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Vaimanika Shastra by Rishi Bharadwaja

Rishi Bharadwaja authored the text of Vaimanika Shastra- The ancient science of Aeronautics.

According to Western Scientists, the science of Aeronautics is only 5000 yrs old.

But we Indians know better.

There is mention of Vimanas and Rathas in Ramayana, Mahabharata, Vedas and various others such works.

We have the famous Pushpaka Vimana of Ravana which he stole from Kubera and after killing him Ramam gets that vimana to Ayodhya.

Then we have the Vimana called Saubha of King Salva in Mahabharata. He uses that to launch an air attack on Dwaraka.

There is a mention of some modes of transport in Rig Veda too which is the oldest text in the human civilization. 

1. Jalayan- a vehicle designed to operate in air and water; 

2. Kaara- a vehicle that operates on ground and in water; 

3. Tritala- a vehicle consisting of three stories; 

4. Trichakra Ratha– a three-wheeled vehicle designed to operate in the air; 

5. Vaayu Ratha- a gas or wind-powered chariot; 

6. Vidyut Ratha- a vehicle that operates on power 

Yajur Veda refers to skilled Engineers who work on these Vimanas and Rathas.

Kathasaritsagara refers to highly talented woodworkers called Rajyadhara and Pranadhara. Rajyadhara was so skilled in mechanical contrivances that he could make ocean crossing rathas. And Pranadhara manufactured a flying ratha to carry a thousand passengers in the air. These chariots were stated to be as fast as thought itself. 

Agastya Samhita talks about 2 types of planes- Agniyana- powered by Hydrogen and Vimanadvigunam- like a parachute

Rishi Bharadwaja wrote this text in Sanskrit. This Shasta has 8 chapters, 100 sections, 500 principles and 3000 slokas.

He explains what a Vimana is in his first sutra as;

Vega-Saamyaat Vimaano Andajaanaam. 

"Owing to similarity of speed with birds, it is named Vimaana." 

Andaja means egg-born. So vimanas are like birds.

Rishi Bharadwaja though was not the first person to talk about Vimanas. In his bibliography he talks of 6 other people who were his predecessors whom he credits for their work.

They are;

1. Naaraayana- Vimaana-Chandrikaa, 

2. Shownaka- Vyomayaana-Tantra,

3. Garga- Yantra-Kalpa, 

4. Vaachaspathi- Yaana- Bindu, 

5. Chaakraayani- Kheta-yaana Pradeepikaa and 

6. Dhundinaatha- Vyomayaana-Arkaprakaasha

Bharadwaja in this shastra explains about how the vimanas can be operated, how to use different sources of energy for powering the vimanas, the various metals and alloys required for making these vimanas, the different types of vimanas, the qualifications of a pilot, his dress, his food etc.

The aircrafts were classified into 3 types; Mantrika, Tantrika, Kritaka.

During Krita Yuga, dharma was well established and hence people could travel to various places with the help of their ashtasiddhis.

In treta Yuga, Mantrika type of aircrafts where used where the pilots could fly the planes with the helps of mantras. There were 25 such vimanas in Treta Yuga including the Pushpaka Vimana.

The aircraft used in Dwaparayuga were called Tantrikavimana, flown by the power of tantras. Fifty six varieties of aircraft including Bhairava and Nandaka belong to this Yuga. 

The aircraft used in Kaliyuga, the ongoing yuga, are called Kritakavimana, flown by the power of engines. Twenty-five varieties of aircraft including “Sundara”, “Shukana” and “Rukma” belong to this era. 

This shastra was implemented in reality by some people whose examples I am going to quote now. 

Example 1: Shivkar Bapuji Talpade

He was from Bombay and was a Sanskrit and Vedic scholar. He and his wife who was also a Sanskrit and Vedic scholar worked on an aircraft which was based on the Ion-Engine theory.

They powered the aircraft which was called Marut Sakha or Friend of wind with the help of Mercury and Solar energy and the design was based on Bharadwaja’s treatise. The plane combined the constructional characteristics of both “Pushpaka” and “Marut Sakha”, the sixth and eighth types of aircraft described by Bharadwaja. 

The plane was demonstrated on the Chowpatty Beach of Bombay in 1895, 8 years before Wright brothers flew the ‘first’ aircraft! It flew to 1500 feet in the air and was witnessed by many great people including Justice Mahadeo Govind Ranade and Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad, the king of Baroda. It was also reported in ‘The Kesari’ which was a leading daily newspaper during that time.

But unfortunately this discovery was lost in time because of the British rule and their pressure on Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad to not fund the project which put a stop on the experiments conducted by Shivkar Bapuji Talpade. That is how this story ends.

Example 2: The Academy of Sanskrit Research in Melkote, near Mandya, had been commissioned by the Aeronautical Research Development Board, New Delhi, to take up a one-year study, ‘Non- conventional approach to Aeronautics’, on the basis of Vaimanika Shastra of Bharadwaja. As a result of the research, a glass-like material which cannot be detected by radar has been developed by Prof Dongre, a research scholar of Benaras Hindu University. A plane coated with this unique material cannot be detected using radar. 

This was also done by us. But unfortunately, this kind of research is not being undertaken these days. It could be because of the gap in knowledge and implementation or some other. We will never know.

But if someone does come forward to undertake this kind of research, we must support the man/woman with whatever we can afford!

Hope you liked the writeup and were inspired by our ancestors and the technological prowess we had. Do follow me on all social media handles and also subscribe to my YouTube channel for more such videos and information.

You can check out the video on Vaimanika Shastra below.

https://youtu.be/y9iFSWZHOk8

Namaste.