean civilization in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, and was ruled by "enlightened
Priest-Kings" who governed the cities, The seven greatest capital cities of Rama were known in
classical Hindu texts as "The Seven Rishi Cities."

According to ancient Indian texts, the people had flying machines which were called "Vimanas."
The ancient Indian epic describes a Vimana as a double-deck, circular aircraft with portholes and
a dome, much as we would imagine a flying saucer. It flew with the "speed of the wind" and

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gave forth a "melodious sound." There were at least four different types of Vimanas; some
saucer shaped, others like long cylinders ("cigar shaped airships").

The ancient Indian texts on Vimanas are so numerous, it would take volumes to relate what they
had to say. The ancient Indians, who manufactured these ships themselves, wrote entire flight
manuals on the control of the various types of Vimanas, many of which are still in existence, and
some have even been translated into English. The Samara Sutradhara is a scientific treatise
dealing with every possible angle of air travel in a Vimana. There are 230 stanzas dealing with
the construction, take-off, cruising for thousand of miles, normal and forced landings, and even
possible collisions with birds.

In 1875, the Vaimanika Shastra, a fourth century B.C. text written by Bharadvajy the Wise, using
even older texts as his source, was rediscovered in a temple in India. It dealt with the operation
of Vimanas and included information on the steering, precautions for long flights, protection of
the airships from storms and lightening and how to switch the drive to "solar energy" from a free
energy source which sounds like "anti-gravity." Vaimanika Shastra (or Vymaanika-Shaastra) has
eight chapters with diagrams, describing three types of aircraft, including apparatuses that could
neither catch on fire nor break. It also mentions 31 essential parts of these vehicles and 16
materials from which they are constructed, which absorb light and heat; for which reason they
were considered suitable for the construction of Vimanas. This document has been translated into
English and is available by writing the publisher: VYMAANIDASHAASTRA AERONAUTICS
by Maharishi Bharadwaaja, translated into English and edited, printed and published by Mr. G.
R. Josyer, Mysore, India, 1979 (sorry, no street address). Mr. Josyer is the director of the
International Academy of Sanskrit Investigation located in Mysore.

There seems to be no doubt that Vimanas were powered by some sort of "anti-gravity." Vimanas
took off vertically, and were capable of hovering in the sky, like a modern helicopter or dirigible.
Bharadvajy the Wise refers to no less than 70 authorities and 10 experts of air travel in antiquity.
These sources are now lost.

Vimana Griha or Hanger for Vimanas: Vimanas were kept in a Vimana Griha, a kind of
hangar, and were sometimes said to be propelled by a yellowish-white liquid, and sometimes by

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some sort of mercury compound, though writers seem confused in this matter. It is most likely
that the later writers on Vimanas, wrote as observers and from earlier texts, and were
understandably confused on the principle of their propulsion. The "yellowish-white liquid"
sounds suspiciously like gasoline, and perhaps Vimanas had a number of different propulsion
sources, including combustion engines and even "pulse-jet" engines.

It is interesting to note, that the Nazis developed the first practical pulse-jet engines for their V-8
rocket "buzz bombs." Hitler and the Nazi staff were exceptionally interested in ancient
India and Tibet and sent expeditions to both these places yearly, starting in the 30’s, in order to
gather esoteric evidence that they did so, and perhaps it was from these people that the Nazis
gained some of their scientific information!

According to the Dronaparva, part of the Mahabarata, and the Ramayana, one Vimana described
was shaped like a sphere and born along at great speed on a mighty wind generated by mercury.
It moved like a UFO, going up, down, backwards and forewards as the pilot desired.

In another Indian source, the Samar, Vimanas were "iron machines, well-knit and smooth, with a
charge of mercury that shot out of the back in the form of a roaring flame."

Samaranganasutradhara : Another work called the Samaranganasutradhara describes how the

vehicles were constructed. It is possible that mercury did have something to do with the
propulsion, or more possibly, with the guidance system. Curiously, Soviet scientists have
discovered what they call "age-old instruments used in navigating cosmic vehicles" in caves in
Turkestan and the Gobi Desert. The "devices" are hemispherical objects of glass or porcelain,
ending in a cone with a drop of mercury inside.

It is evident that ancient Indians flew around in these vehicles, all over Asia,
to Atlantis presumably; and even, apparently, to South America. Writings found
at Mohenjodaro in Pakistan (presumed to be one of the "Seven Rishi Cities of the Rama
Empire") and still undeciphered, has also been found in one other place in the world: Easter
Island! Writing on Easter Island, called Rongo-Rongo writing, is also undeciphered, and is
uncannily similar to the Mohenjodaro script.

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In the Mahavira of Bhavabhuti, a Jain text of the eighth century culled from older texts and
traditions, we read:

"An aerial chariot, the Pushpaka, conveys many people to the capital of Ayodhya. The sky is full
of stupendous flying-machines, dark as night, but picked out by lights with a yellowish glare"

Vedas

Ancient Hindu poems, thought to be the oldest of all the Indian texts, describe Vimanas of
various shapes and sizes: the "ahnihotra-vimana" with two engines, the "elephant-vimana" with
more engines, and other types named after the kingfisher, ibis and other animals. used for war.
Atlanteans used their flying machines, "Vailixi," a similar type of aircraft, to literally try and
subjugate the world, it would seem, if Indian texts are to be believed The Atlanteans, known as
"Asvins" in the Indian writings, were apparently even more advanced technologically than the
Indians, and certainly of a more war-like temperament.

Pushpaka vimana depicted three times, twice flying in the sky and once landed on the ground.

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The predecessors of the flying vimanas of the Sanskrit epics are the flying chariots employed by
various gods in the Vedas: the Sun ( Sun chariot) and Indra and several other Vedic deities are
transported by flying wheeled chariots pulled by animals, usually horses.

The existing Rigveda versions do not mention Vimanas, but verses RV 1.164.47-48 have been
taken as evidence for the idea of "mechanical birds"

47. kṛṣṇáṃ niyânaṃ hárayaḥ suparṇâ / apó vásānā dívam út patanti

tá âvavṛtran sádanād ṛtásyâd / íd ghṛténa pṛthivî vy ùdyate
48. dvâdaśa pradháyaś cakrám ékaṃ / trîṇi nábhyāni ká u tác ciketa
tásmin sākáṃ triśatâ ná śaṅkávo / 'rpitâḥ ṣaṣṭír ná calācalâsaḥ

"Dark the descent: the birds are golden-coloured; up to the heaven they fly robed in the
waters.
Again descend they from the seat of Order, and all the earth is moistened with their
fatness."
"Twelve are the fellies, and the wheel is single; three are the naves. What man hath
understood it?
Therein are set together spokes three hundred and sixty, which in nowise can be
loosened." ("trans." Griffith)

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 Dayananda Saraswati interpreted these verses to mean:
"jumping into space speedily with a craft using fire and water ... containing twelve stamghas
(pillars), one wheel, three machines, 300 pivots, and 60 instruments.”

:
Ravana rides his Vimana, Pushpaka.

Jainism: Vimāna-vāsin ('dweller in vimāna') is a class of deities who served the tīrthaṃkara
Mahā-vīra. These Vaimānika deities dwell in the Ūrdhva Loka heavens. According to the Kalpa
Sūtra of Bhadra-bāhu, the 24th tīrthaṃkara Mahā-vīra himself emerged from the great vimāna
Puṣpa-uttara; whereas the 22nd tīrthaṃkara Ariṣṭa-nemi emerged from the great vimāna
Aparijita. The tīrthaṃkara-s Abhinandana (4th) and Sumati-nātha (5th) both traveled through
the sky in the "Jayanta-vimāna", namely the great vimāna Sarva-artha-siddhi, which was owned
by the Jayanta deities; whereas the tīrthaṃkara Dharma-nātha (15th) traveled through the sky in
the "Vijaya-vimāna". A vimāna may be seen in a dream, such as the nalinī-gulma.

An illustration of the Shakuna Vimana that is supposed to fly like a bird with hinged wings and

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Telgu painting of Rama and family visiting on a Vimana

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tail. The Vaimānika Shāstra is an early 20th-century Sanskrit text on aeronautics, obtained
allegedly by mental channeling, about the construction of vimānas, the "chariots of the Gods".
The existence of the text was revealed in 1952 by G. R. Josyer, according to whom it was written
by one Pandit Subbaraya Shastry, who dictated it in 1918–1923. A Hindi translation was
published in 1959, the Sanskrit text with an English translation in 1973. It has 3000 shlokas in 8
chapters. Subbaraya Shastry allegedly stated that the content was dictated to him
by Maharishi Bharadvaja. A study by aeronautical and mechanical engineering at Indian
Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1974 concluded that the aircraft described in the text were
"poor concoctions" and that the author showed a complete lack of understanding of aeronautics.

Pushpak Vimana, meaning "an aeroplane with flowers", is a mythical aeroplane found
in Ayyavazhi mythology. Akilattirattu Ammanai, the religious book of Ayyavazhi, says that the
Pushpak Vimana was sent to carry Ayya Vaikundar to Vaikundam.

A similar reference is found in regards of Saint Tukaram, Maharashtra, India. Lord Vishnu was
so impressed by the devotion and singing of Saint Tukaram that when his time came, a Pushpak
Viman (a heavenly aircraft shaped as an eagle) came to take him to heaven. Though it is believed
that every other human being can go to Heaven without body, Saint Tukaram went to heaven
with body (Sadeha Swarga Prapti).

The Vaimānika Śāstra (वैमानिक शास्त्र, lit. "shastra on the topic of Vimanas"; or "science of

aeronautics"), is an early 20th-century text in Sanskrit. It makes the claim that

the vimānas mentioned in ancient Sanskrit epics were advanced aerodynamic flying vehicles.
The existence of the text was revealed in 1952 by G. R. Josyer who asserted that it was written
by Pandit Subbaraya Shastry (1866–1940), who dictated it during the years 1918–1923. A Hindi
translation was published in 1959, while the Sanskrit text with an English translation was
published in 1973. It contains 3000 shlokas (verses) in 8 chapters which Shastry claimed was
psychically delivered to him by the ancient Hindu sage Bharadvaja. The text has gained favour
among proponents of ancient astronauts.

20
World Mysteries from The Anti-Gravity Handbook (Lost Science) by D. Hatcher Childress):

21
Although no ancient texts on Atlantean Vailixi are known to exist, some information has come
down through esoteric, "occult" sources which describe their flying machines. Similar, if not
identical to Vimanas, Vailixiwere generally "cigar shaped" and had the capability of
maneuvering underwater as well as in the atmosphere or even outer space. Other vehicles, like
Vimanas, were saucer shaped, and could apparently also be submerged.

According to Eklal Kueshana, author of "The Ultimate Frontier," in an article he wrote in

1966, Vailixi were first developed in Atlantis 20,000 years ago, and the most common ones are,

"saucershaped of generally trapezoidal cross-section with three hemispherical engine pods on

the underside."

"They use a mechanical antigravity device driven by engines developing approximately 80,000
horse power." place, some ten or twelve thousand years ago between Atlantis and Rama using
weapons of destruction that could not be imagined by readers until the second half of this
century. The Ramayana, Mahabarata and other texts speak of the hideous war that took

The ancient Mahabharata, one of the sources on Vimanas, goes on to tell the awesome
destructiveness of the war: ".

..(the weapon was) a single projectile

charged with all the power of the Universe.
An incandescent column of smoke and flame
As bright as the thousand suns rose in all its splendor...

An iron thunderbolt,
A gigantic messenger of death,
Which reduced to ashes
The entire race of the Vrishnis
And the Andhakas.

... the corpses were so burned

As to be unrecognizable The hair and nails fell out;
Pottery broke without apparent cause,
And the birds turned white.

... After a few hours

All foodstuffs were infected...
... to escape from this fire

22
The soldiers threw themselves in streams
To wash themselves and their equipment..."

It would seem that the Mahabharata is describing an atomic war! References like this one are not
isolated; but battles, using a fantastic array of weapons and aerial vehicles are common in all the
epic Indian books. One even describes a Vimana-Vailix battle on the Moon! The above section
very accurately describes what an atomic explosion would look like and the effects of the
radioactivity on the population. Jumping into water is the only respite.

When the Rishi City of Mohenjodaro was excavated by archeologists in the last century, they
found skeletons just lying in the streets, some of them holding hands, as if some great doom had
suddenly overtaken them. These skeletons are among the most radioactive ever found, on a par
with those found at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ancient cities whose brick and stone walls have
literally been vitrified, that is-fused together, can be found in India, Ireland, Scotland, France,
Turkey and other places. There is no logical explanation for the vitrification of stone forts and
cities, except from an atomic blast. Furthermore, at Mohenjo-Daro, a well planned city laid on a
grid, with a plumbing system superior to those used in Pakistan and India today, the streets were
littered with "black lumps of glass." These globs of glass were discovered to be clay pots that
had melted under intense heat!

Still, not all UFO activity can be accounted for by old Vimanas making trips to the Moon for
some reason. Undoubtedly, some are from the Military Governments of the world, and possibly
even from other planets. Of course, many UFO sightings are "swamp, gas, clouds, hoaxes, and
hallucinations, while there is considerable evidence that many UFO sightings, especially
"kidnappings" and the like, are the result of what is generally called "telepathic hypnosis." One
common thread that often runs between "Alien kidnappings," "sex with aliens," and other "close
encounters of a third kind" is a buzzing in the ears just before the encounter. According to many
well informed people, this is a sure sign of telepathic hypnosis."

Mercury Engines: Additional information on the mercury engines used in the vimanas can be
found in the ancient Vedic text called the Samarangana Sutradhara. This text also devotes 230
verses to the use of these machines in peace and war. We will not provide the whole description
of the mercury vortex engine here, but we will include a short part of William Clendenon's

23
translation of the Samarangana Sutradhara from his 1990 book, Mercury, UFO Messenger of
the Gods:

"Inside the circular air frame, place the mercury-engine with its electric/ultrasonic mercury
boiler at the bottom center. By means of the power latent in the mercury which sets the driving
whirlwind in motion, a man sitting inside may travel a great distance in the sky in a most
marvelous manner. Four strong mercury containers must be built into the interior structure.
When those have been heated by controlled fire from iron containers, the vimana develops
thunder-power through the mercury. At once it becomes like a pearl in the sky."

This provides a most simplistic idea of the potential of the mercury engines. This is one kind of a
propulsion mechanism that the vimanas of Kali-yuga may use. Other variations are also
described. Not only do these texts contain directions on how to make such engines, but they also
have been found to contain flight manuals, aerial routes, procedures for normal and forced
landings, instructions regarding the condition of the pilots, clothes to wear while flying, the food
to bring and eat, spare parts to have, metals of which the craft needs to be made, power supplies,
and so on. Other texts also provide instructions on avoiding enemy craft, how to see and hear
what occupants are saying in enemy craft, how to become invisible, and even what tactics to use
in case of collisions with birds. Some of these vimanas not only fly in the sky, but can also
maneuver on land and fly into the sea and travel under water.

24
25
Sculpture of the Pushpaka vimana, as a temple flying in the sky.

26
Vimāna is a flying palace or chariot described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics which was
controlled by the mind. The Pushpaka Vimana of the demon king Ravana (which was taken from
Lord Kubera, and returned to him by Rama) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas
are also mentioned in Jain texts.

Vedas: First of all we need to understand that the Vedic conception of universal time is divided
into different periods. For example, a period called one day of Brahma is equivalent to
4,320,000,000 of our years on earth. Brahma's night is equally as long and there are 360 of such
days and nights in one year of Brahma. Each day of Brahma is divided into one thousand cycles
of four yugas, namely Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and finally the Kali-yuga, which is
the yuga we are presently experiencing. Satya-yuga lasts 1,728,000 years, and is an age of purity
when all residents live very long lives and can be fully developed in spiritual understanding and
mystical abilities and remarkable powers.

Some of these abilities, or mystic siddhis, include changing one's shape, becoming very large or
microscopically small, becoming very heavy or even weightless, securing any desirable thing,
becoming free of all desires, or even flying through the sky to wherever one wanted to go on
one's own volition. So at that time, the need for mechanical flying machines was not necessary. It
is explained that it was not until the beginning of Treta-yuga that the development
of vimanas took place. In fact, Lord Brahma, the chief demigod and engineer of the universe, is
said to have developed several vimanas for some of the other demigods. These were in various
natural shapes that incorporated the use of wings, such as peacocks, eagles, swans, etc.
Other vimanas were developed for the wiser human beings by great seers of Vedic knowledge.

In the course of time, there were three basic types of vimanas. In Treta-yuga, men were adept
in mantras or potent hymns. Thus, the vimanas of that age were powered by means of knowledge
of mantras. In Dvapara-yuga, men had developed considerable knowledge of tantra, or ritual.
Thus, the vimanas of Dvapara-yuga were powered by the use of tantric knowledge. In Kali-yuga,
knowledge of both mantra and tantra are deficient. Thus, the vimanas of this age are known
as kritaka, artificial or mechanical. In this way, there are three main types of vimanas, Vedic
airplanes, according to the characteristics of each yuga.

27
Of these three types, there is listed 25 variations of the mantrika vimanas, 56 variations of
the tantrica vimanas, and 25 varieties of the kritakaah vimanas as we find today in Kali-yuga.
However, in regard to the shape and construction, there is no difference between any of
these vimanas, but only in how they were powered or propelled, which would be
by mantras, tantras, or mechanical engines.

Ramayana: The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic, composed some time in the 5th century
BCE It could be describing events from almost 5114 BCE. In the the ancient Hindu text the
Ramayana, the pushpaka ("flowery") vimana of Ravana is described as follows:

"The Pushpaka Vimana that resembles the Sun and belongs to my brother was brought by
the powerful Ravana; 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.'"[3]

Valmiki who wrote Ramayana about 5900-600 CBE mentioned the word ‘Vimana‘ atleast 19
times in his epic poem.Sita mentioned 3 different types of Vimanas in Ramayana (Ayodhya
Kanda, 27 Sarga), where she wishes to follow her husband to forest exile.
Ravana used jumbo jet, helicopter etc, while Indrajit used Fighter-Jet and Vanaras used silent air-
gliders. It is the first flying vimana mentioned in existing Hindu texts (as distinct from the gods'
flying horse-drawn chariots). Pushpaka was originally made by Vishwakarma for Brahma, the
Hindu god of creation; later Brahma gave it to Kubera, the God of wealth; but it was later stolen,
along with Lanka, by his half-brother, king Ravana. Some modern writers claim that Valmiki.
who wrote about Vimanas in Ramayana has only imagined flying machines in his era.
If that was just imagination, then why only Valmiki imagined them and why not other writers in
these thousands of years ever wrote about them ?
Did they lack imagination ?

Vimanas are mentioned even in Mahabharata and many other ancient Indian scriptures like
Puranas.

28
प्रासाद अग्रैः विमानरैः िा िरहायस गतेन िा |

सिव अिस्था गता भतैः्व पादच ् चाया विशिष्यते || २-२७-८

Translation : Protection under the feet of the husband is better than being on top of a lofty
building or in aerial cars or in moving through the sky or in attaining all types of positions.
(Ayodhya Kanda, 27 Sarga)

When Sumatra enters Rama’s palace, he notices houses(rooms) similar to flying divine cars.
(Ayodhya Kanda, 15 sarga)

ततोऽद्रिकूटाचलमेघसन्नन भं |

महाविमानोपमिेश्मसंयत
् म्|

अिायवमाणैः प्रवििेि सारथथैः |

प्रभत
ू रत्नं मकरो यथाणविम ् || २-१५-४९

Translation : Then, that Sumantra entered Rama’s palace, which was like top of a mountain, like
an unmoving cloud, which contained houses equal to excellent divine cars, like crocodile
entering the ocean containing a number of precious stones. Nobody obstructed him.

When Bharata meets Rama after his exile, he sees the bed of Dharbha grass and wonders how a
Prince like Rama and his wife Sita slept on grass blades, while they were supposed to sleep in
palaces similar to flying chariots of Gods.

प्रासाद अग् विमानेष् िलभीष् च सिवदा |

हरम राजत भौमेष् िर आस्ररण िाशलष् || २-८८-५

Translation : Having ever dwelt in palaces, the upper apartments resembling the chariots of the
gods and in turrets, furnished with excellent carpets decked with heaps of flowers, perfumed with

29
sandal and aloes, like unto a bright and towering cloud, re-echoing to the cries of parrots,
suprassing the finest of palaces, which wre cool and fragrant with perfules…

Hanuman, upon entering Ravana’s palance in Lanka for the first time, sees Pushpak Vimana
(Sundara Kanda, 7 Sarga) and also feels Ravana’s palace is as big as a flying plane.

नारी प्रिेकरर् इि दीप्यमानम ् |

तडिद्शभर् अम्भोदिद् अर्चयवमानम ् |

हंस प्रिेकरर् इि िाह्यमानम ् |

थिया य्तम ् खे स्क्ऱ्ताम ् विमानम ् || ५-७-७

Translation : Being shone by the best among women like a cloud by lightening, being
worshipped, like being carried by the best swans, like an aerial car full of splendor, of good
people in sky.

प्ष्प आह्ियम ् नाम विराजमानम ् |

रत्न प्रभाशभैः च वििर्वमानम ् |

िेश्म उत्तमानाम ् अवप च उर्चच मानम ् |

महा कवपैः तर महा विमानम ् || ५-७-११

Translation : There the great Hanuma saw a great aerial car, the best among best of aerial cars,
shining with the name of Pushpaka with the rays of precious stones, and capable of traveling
long distances.

Entire description of Pushpak Vimana was given through Hanuman in Sundara Kanda, 8th
Sarga.

30
िहन्नत यम ् क्ण्ििोशभतानना |

महािना व्योमचरा ननिाचराैः |

विित्त
ृ विध्िस्तवििाललोचना |

महाजिा भूतगणाैः सहस्रिैः || ५-८-६

Translation : Hanuma saw that aerial plane which rakshasas who were great eaters, with a face
beautified by earnings, who roamed around in the sky(space) and thousands of genii with round
eyes, crooked eyes and wide eyes capable of great speed carrying it.

Vyomachara (Vyoma = sky/space + chara = travellers).

Here, Valmiki’s description matches with modern day pilots wearing round goggles around their
eyes.

Valmiki also mentions Vimanas in Kandas of Ayodhya 27-8; 15-49, 17-18, 88-5; Aranya 32-15,
35-19, 42-9, 48-6, 50-11; Kiskindha 50-30, 51-5, Sundara 7-7, 8-1, 8-2, 5, 8; 9-19, 11; 11-34, 12-
14, 25.
At many other instances Valmiki has described separately the flying by Yogic Siddhi, at
Ayodhya 27-8, Vimana taking away the dead to the Heaven at Ayodhya 64-5017, and the
Vimana of Gods at Aranya 24-2418 Thus Valmiki has differentiated the real and imaginary
aeroplanes Yuddh. 123-22.

He also mentions different layers of atmosphere in which different sizes Vimanas could fly.
Sampati talks to Angada and describes them. (Kishkinda Kanda, 58th Sarga)

जानामि वारुणान ् लोकान ् ववषणोोः त्रैववक्रिान ् अवि |

दे व असुर वविदााि ् च हि अित

ृ स्य च िंथनि ् || ४-५८-१३

Translation : I have seen the netherworlds of Rain-god viz., earth and its substrata like atala.
vitala, sutala, paataala terrains… and I have even seen those empyrean worlds that were triply

31
trodden by Vishnu, and the intermediary regions of upper and lower worlds where gods and
demons combated ghastlily, and because I am that aged I have also seen the unseeable Milky
Ocean when it was churned for ambrosia.

Pushpaka Vimana is described similar to a huge Jumbo Jet in Sundara Kanda and Yuddha
Kanda. Vibhishana says that after lunch Rama can reach Ayodhya before sunset if he travels in
Pushpaka Vimana.
He says with Pushpaka Vimana, about 2200 KM can be travelled in less than 5 hours.
Which means it can travel at 440 KMPH. It Carried Rama, Sita, Lakshmana along with entire
Vanara army. So it must be of great dimension.

There were other varieties like fighter jet (used by Indrajit in war to travel at supersonic
speeds and emits smoke), Helicopter (used by Ravana to abduct Sita from middle of forest,
which landed and took-off without any landing-strip).While Ravana’s army flew in bunches on
Vimanas, Vanaras flew individually in their flying machines.This description of Vanaras flying
suggests that they might have gliders floating on the air currents which were noiseless.
All the Vanaras were not able to fly, only a few could fly and they formed a platoon or a flying
squad. Rama ordered this flying squad to fly forward and search for Daityas (Ravana’s men)
hidden in pits or forests or castles.
When they okayed the route, the rest of Vanara army was to march ahead.
This arrangement is just like the modern war tactics. The capacity of their flights was measured
in Yojanas.
Jambavanta says, he can fly 80 yojanas as he became old.
Angada says he can fly 100 Yojanas i.e. minimum 400 miles, at a stretch but was not sure of
returning.
Hanuman had a much greater capacity, almost limitless.

There are many descriptions of flying machines that broadly fall into two categories:

(1) Manmade aircrafts that resemble our modern airplanes, and

(2) Alien structures that are generally built by either the architects of Devas or Asurs and
resemble the modern perception of UFOs.
32
The FIRST of this category are described mainly in medieval Sanskrit literature dealing with
architecture, siege engines, and other mechanical contrivances. Those in the SECOND category
are described in ancient works such as the Rig Veda, the Mahabharat, Ramayan, and
various Puraans, and have many features reminiscent of UFOs.

We will deal with the second category first as their references are more in number, and seem to
be more authentic as well. Perhaps everyone who knows anything about Hinduism, or has
heard/read the Ramayan, would know about Pushpak Vimaan, the aircraft which belonged to
Ravan, the king of Lanka.
Not many, however, would have heard about the architect of this aircraft - Maya Danav.

Maya, the gifted Asur conjurer

In Hindu history, Maya (Sanskrit: मय), or Mayāsura (मयासुर) was a great ancient king of

the asuras, daityas and rākṣasa races. Maya was known for his brilliant architecture.
In Mahabharatha, Mayasabha – the hall of illusions – was named after him. Mayasura had
befriended a snake named Takshaka and lived with him in the area of Khandavprastha along

33
with his family and friends but when the Pandavas came there after the partition
of Hastinapur, Arjun burnt the entire forest, forcing Takshaka to flee away and killing everyone
in the forest. So, Mayasura decided to surrender to the Pandavas. Krishna was ready to forgive
him and for this act, Mayasura built a very grand palace named Maya-Mahal, where
the Pandavas would perform the Rajsuya Yagna. He also offers him gifts like, a bow,
a sword and many more. He also gave a mace to Arjuna's brother Bhima. Maya was the foremost
of architects among the Asurs and a formidable rival to Vishwakarma, the architect-of-the-gods.
He was the father-in-law of Ravan and is credited with marvelous feats of engineering performed
not only for the demons but also for Devas and humans. To list a few of these, Maya built the:

1. Three flying cities of Tripura for the sons of Tarkasur,

2. The island city of Lanka for Kuber and
3. the Palace-of-illusions for the Pandavs at Indraprastha.

Besides these architectural wonders, he also wrote the astronomical treatise called the 'Surya-
siddhant' that forms the basis of Indian astronomy even today! Combining his knowledge of all

34
these principles, he perhaps took the next step and created the flying vehicles or Vimaans. Maya
himself, is believed to have possessed a Vimaan measuring twelve cubits in circumference, with
four strong wheels.

The Pushpak Vimaan

Pushpak was originally designed for Kuber, the god-of-wealth, but was usurped by his half-
brother, Ravan along with his island city of Lanka. There are various passages in the Ramayan
that talk about the wonderful qualities of this aerial vehicle:

कांचनि ् रथि ् आस्थाय कािगि ् रत्न भूविति ् |

विशाच वदनैोः युक्ति ् खरै ोः कनक भूिणैोः || ३-३५-६
िेघ प्रतति नादे न स तेन धनद अनुजोः |
राक्षसाधध- ततोः श्रीिान ् ययौ नद नदी ितति ् || ३-३५-७

That chariot which is decorated with golden ornaments, yoked with monster-faced mules that
have gem studded trappings is ride-able by the wish of the rider, and sitting in such a chariot
which is wholly golden and which rides with a sound like the pealing of thunder, that celebrated
Ravan, the brother of Kuber and the lord of demons, traveled towards the lord of rivers and
rivulets, namely the ocean.
So, the Pushpak was an aerial vehicle, navigable by thought, shimmering like the Sun, with a
thunderous noise and could travel anywhere across the globe. Sounds like a cross between a
UFO and one of our modern supersonic planes!

वप्रयाअ- ््वप्रयतरं लब्धं यदिं ससहृ

ु ज्जनोः- || ६-१२२-२२
सर्- ्ैभव
ा द्मभ- सहितोः प्रीततं लप्सस्ये िरु ीं गतोः |

Shri Raam said - Something more dearer than everything dear will be achieved by me, if I reach
Ayodhya with the host of my friends along with all of you, for, I shall feel delighted.

This is when Vibhishan, the brother of Ravan and the newly crowned king of Lanka tells the
Lord, that the aircraft can carry as many people as the Lord would want to accomodate!

ततह् स िुषिकं हदव्यं सुग्रीवोः सि वानरै ोः || ६-१२२-२४

आरु- ्ोि िुदा युक्तोः सिात्यश्च ववभीिणोः |

35
Thereupon, that Sugreeva along with the monkeys gladly ascended that wonderful Pushpaka, the
aerial car. Vibhishan together with his counselors also ascended it.

तेषवारू- ्ेिु सवेिु कौबेरि ् िरिासनि ् || ६-१२२-२५

राघ- ्ेणाभ्यनुज- ञातिुत्िि- त वविायसि ् |

When all of them ascended, that excellent aerial car, belonging to Kuber, flew into the sky, after
having been duly authorized by Rama.

Pushpak Vimaan - Pahari miniature painting

खगतेन मिवानेन िंसयुक्तेन- भास्वता || ६-१२२-२६

प्र- ्ृषटश्चि ्- तीतश्च बभौ रािोः कुबेरवत ् |

36
Feeling greatly rejoiced and satisfied while travelling in that splendid aerial car, which was now
in the air and was provided with the image of a swan, Rama shone like Kuber.

ते सवे वानरक्षाश- ््च राक्षसाश्च- ििाबलाोः || ६-१२२-२७

यथा- ्ुखिसंबाधं हदव्ये तस्स्िन्नुि- ्ाववशन ् |

All those mighty Vanars, bears and demons sat comfortably and spaciously in that wonderful
aerial car.

Another such description is found in the Ayodhya Kand [XVI, pp. 235-236]-
The splendid chariot, made of silver, and bright like the fire itself, making a noise like the
roaring of the clouds; defying all obstacles, adorned with jewels and gold, dazzling to the
eyesight and bright, went speedily on, making space resound like unto the muttering cloud in the
sky. He issued out of his abode like the beautiful moon passing through a huge cloud.

In Sri Lanka, the Pushpak Viman is referred to as the Dhandu Monara or the Flying-Peacock and
even today there exists a place called Weragantota in Lanka whose name implies 'The-Landing-
Place-of-Aircraft- '!! Not far from there is another place called Gurulupotha (parts-of- -birds)
where he is supposed to have the aircraft-repair center!
One of the 6 airports of Ravan – Weragantota is seen in the map. This implies that it is more
than likely that the Pushpak Vimaan DID actually exist and was perhaps the last aircraft of its
kind before the advent of our so called modern age.

37
Other References to Vimaans -Vastushastra (architecture)

According to Vastushastra, Vimana of the Temples is the creation of Brahma and represent the
‘aerial chariots’ of the gods, but also refers to seven-storey palaces. According to the 11th-
century Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra (chapter 49), long ago Brahmā created five prime Vimānas for
gods:
1. Vairāja for Brahmā himself,
2. Kailāśa for Śiva,
3. Puṣpaka for Kubera,
4. Maṇika for Varuṇa,
5. Triviṣṭapa for Viṣṇu,

1. Like these Brahma created so many other Vimānas meant for the use of other gods such as
Sūrya, etc.—having of course the shapes etc. in the likeness with those of the deities using them.
It is from the self-same five shapes of Vimānas that later on, Brahmā created the Prāsāda. They
are to be built in towns and are made of stone or burnt bricks.

38
2. Vimāna (वविान) refers to a type of temple (prāsāda) classified under the group named

Vairāja, according to Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra chapter 49. The Vairāja group contains twenty-
four out of a sixty-four total prāsādas (temples) classified under five prime vimānas (aerial
car/palace), which were created by Brahmā for as many gods (including himself). The group
represents temples (eg. Vimāna) that are to be square shaped. The prāsādas, or ‘temples’,
represent the dwelling place of God and are to be built in towns. The Samarāṅgaṇasūtradhāra is
an 11th-century encyclopedia dealing with various topics from the Vāstuśāstra.

Vimāna is also listed in the Agnipurāṇa which features a list of 45 temple types. It is listed under
the group named Vairāja, featuring square-shaped temples. This list represents a classification of
temples in Nort-India.

3) Vimāna can also refer to a “residence” in general, according to the lists of synonyms given in
the Mayamata XIX.10-12 and the Mānasāra XIX.108-12, both populair treatises on Vāstuśāstra.

4) Vimāna can also refer to the tower above the main shrine (consisting of six parts, ṣaḍvarga).
Source: Shodhganga: Development of temple architecture in Southern Karnataka

The definition of vimāna, according to the Texts, is that part of the structure starting from upāna,
the lowest member of the plinth to the stūpi, i.e., the finial of the structure. Upāna is the mo
ulding found throughout the temple building. But the stūpi is found only at the apex of the tower
abo ve the sanctum. Therefore, the definition applies to the sanctum part only, but the tower abo
ve the sa nctum is al so called by the name vimāna.
Source: Digital Library of India: Bharatiya Vastu-sastra volume 1

5.Vimāna (वविान):—The common word denoting the ‘temple’ is Vimāna (dwelling of God), in

practically all the manuals on architecture e.g., in the Mānasāra, buildings of one to twelve
storeys are called Vimānas (XVIII). There is a great metaphysical or more correctly a
cosmological truth embedded in this word.

6.The Vāyu-purāṇa (IV.30-31) says:—“To measure (mā) is to make a thing by giving shape to it
and existence”. Vimāna, therefore, measured in its parts, is the form of God, which is this
Universe, the macrocosm, and the temple the microcosm. To measure, as the Samarāṅgaṇa-

39
sūtradhāra has aptly said, is to create—there is an idntity between the measure and the object.
Whatever is produced is called meya.

7.Dr. Kramrisch has very beautifully brought out the significance of the word denoting and
connoting temple both in its architectural and spiritual implications—“The temple as Vimāna,
proportionately measured throughout, is the house and body of God. By temple is understood the
main shrine only in which is contained the Garbhagṛha, the womb and house of the Embryo, the
small, innermost sanctuary with its generally square plan.”

The definition of vimāna according to the Texts is that part of the structure starting from upāna,
the lowest member of the plinth (adhiṣṭhāna), to the stūpi i.e. the finial of the structure.
According to the texts, the temple should consist of six main parts (ṣaḍvarga) in the elevation.
They are adhiṣṭhāna, bhitti, prastara, grīva, śikhara and stūpi. The Texts refer to this part
as vimāna. In this ṣaḍvarga, tower consisting of tiers is not included. The tower is then an
optional member. Therefore the use of the term vimāna for the tower above is ambiguous. It may
refer to the main shrine or to the tower above it.

Vimāna (विमान, “tower”) refers to a common concept found in the ancient Indian “science

of architecture” (vāstuvidyā).—Śikhara (for north Indian temples) or vimāna (for south Indian
temple) is the tower over the garbhagṛha.

Vimana is the structure over the garbhagriha or inner sanctum in the Hindu temples of South
India and Odisha in East India. In typical temples of Odisha using the Kalinga style of
40
architecture, the vimana is the tallest structure of the temple, as it is in the shikhara towers of
temples in West and North India. By contrast, in large South Indian temples, it is typically
smaller than the great gatehouses or gopuram, which are the most immediately striking
architectural elements in a temple complex. A vimana is usually shaped as a pyramid, consisting
of several stories or tala. Vimana are divided in two groups: jati vimanas that have up to
four tala and mukhya vimana that have five tala and more. In North Indian temple architecture
texts, the superstructure over the garbhagriha is called a shikhara. However, in South Indian
Hindu architecture texts, the term shikhara means a dome-shaped crowning cap above
the vimana. When it comes to temple architecture in South Bharath (India), the Vima:na Go:pura
(structure over inner sanctum) is a beautiful key element.

41
Vimana is the tower over sanctum sanctorum. It should not be confused with gopuram. Gopuram is
the tower over main entrance.

The

42
Even though both Vimāna and Śikhara refer to structures built over the sanctum in a temple, the
term Vimāna is used in Drāviḍa and Kaliṅga architecture styles, while Śikhara is the usual term
in Nagara, Mārū-Gurjara, Hemādapantī and most of Karnāṭa styles.
Drāviḍa style architecture also uses the term Śikhara, but it refers to the topmost part of the
structure, and almost invariably a cupolic dome.
This term is used in Drāviḍa and Kaliṅga architecture styles.
The Drāviḍa style Vimāna is usually the tallest part of the temple/temple complex in early
Drāviḍa style temples/temple complexes while later Drāviḍa style temples/temple complexes
saw gateways being constructed higher than the sanctum structures. Drāviḍa style architecture
also uses the term Śikhara, but it refers to the topmost part of the structure, and almost invariably
a cupolic dome.
The Kaliṅga style Vimāna is invariably the highest part of the temple — in case of a temple
complex, the highest structure is that of the main temple (temple of the presiding deity). Kaliṅga
style Vimāna resemble either Nagara style Latina Śikhara (male deities, termed Rēkhā deuḷa) or
Drāviḍa style Gōpuram-type gateway towers (female deities, termed Khakhara deuḷa).

Other Celestial Aircrafts: Pushpak is not the only aircraft mentioned in so much detail.
The Mahabharat mentions such celestial crafts in many passages as well!
During his quest for celestial weapons before the Mahabharat War, Arjun was invited by Indra to
spend some time in Amravati. Indra's charioteer Matali came to pick him up and this is how the
description goes:

And on this sunlike, divine, wonderful chariot the wise disciple of Kuru flew joyously upward.
When becoming invisible to the mortals who walk the earth, he saw wondrous airborne chariots
by the thousands.

And the celebrated Arjuna, having passed through successive regions of the heavens, at last
beheld the city of Indra. And there he beheld celestial cars by thousands stationed in their
respective places and capable of going everywhere at will, and he saw tens of thousands of such
cars moving in every direction!
- Mahabharat [Book 1, Chapter 25 Indralokgamana Parva]

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While in heaven, Arjun helped Indra curb the Asur menace and assisted his father in a few
battles:
When the Daityas were being slaughtered they again took to their vimana and, employing the
Danava science, flew up into the sky . . . I (Arjuna) assaulted their vimana . . . Wounded by the
flight of deadly-accurate iron missiles, the Asura vimana fell broken to the earth . . . Matali
swiftly descended earthward, as in a steep dive, on our divinely effulgent car.

Again, in the Swargaohan Parva, when Indra's spacecraft comes to pick up Yudhhishthir, this is
the description given:

Then Dharma and Indra and the other deities, causing Yudhishthira to ascend on a car, went to
the celestial region. Those beings capable of going everywhere at will, rode their respective
aerial cars. King Yudhishthira, riding on his car, ascended quickly, causing the entire sky to
blaze with his effulgence.

These passages talk about aircrafts or space-ships. Further support for the Vimaans comes from
the Puraans like Shrimad Bhagvat Puraan. There is an entire battle that rages at the port city of
Dwarka which is caused by a disgruntled king called Salva and his out-of-the-world airplane:

Lord Siva said, "So be it." On his order, Maya Danava, who conquers his enemies' cities,
constructed a flying iron city named Saubha and presented it to Salva. [SB 10.76.7]

This unassailable vehicle was filled with darkness and could go anywhere. Upon obtaining
it, Salva went to Dvaraka, remembering the Vrishnis' enmity toward him. [SB 10.76.8]

At one moment the magic airship built by Maya appeared in many identical forms, and the next
moment it was again only one. Sometimes it was visible, and sometimes not. Thus Salva's
opponents could never be sure where it was.[SB 10.76.21]

From one moment to the next the Saubha airship appeared on the earth, in the sky, on a

44
mountain peak or in the water. Like a whirling, flaming baton, it never remained in any one
place.[SB 10.76.22]
There are other such passages too concerning other characters from the Puranic history:
Having spoken thus, Maharaja Nriga circumambulated Lord Krishna and touched his crown to
the Lord's feet. Granted permission to depart, King Nriga then boarded a wonderful celestial
airplane as all the people present looked on.[SB 10.64.30]
As soon as the symptoms of his liberation were manifest, he saw a very beautiful airplane
coming down from the sky, as if the brilliant full moon were coming down, illuminating all the
ten directions.[SB 4.12.19]

Dear King Dhruva, neither your forefathers nor anyone else before you ever achieved such a
transcendental planet. The planet known as Vishnuloka, where Lord Vishnu personally resides,
is the highest of all. It is worshipable by the inhabitants of all other planets within the universe.
Please come with us and live there eternally.[SB 4.12.26]
-----
O immortal one, this unique airplane has been sent by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who
is worshiped by selected prayers and who is the chief of all living entities. You are quite worthy
to board such a plane.[SB 4.12.27]
It may be difficult for us to believe that such technology existed in those ancient times because
we have been conditioned to believe that modern time is the 'Golden age of science'. But, what if

45
our ancients were more advanced than us??

Etymology of Vimana: The Sanskrit word vi-māna (वविान) literally means "measuring out,

traversing" or "having been measured out". Monier Monier-Williams defines Vimana as "a car or
a chariot of the gods, any self-moving aerial car sometimes serving as a seat or throne,
sometimes self-moving and carrying its occupant through the air; other descriptions make the
Vimana more like a house or palace, and one kind is said to be seven stories high", and quotes
the Pushpaka Vimana of Ravana as an example. It may denote any car or vehicle, especially a
bier or a ship as well as a palace of an emperor, especially with seven stories. In some Indian
languages like Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi, vimana or vimanam means "aircraft", for
example in the town name Vimanapura (a suburb of Bangalore) and Vimannagar, a town in
Pune. In another context, Vimana is a feature in Hindu temple architecture.

46
A study by aeronautical and mechanical engineering researchers at the Indian Institute of
Science, Bangalore, in 1974 concluded that the aircraft described in the text were "poor
concoctions" and that the author showed a complete lack of understanding of aeronautics.
Regarding the "Rukma Vimana", the study noted, "If the craft is taken to mean what the drawing
and the text say, it can be stated that the craft is a decided impossibility".

Vimana Shastra the book: Subbaraya Shastry a mystic from Anekal, reputed to speak out
verses (slokas) whenever he got inspiration, described as "a walking lexicon gifted with occult
perception". On his wanderings he meets the Sage Kolar who reveals to him the secrets of
Vimana Shastra. Afterwards, Shastri is settled into normal life. Shastri had no formal schooling
and learnt to read and write only after returning from his encounter with the saint. It is unlikely
the text was his own invention.
He dictated the text to G. Venkatachala Sharma in the early 1900s (completing it in 1923).
According to the history unearthed by Mukunda et al. Subbaraya Shastry died in 1941, and
Venkatachala took his manuscripts into keeping. The Vaimānika Śāstra manuscript appeared at
Rajakiya Sanskrit Library, Baroda by 1944. The text was published in Hindi in 1959 and later in
English by G.R. Josyer, titled Vymanika Shastra. Josyer's edition also added illustrations drawn
by T. K. Ellappa, a draughtsman at a local engineering college in Bangalore, under the direction
of Shastry, which had been missed in the 1959 edition.

Its existence was first announced publicly in a 1952 press release by G.R. Josyer, who had
founded his "International Academy of Sanskrit Research" in Mysore the year before. In the
foreword to the 1973 publication that contained the full Sanskrit text with English translation,
Josyer quotes a 1952 press release of his which was "published in all the leading dailies of India,
and was taken up by Reuter and other World Press News Services":

Mr. G. R. Josyer, Director of the International Academy of Sanskrit Research in Mysore, in the
course of an interview recently, showed some very ancient manuscripts which the Academy had
collected. He claimed that the manuscripts were several thousands of years old, compiled by
ancient rishis, Bharadwaja, Narada and others, dealing, not with the mysticism of ancient Hindu
philosophy of Atman or Brahman, but with more mundane things vital for the existence of man

47
and progress of nations both in times of peace and war. [...] One manuscript dealt with
Aeronautics, construction of various types of aircraft for civil aviation and for warfare. [...] Mr.
Josyer showed some types of designs and drawing of a helicopter-type cargo-loading plane,
specially meant for carrying combustibles and ammunition, passenger aircraft carrying 400 to
500 persons, double and treble-decked aircraft. Each of these types had been fully described.
Josyer then tells how he was visited by "Miss Jean Lyon, journalist of Toronto and New York"
for an interview, and how Lyon in her Just Half a World Away (1954) concluded that he was
"guilty of a rabid nationalism, seeking to wipe out everything since the Vedas".

A critical review pronounced Josyer's introduction to be "least scholarly by any standards" and
said that "the people connected with publication – directly or indirectly – are solely to blame
either for distorting or hiding the history of the manuscripts", perhaps in an attempt to "eulogise
and glorify whatever they can find about our past, even without valid evidence". By tracing the
provenance of the manuscript, interviewing associates of Shastry (including G. V. Sharma to
whom the text was originally dictated), and based on the linguistic analysis of the text, the
review concluded that it came into existence sometime between 1900 and 1922.

Structure: Unlike modern treatises on aeronautics that begin by discussing the general principles
of flight before detailing concepts of aircraft design, the Vaimānika Shāstra starts with a
quantitative description, as though a particular aircraft is being described. The topics covered
include, "definition of an airplane, a pilot, aerial routes, food, clothing, metals, metal production,
mirrors and their uses in wars, varieties of machinery and yantras, planes like ‘mantrik’, ‘tantrik’,
and ‘kritak’" and four planes called Shakuna, Sundara, Rukma, and Tripura are described in
greater detail. The extant text is claimed to be only a small (one-fortieth) part of a larger
work Yantra Sarvaswa ("All about machines"composed by Maharishi Bharadwaj and other sages
for the "benefit of all mankind".

48
An illustration of the Shakuna Vimana that is supposed to fly like a bird with hinged wings
and tail.

49
An astonishing book that will lead to rewrite the history of mankind. An unexplored world, a
journey beyond the boundaries of human history. From over five thousand years India and
Pakistan seem to guard jealously a forgotten past, a secret locked inside of the oldest traditions
that human history knows. The journey starts from an highly evolved civilization but fall into
oblivion, a culture that left to posterity a huge amount of texts transmitted orally and later
merged into Hinduism. Traditions that speak of lost civilizations, wars fought between men and
gods with highly advanced technologies and machines capable of flying in the air and in space
called Vimana. Following the tracks and studies conducted in the ’70s by David William
Davenport, has set new light on the events that led to the destruction of the city of Mohenjo Daro
(Pakistan) and the disappearance of the Harappan civilization tying their story to submerged
ruins discovered in the Indian Ocean and dated back to 10,000 years ago.

50
J. B. Hare of the Internet Sacred Text Archive in 2005 compiled an online edition of Josyer's
1973 book, in the site's "UFOs" section. In his introduction, Hare writes:

The Vaimānika Śāstra was first committed to writing between 1918 and 1923, and nobody is
claiming that it came from some mysterious antique manuscript. The fact is, there are no
manuscripts of this text before 1918, and nobody is claiming that there are. So on one level, this
is not a hoax. You just have to buy into the assumption that 'channeling' works. ... there is no
exposition of the theory of aviation (let alone antigravity). In plain terms, the VS. never directly
explains how Vimanas get up in the air. The text is top-heavy with long lists of often bizarre
ingredients used to construct various subsystems. ... There is nothing here which Jules
Verne couldn't have dreamed up, no mention of exotic elements or advanced construction
techniques. The 1923 technical illustration based on the text ... are absurdly un-aerodynamic.
They look like brutalist wedding cakes, with minarets, huge ornithopter wings and dinky
propellers. In other words, they look like typical early 20th century fantasy flying machines with
an Indian twist.

A 1974 study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, found that the
heavier-than-air aircraft that the Vaimānika Śāstra described were aeronautically unfeasible. The
authors remarked that the discussion of the principles of flight in the text were largely
perfunctory and incorrect, in some cases violating Newton's laws of motion. The study
concluded:

Any reader by now would have concluded the obvious – that the planes described above are the
best poor concoctions, rather than expressions of something real. None of the planes has
properties or capabilities of being flown; the geometries are unimaginably horrendous from the
point of view of flying; and the principles of propulsion make them resist rather than assist
flying. The text and the drawings do not correlate with each other even thematically. The
drawings definitely point to a knowledge of modern machinery. This can be explained on the
basis of the fact that Shri Ellappa who made the drawings was in a local engineering college and
was thus familiar with names and details of some machinery. Of course the text retains a
structure in language and content from which its 'recent nature' cannot be asserted. We must

51
hasten to point out that this does not imply an oriental nature of the text at all. All that may be
said is that thematically the drawings ought to be ruled out of discussion. And the text, as it
stands, is incomplete and ambiguous by itself and incorrect at many places.
The authors expressed puzzlement at the contradiction and errors in the Vaimānika Śāstra text,
especially since its compilers supposedly had access to publications that did not make such errors
(such as Dayanand Saraswati's commentary on the Rigveda published in 1878 or earlier).

2015 Indian Science Congress ancient aircraft controversy

The 102nd Indian Science Congress held at the Mumbai University in January 2015 organised a
session on "ancient sciences through Sanskrit" in which a presentation on Vaimānika Śāstra was
included. It was delivered by Anand J. Bodas, a pilot, and Ameya Jadhav, who holds in an M.A.
in Sanskrit as well as an M.Tech. degree. Bodas, speaking to the news media, has said that the
aeroplanes of Vedic times could fly not only from country to country, but also "from planet to
planet." "In those days, aeroplanes were huge in size, and could move left, right, as well as
backwards, unlike modern planes which only fly forward," he added. Ram Prasad Gandhiraman,
a NASA scientist, launched an on-line petition demanding that the talk be cancelled as it
represents pseudo-science.
Vaimānika Shāstra and vimanas are also mentioned in works about pseudoscience such
as Regal's Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia.
• In 2010, 'Prapaatha', a Kannada language film made by K. Suchendra Prasad, has a story line
where a young man tries to find out works of Subbaraya Shastry.
• In 2015 Hindi film Hawaizaada, Vaimānika Shāstra has been shown as the main theory
book to build "India's first unmanned plane". The book was shown by Pandit Subbaraya
Shastry (portrayed by Mithun Chakraborty), who originally wrote it.
• In 2016, 'Vyamanika' is a duo album recorded by Kit Downes on church organ and Tom
Challenger on saxophone in five Suffolk churches on the slipimprint recording lab

Aeronauticial Shivkar Bāpuji Talpade (1864 – 1916( was an Indian scholar who is said to
have constructed the first unmanned airplane in 1895. Talpade lived in Mumbai and
studied Sanskrit literature and the Vedas.

52
Talpade was born in the Chira Bazaar neighborhood of Mumbai, Maharashtra in a Pathare
Prabhu family. He completed his school education in Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art.
During his time there he came to know about stories describing ancient Indian aeronautics
through his teacher Chiranjilal Verma, who led Talpade to read Dayanand Saraswati's works
related to ancient aeronautics, such as ‘Rigvedādic Bhāshya Bhumikā’ and ‘Rigved and
Yajurveda Bhāshya’. However, some sources also suggests that his works were based on the
work done by Maharishi Bharadwaja in the Rigveda. Inspired by these texts he decided to
construct the Vedic Vimāna described in the Vedas, and started learning Vedic
Sanskrit language.

53
Pratap Velkar, the principal source for most information on Talpade,[2] says that Talpade also
studied the achievements of aviation pioneers such as Thomas Alva Edison, who flew in a
balloon, and machine gun inventor Hiram Maxim, who made a captive steam-driven aircraft.
According to Velkar, Talpade studied these flights, which inspired him to make an aircraft and
fly. Some theories also state that he was inspired by the Vaimānika Shāstra which was said to be
earlier orally transmitted from Rishi Bharadwaja to Pandit Subbaraya Shastry.[2]
Marutsakhā : Talpade's airplane was named Marutsakhā, derived from the Sanskrit Marut ('air'
or 'stream') and sakhā ('friend') which together mean 'Friend of wind'. As suggested by D. K.
Kanjilal's 1985 Vimana in Ancient India: Aeroplanes Or Flying Machines in Ancient
India, Marutsakhā is supposed to have been inspired from Vimāna, ancient flying-machines
in Hindu mythology. He states that the contemporary reports in the Marāthi-language
newspaper Kesari attested to the purported flight, however the article on it was written only in
1952.
Contemporary accounts of a successful flight or evidences of such an achievement are scarce and
the technical feasibility is dubious. The technical basis of the Vedic Ion Design which was
supposedly used by Talpade has been debunked by research into the technological feasibility of
such flights.[3] Various versions suggest he used a kind of urine or mercury as fuel.
One of Talpade's students, Pt. S. D. Satawlekar, wrote that Marutsakhā sustained flight for a few
minutes. According to K.R.N. Swamy "a curious scholarly audience headed by a famous Indian
judge and a nationalist, Mahadeva Govinda Ranade and H H Sayaji Rao Gaekwad, respectively,
had the good fortune to see the unmanned aircraft named as ‘Marutsakthi’ take off, fly to a
height of 1500 feet and then fall down to earth". Mahadev Govind Ranade and Sayajirao
Gaekwad III were also said to be present during the flight test.[8] Pratap Velkar in
"Maharashtracha Ujwal Itihaas" however contradictes such claims, stating that "It wasn't a well-
publicized event. It was more like a sporting event. Apart from a few curious onlookers, the only
people present were some friends who had showed up to watch him."

Moreover, Valjar states that Marutsakhā was apparently a cylindrical structure made of bamboo
and filled with liquid mercury. The contraption was supposed to fly when the mercury reacts
with sunlight to release hydrogen, which is lighter than air. But, according to Velkar, the plane
did not get very high or stay up too long; it rose to a small height and crashed within minutes. A

54
former Indian defense scientific officer, D. H. Bedekar, stated in 2004 that Marutsakhā failed to
operate to its full design limits due to technical reasons.
After the experiment, Marutsakhā apparently was stored at Talpade's house until well after his
death. Velakara quotes one of Talpade's nieces, Roshan Talpade, as saying the family used to sit
in the aircraft's frame and imagine they were flying. There are various versions of where the
plans went—according to one it was taken by Rallis Brothers, which is owned by Tata Sons,
or Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Talpade's documents were taken by G. H. Bedekar, who
worked with the Ministry of Defence and some passed on to HAL, though the aviation historian
Anuraddha Reddy was unable to find them.. Bedekar refused to share Talpade's documents but
stated that they show that he was unsuccessful. The Vaimānika Shāstra states that he had tried to
build an aircraft but was unsuccessful.

Movie made on the life of Talpade

55
56
ADDITIONAL INTERESTING INFO

57
Kavya Vaddadi , a B-Tech, Aeronautical Engineering. Head of Education & Awareness,
Ancient Technology Division, Maarks Aerospace and Marine Services is the Author, Technical
Researcher on Vimana shasthra. And has interpreted of Sanskrit shlokas into technical
meanings,

• 2D drawings and 3D modelling,

• Assemblies of Vedic Vimanas,
• Computational Fluid Dynamics fluid flow analysis of Vimanas,
• Static Structural analysis of vimanas and
• Heat Transfer Thermal analysis on Vimana materials.

58
Project Ideology on Mini Rukma vimana Unmanned Air vehicle was been selected to National
Aerolympics Project, Aeronautical Society of India and received Best team Award. My name
has been mentioned in Telugu newspaper.

2. My name is Recorded as“Marvellous Design Engineer of Vimana Project” in “Marvellous

Records Book of India”
3. Ancient Aliens Show, History channel did my Interview, I've been shown in the episode
"Voices of the Gods" for recreating Marutsakha vimana design. My vimana model has been 3D
printed and has been done wind tunnel testing in California University, Irvine.
As said in History channel "Kavya Vaddadi, Aircraft Design Engineer, Delhi, India was able to
recreate Marutsakha vimana...."
3D model has been shared by Kavya to Aerospace systems engineer Dr. Travis Taylor and
Giorgio Tsoukalos. Ancient vimana showing positive results as an aircraft would. This is a good
scientific experiment performed on Vimana model and the results of this vimana made from the
texts is a viable aerodynamic structure. It is flight worthy.
Books:
1st Book "Vimanas and the Wars of the Gods"Link to buy book:
https://enigma.stores.streetlib.com/en/enrico-baccarini/vimanas-and-the-wars-of-the-gods/
and
2nd book "Reverse Engineering Vedic Vimanas"
1. Paper Title: Rukma Vimana Prototype
Book name- IAARHIES 12th International Conference on Engineering, Technology and
Computer Science ICETCS – 2016. ISBN: 978-81-925978-6-7
Paper Presentation- Saint Petersburg, Russia
2. Paper title- Mercury Ion Engine of Ancient Aeronautics
Book name- 2nd International Space Conference, 2015. ISBN: 978-81-8011-2232
Paper Presentation- Amity University, Greater Noida

59
Vimana VI’ painting by Japanese painter by Yusei Abe

60
 Himalaya Vimana by Sergey Musin | Sci-Fi | 2D | CGSociety

B I B L I O G R A P H Y & References
Reference 1. Read my book son Cosmology of the Lotus and 2. Celestial Mysteries of the
Borobodur temple for the topic on multverses( many universes) on academia.edu

1. The Vimanika Shastra English translation by G.R. Josyer [1973] This is the
English translation of the Vimanika Shastra, which purports to be an ancient
Hindu manuscript on the construction and use of flying machines.
http://upload.vedpuran.net/Uploads/121113the_vimanika_shastra.pdf
2. Vimanas and the wars of the gods: The Rediscovery of a Lost Civilization,Enrico
Baccarini
3. file:///C:/Users/blah/Downloads/VYMAANIKA-SHAASTRA%20(1).pdf
4. http://www.decodinghinduism.com/2015/05/vaimanika-shastra.html
5. VYMAANIKA-SHAASTRA, harish mahavar
https://www.academia.edu/15607297/VYMAANIKA-SHAASTRA
6. https://vaimanika.com/new-light-on-vimana-shastra-2012/#comment-339
7. file:///C:/Users/blah/Downloads/ACriticalStudyOfTheWorkVaimanikaShastra.pdf

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