Vaimanika Shastra

SUMMARY – A study of the work “Vymanika Shastra” is presented. First, the historical aspects and authenticity of the work are discussed. Subsequently, the work is critically reviewed in respect of its technical content. It appears that his work cannot be dated earlier than 1904 and contains details which, on the basis of our present knowledge, force us to conclude the non feasibility of heavier‐than-air craft of earlier times. Some peripheral questions concerning dimensions have also been touched upon.

1. Historical Aspects
1.1 ORIGIN
A book titled “Brihad Vimana Shastra” by Shri Bramhamuni Parivrajaka was published in the year 1959 [1]. It contains verses in Sanskrit (describing aircraft) with their Hindi translation.
Recently, another book titled “Vymanika Shastra” by Shri G.R. Josyer has appeared [2], which contains the same Sanskrit verses with their English translation. One notable feature of this English version is that it contains drawings of some crafts too, something not to be found in the Hindi version. Also, the English work by Josyer makes no mention whatsoever of the earlier work in Hindi.
Our main concern in this report will be with the above two works.
These books contain verses which, according to their texts, are supposed to form only part (about a fortieth) of “Yantra Sarvaswa” by sage Bharadwaja, which is devoted to a summary of the work on vimana vigyana by a number of other sages and is said to be for the benefit of all mankind.
1.2 DATING OF THE WORK
In his introduction to the “Brihad Vimana Shastra” (hereafter denoted as BVA) the translator has tried to hind at the Vedic origin of the text. In support of this he has invoked Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati’s work entitled “Rigaveda Bhashya Bhumika” [3]. Also, some quotations from western scholars are given in support of the clain for antiquity.
According to Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati’s commentary (first published in 1878 or earlier), there are references to aircraft in the Vedic mantras:

….going from one island to another with these crafts in three days and nights….and

Just an intelligent people constructed ships to cross oceans…..jumping into space speedily with a craft using fire and water…..containing 12 stamghas (pillars), one wheel, three
machines, 300 pivots, and 60 instruments.
These, however, are too vague, scanty, and totally inadequate to date their (verses) content to the Vedic period. Further, we are afraid we may be attributing meaning to shlokas based on what we know today. (More on this in Section 1.5).
The manuscript from which BVS was prepared as said to have been available a the Rajakiya Sanskrit Library, Baroda, in 1944. It is also stated in BVS that later another transcript was found in Poona with a signature and dates “go venkatacala sharma 9 ‐ 8 ‐ 1919″ set on it. BVS has been written on the basis of the above two transcripts which are essentially the same. It may be noted that in the introduction to BVS gratitude has been expressed to Air Com. Goel who probably has something to do with the procurement of these documents.
1.3 AUTHORSHIP
As already stated, the authorship of the work has been attributed to Maharshi Bharadwaja. Whether this Maharshi is the same as one of the seven seers (Saptarshis) is by no means substantiated. Thus the question of authorship remains as yet unanswered. It is possible, however, to throw more light on the situation. In his introductory remarks in the book Vymanika Shastra (VS from hereon) Josyer states that Pandit Subbaraya Shastry of Anekal dictated the verses to Shri G. Venkatachala Sharma (G.V. Sharma from hereon). No further details of the process in which the work came into existence have been given in VS.
However, we were able to locate Shri G.V. Sharma and Shri Venkatarama Shastry (adopted son of Pandit Subbaraya Shastry) with help from a retired scholor from the Tirupati Sanskrit Library, Shri Srinivasa Iyengar, who seems t have played some part in transactions relating to the transcripts in question. Discussions with both Shri Sharma and Shri Venkatarama Shastry cleared up many points concerning the history of the documents.
Shri G.V. Sharma was a close associate of Pandit Subbaraya Shastry (Shastriji from hereon) during his later years. It appears that Shastriji, who was supposedly endowed with certain mystical powers, used to spell out shlokas (verses) whenever he got inspiration. These used to be promptly taken down by Shri Sharma. After the full text had been so dedicated, copies were made which later found their way to several places, Most of this and other similar materials were kept in charge of Shri Venkatrama Shastry after the death of Shastriji in 1941.
The existence of the manuscript was known in some circles and that probably is how Air Com. Goel came to know of it and had it procured from the Baroda University Library sometime during 1944.
Sometime during 1951, Shri Josyer established an organization, called International Academy of Sanskrit Research. An exhibition of rare manuscripts was held during the inaugural function. Shri M.C. Krishnaswamy Iyengar, another associate of Shastriji, (who has published the English translation of the autobiography of Shastriji [4]) took some of the manuscripts, including the “Vymanika Shastra”, and had them exhibited there. Subsequently, the original manuscript and the drawings were procured and retained by Shri Josyer. The drawings were not contained in the transcripts which reached the Baroda University Library. That perhaps is why BVS lacks the drawings.
1.4 AUTHOR’S LIFE SKETCH
The authorship, as stated earlier, has been traced to Shastriji. It may be worth recording some of his life history to appreciate the situation in a better perspective. Following is a brief life sketch of Shastriji summarized from reference [4]. It appears that the autobiography was written to fulfil a promise made to Jagdish Chandra Bose (the well ‐ known scientist) by Shastriji, during one of the discussion meetings at Bombay.
Shastriji was born in a small village in Hosur Taluk (Madras State) and got married at the age of eight. His parents died a few years later and he was forced to support the large family, including brothers and sisters, virtually by begging. Subsequently, he went to stay with his father ‐ in ‐ law, but soon had to leave with his brothers and sisters, looking for alms at other towns. Thereafter, things got worse. Sometime later, his sisters and one of his three brothers died of small ‐ pox. He himself got such a severe attack that he no longer could move or use his own hands. His brothers perforce had to leave him to himself and move away. He had to live on grass and other leaves, like and animal, for a period of time. He then came to an area near Kolar (Karnataka) in a most pitiable state. It is stated that there he met a great saint, referred to as Guruji Maharaj in the text. This saint cured him of his terrible disease, initiated him into spirituality and revealed to him secrets of many shastras like Vimana Shastra, Bhautik Kala Nidhi, Jala Tantra, etc. in a cave.
Later on, Shastriji came back to Anekal and settled down with his wife to a quiet life. Circumstances forced him to adopt Shri Venkatarama Shastry as his son. Because of innate spirituality and mysticism, he came to influence many people, some wise, some rich, and some both. He then made several trips to Bombay and dictated Parts of Vimana Shastra there. He had the drawings (of aircraft) made sometime between 1900 and 1919 by someone called Ellappa who was a draughtsman in a local engineering college at the time.
Shastriji had no formal training (for schooling) of any kind. He learnt to read and write Telugu and Kannada scripts only when he came back after meeting Guruji Maharaj. His early boyhood and youth were spent in braving some of the worst calamities that can befall a man.
What appears strange in the whole matter is that Pandit Subbaraya Shastry, who apparently was not a ‘pnadit’ in anyordinary sense, dictated a work and nowhere in it did his name appear. Also, it was written as though Maharshi Bhadadwaja were its author. Any possible fraud in the matter, in our opinion, is out of the question sine Shastriji was known for his utter simplicity, humble and un[pretentious nature. It is also stated in his autobiography that he was unsure of the practicality of the ideas propounded in Vymanika Shastra. (The theory itself is highly unsound in our view). Also stated one late Dr. Talpade (of Bombay) tried to make models under the guidance of Shastriji, but that he was not successful in making any of then fly.
1.5 DISCUSSION
The dating of the work VS may be approached from other angles: (a) The kind of Sanskrit used in the text may indicate whether or not the text is of Vedic origin.
The text contains Shlokas set to anushtupa metre and its language is quite simple and modern. Again, in its introduction, BVS mentions that a few words did have a structure similar to that of the Vedic Sanskrit. The number of such words being very small, and their usage being incidental, it appears appropriate to conclude that the Sanskrit used in the text is modern. (b) Another significant point is the almost complete absence of any mention of use of aircraft in the innumerable Sanskrit texts of the post ‐ Vedic age. One text, namely “Samarangana Sutradhara”, by Bhoja deals with some description of aircraft, but does not quote any earlier work. What is more, Bhoja states that detailed description of their construction and other features will not be given lest the same be used for evil purpose by people? (We are tempted to remark that he did not know!)
The most important of texts like Ramayana and Mahabharata make no mention of the use of aircraft for travel, military, or war purposes. The ‘Pushpak Vimana’ of Ramayana, as described therein, has no flying qualities except possibly by invocation of ‘mantras’ or ‘tantras’. Of course, a discussion of whether these existed at all is undecideable within the realm of science and is beyond the scope of this paper.
Thus it appears to us from internal and related evidence that the work VS is of recent origin.
Despite these and other facts mentioned earlier Shri Josyer states in the introduction to his book [2] that the work is several thousand years old; the book in Hindi [1] tends to hint at the vedic origin of the text.
What we feel unfortunate in history is that some people tend to eulogise and glorify whatever they can find about our past, even without valid evidence. In the absence of any evidence, efforts will be made to produce part of the evidence in favour of antiquity. The above two works are by no means exceptions to this, in particular the recently published book. In fact the introduction to Reference [2] is least scholarly by any standards. We feel that the people connected with publication – directly or indirectly – are solely to blame either for distorting or hiding the history of the manuscripts.
1.6 CONCLUSIONS
Thus the work “Vymanika Shastra” was brought into existence sometime between 1900 and 1922 by Pandit Subbaraya Shastry by techniques unclear to us at the moment. The only evidence in favour of Maharshi Bhardwaja being the author is the textual statement and nothing more.
2. Technical Survey And Criticism
2.1 GENERAL
A general treatise on any subject, particularly as complex as aeronautics, starts off with an enunciation of the basic principles involved and subsequently discusses the integration and development of these principles into a technology. This is indeed so with any of the treaties on modern science or technology. Contrary to this, the Vymanika Shastra gets down to details right away; even here there is no expression of any kind of generality. The different parts (of aircraft) are quantitatively described as though a particular plane were being described.
The science of aeronautics requires an understanding of a number of disciplines: aerodynamics, aeronautical structures, propulsive devices, materials, and metallurgy. The subject works lay uncalled for emphasis on propulsive devices and structures, but little or no emphasis on aerodynamics. It is worth pointing out that the history of aeronautics (western) in regard to production of heavier ‐ than ‐ air craft is studded with initial failures, significantly traceable to a non ‐ understanding of aerodynamics [5].
The works [1,2] under discussion contain description and details on the 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’. Details about four planes in the ‘kritak’ category – Shakuna, Sundara, Rukma, and Tripura – are also given.
We will address ourselves principally to the above mentioned four planes; the discussion will be on the basis of principles, geometry, materials, chemistry, and operational data.

2.2 SHAKUNA VIMANA
2.2a General – As the name suggests, this vimana (plane) is like a bird. It is supposed to contain the following parts: Peetha (floor board), hollow mast, three wheeled keelakas (hinges) with holes, four heaters, air suction pipes, water jacket, oil tank, shakuna yantra, two wings, tail portion to enable the vimana to fly, owshyamaka yantra or heat engine, etc.
It has several tiers, each one containing different yantras (machines). The drawings show parts like cylinder, piston worm gear, and pumps which seem entirely modern (beyond 18 th century)
2.2b Principles – A few lines have been devoted to the function of wings and tail and they appear to be incorrect. From what is given in the following verses:

It appears that great importance is given to the tail portion for the generation of lift. Also the function of the hinge wings becomes unclear in this context. It may be noted that it is the wings which should contribute to the life of the craft and the tail portion to its controllability.
2.2c Geometry – The height and width of the craft, in our opinion, are in such proportion as to put its stability in serious question. There are inconsistencies in the dimensions mentioned in the
verses and those given in the drawings. For

Here the dimensions are as follows. The floor board height is 80 feet; its width and length are 56 feet each. The latter dimensions are different in the drawings, being 80 and 25 feet respectively. In the verses, ‘vitasti’ is used as a unit of length while in the drawings ‘foot’ is adopted. The value of vitasti varies from 9 inches to a foot depending upon the situation in which the term is used. Here it appears as though vitasti has been equated to a foot at all places.
2.2d Operational data – There are no statements on the capabilities of this craft.
2.2e Materials – There is mention of a number of materials. The floor board is made of ‘raja loha’. This material, supposedly, is to be made from ‘prana kshara’ (ammonium chloride), Bengal gram, benzoin, mercury borax, mica, silver, and ‘panchamrita’(!), all mixed, heated to 800 ‘kaksha’ (unit of temperature), and poured out. There is a number of other materials described herein.
2.2f Comments – It must be pointed out here that the essential idea of flying like a bird has been tried by many people (abroad) over several centuries right from the time of Leonardo ‐ da ‐ Vinci, but without any success whatever. Hence the feasibility of a craft of the above type is a near impossibility. Furthermore, the author – whoever he be – shows a complete lack of understanding of the dynamics of the flight of heavier ‐ than ‐ air craft.

2.3 SUNDAR VIMANA
2.3a General – This plane meant for flight only in the air has five tires and a number of parts.

These are: ground plate, smoke chimney, five gas engines, metal pipe wind blower, electricity generator, four faced heater, and outer cover.
2.3b Principles – The place has been described in considerable detail though no basic principles of operation have been mentioned. From what may be salvaged as principles, we have the following: electricity is generated by some means (what appears to be a combination of friction, heat, solar rays, waterfall etc.) through use of ‘jyotirmukha’ and several other materials including sixteen ‘drona’ measures of donkey’s urine! The use of 80 ‘link’ of electricity is expected to vaporize oil. Also, steam is generated separately. It appears that by operating some switches, these two (oil and steam) can be mixed to produce 500 ‘kaksha’ heat. These are then passed through a pipe called ‘shundala’ (like elephant’s trunk) for purposes of propulsion. Further there is detailed description of some machinery. Looking into drawings and the text leads one to conclude that air is sucked from the bottom, and hot gases are allowed to exhaust through pipes toward the top. And this is expected to produce force to life the plane up a statement which is a gross violation of Newton’s laws. It may be mentioned that there are verses which imply such violations clearly:

“……….The fast movement of the plane takes place in the same direction in which the jet gets out of shundala..”
The shloka has been set with a question mark in BVS. However, in VS Shri Josyer seems to have edited the relevant part of the verse into
… svayameva vimanasya gamanam …
Because of this editing, meanings of the verses don’t tie in properly. In fact, this editing was totally uncalled for and should not have been done. If it was to be performed, it should have been indicated as such.
2.3c Geometry & operational data – It has the shape of a cone ‐ cylinder combination, with a base diameter of 32 feet, cylinder height of 20 feet, and cone height of 29 feet. The whole geometry appears to be one of a mobile factory, if anything, and much less of an aircraft. The speed of smoke from the gas engine (dhoomodga yantra) is said to be 2113 ‘link’. Wind speed from ‘nala stambha’ is said to be 600 ‘link’. Speed of the craft is given in:

Four hundred yojanas are covered in one ghatika.
Ghatika has a standard implication of 24 minutes. Yojana has an implication of about 8 to 10 miles (some interpret yojana to mean more). Even with the smaller figure the craft speed amounts to 8000 mph – fantastic figure by any standards. It may be noted that no aircraft of today has attained such speed inside the atmosphere.
2.3d Chemistry & materials – One of the vessels used for production of electricity is expected to be filled with apamarga, sampasya, and ayaskanta soaked in elephant’s urine mixed with mercury. Another vessel is to be filled with cow’s urine, and so on. There are several other descriptions in a similar vein without any possible sense.

2.4 RUKMA VIMANA
2.4a General – This plane has a five tier structure, with passenger cabins on the third tier. The plane is meant for flight only in the air.
2.4b Principles – This aircraft is the one which some of us thought meaningful quite some time back while studying BVS. AT that time VS (containing the drawings) was not available. From BVS we conclude that there were long vertical ducts containing fans at the top. The direction of airflow was not indicated in the text. We presumed, therefore, that upward flight would be feasible by running the fans to suck air from the top and send it down the ducts, generating a lift in the process, essentially like a vertical takeoff and landing craft (VTOL).
In the text it is stated that lift is generated by the beating of ‘ayahpinda’ wheels against the floor board. Electrical tube wheels are supposed to aid flight in a manner not discussed at all. The purpose of fans has not been indicated in the text, whereas in the figure they have been captioned as “lifting fans”. Further, like in other crafts, the static stability is in some doubt.
2.4c Geometry – The geometry is again a cylinder ‐ cone combination with a base diameter of 100 feet, height of 20 feet, and cone height of 80 feet. The text mentions a dimension of 1000 feet for the base.

However, the drawing shows only 100 feet. This is a geometrical contradiction.
2.4d Operational data – The Description mentions a speed of 105 kroshas per ghatika amounting to a speed of 625 mph (compared to the speed of sound of about 760 mph). This is an incredible speed even for a sleek aircraft and just impossible for the kind of geometry used.
2.4e Materials – A number of materials is mentioned principal among which is ‘raja loha’.
2.4f Comments – If the craft is taken to mean what the drawings and the text say, it can be stated that the craft is a decided impossibility.

2.5 TRIPURA VIMANA
2.5a General – This plane is supposed to fly in air, and move water and land. When moving over water the wheels are to be retracted.
2.5b Principles – No mention of any principles of operation has been made. Power is said to be generated from the generator from the generator at the top using sun’s rays and some acids in a manner not described. The general description and the diagrams seem to indicate the use of electric motors which were known only in the 19 th century. 2.5c
Geometry & operational data – It is oval shaped in plan with a length of 100 feet and maximum width of 24 feet. The height of the craft is 30 feet. No operational data have been given.
2.5d Materials – In order to prevent water from seeping into the craft, when it is moving over water, it is said to be covered with a cloth known as milk cloth ( kshirapata ). Also the description of an alloy has been given which is supposed to be light and fire resistant.
3. General Comments and Conclusions
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 then 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 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.
A large number of verses has been devoted to the metallurgical and material aspects, as stated earlier.
Also, a number of cross references indicated in BVS belong to the subject of materials. (Incidentally, these references are not to be found in VS.) This is understandable since our people were leaders in this field in earlier times. A number of materials made of iron, brass, and bronze, in existence since times immemorial and even till this day, are proofs enough of this feature.
Yet the description of materials and their making in the text do not seem to make much sense from the point of view of making them in actual practice.
Be this as it may, the text raises some peripheral questions. One of them concerns the kind of units used. The basic text uses ‘vitasti’ for length, ‘link’ for speed, ‘kaksha’ for heat, & ‘link’ again for electrical force. The units of speed and temperature are new and, to the best of our knowledge, do not have any easily decipherable meaning. Some effort was made to determine the internal consistency of these units, but this did not prove successful.
Also, no data have been given about the weights of crafts and their components. This is serious since weight is fundamental to the flying of heavier ‐ than ‐ air machines. Moreover, the unit of mass does not even appear anywhere is the text.
REFERENCES
1. Swami Bramhamuni Parivrajaka, “Brihad Vimana Shastra”, Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha. Dayanand Bhavan, New Delhi, 1959.
2. G. R. Josyer, “Vymanika Shastra”, Internaitonal Academy of Sanskrit Research, Mysore ‐ 4.
3. Dayananda Saraswati, “Rig ‐ veda Bhashya Bhumika”, Vydika Yantralaya, Ajmer, 1929.
4. G. Venkatachala Sharma, The Autobiography (in English of Pandit Subbaraya Shastry), published by M. C. Krishnaswamy Iyengar, and C. Venkatachala Sharma.
5. Theodore von Karmen, “The Aerodynamics”, McGraw Hill Company, 1963.
6. Editor’s comment – In this context, it must be pointed out that Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati (MDS) in his commentary on the Rigveda (reference 3 above, published first in 1878 or earlier), has also something to say on the subject of movement of aircraft in different directions.
In his comments (on the verses given in Sub ‐ section 1.2 of this article) MDS says:
“……..One of them to halt the craft, one to make it move forward, and the third to make it move backwards. …There be 60 instruments, some working at one time and the others at other times. ….In other words, to lift the lane up, the top openings for steam must be closed and to bring the craft down, steam should appropriately be allowed to exhaust from the top. Similarly, to propel the aircraft eastward, eastward steam openings must be closed and westward ones opened: to take the plane in the westward direction, westward steam openings should be shut and eastward ones opened; and so on for movements in the north and south directions. And there be no mistakes in this. …There are many more verses on the subject (of aircrafts), but the wise will get the idea from whatever little is given here.”
The statements above would appear to indicate complete accord with the Newton’s laws of motion. Contradictions apparent in the verses and drawings in [1] and [2] are quite puzzling, especially when one considers the fact that [3] was supposedly available when [1] and [2] were compiled.
From indiadivine.org

First Aircraft Was Built by an Indian?

The First Aircraft Was Built by an Indian?
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, are acknowledged to have invented and built the world’s first successful airplane and made the first controlled, powered and sustained flight in 1903. However, in 1895, an Indian, Shivkar Talpade, a drawing teacher from JJ School of Art in Mumbai, is said to have flown an aircraft, Marutsakha, on Girgaon Chowpatty.
Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, an Indian scientist and a Sanskrit scholar along with his wife at chowpathy beach was found more excited and anxious that day. The people around found that something sensational are going to happen there. Some knew what it was, some did not. Some were putting their instinct to work. A huge mass of crowd has accumulated and among them was Shri Sayaji Rao Gaekwa, who was the Maharaja of Baroda during that time and the most influenced famous scholar justice Mahadeva Govin-da Ranade. Everyone there was waiting with anxiety and before that anxiety drowned that miracle happened. Yes! The world’s first unmanned aircraft named Marutsakhā was thrown into the space and it tarred the sky at a velocity of about 40,000 Km/hr. After reaching a height of more than 1500 feet it landed safely without any damage. Between the hustle, talpade was literally appreciated by Maharaja at that moment itself. It was Maharaja’s happiest moment for which he has been waiting for long period. The News was then published in the famous News Paper “Kesari”, the next day.
After the news release in the media, few years later Talpade and Sasthri were jailed by the British Government. Maharaja was warned literally. Few years later, after talpade returned home, his wife passed away and he withdrew his research. After his death in 1916, it is said that his relatives sold some of his important works to few German people. A model reconstruction of Marutsakhā was exhibited at an exhibition on aviation at Vile Parle, and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has preserved documents relating to the experiment.
Shivkar Babuji Thapled from his childhood developed his dreams of flying and getting into space. He was a great Sanskrit scholar and started searching the possibilities of man flying in the space in ancient Indian scripts, Vedas. He thoroughly learned the ancient scripts containing Vimanika Sasthras (Aeronautics Theory). On that fine morning, Talpade was lucky enough to meet Shri Suparaaya Sasthri. Sasthri gave him a bundle of treasures which contained sutras (formulas) of making an aircraft, written by the great rishi Bharadwaja. After this incident Talpade continued his work more seriously than before. Maharaja provided the funds necessary for his project. It may be too hard to believe that modern day aircrafts and even most advanced one are discussed in Vedas which are written some 10,000 years ago. But, Talpade was fully dependent on Rig Veda and Vimanika Sashthra only.
Few years later, a scholar named Acharya mentioned that “Vaimanika Shastra deals about aeronautics including the design of aircraft the way they can be used for transportation and other applications in detail. The knowledge of aeronautics is described in Sanskrit in 100 sections, eight chapters, 500 principles and 3000 slokas including 32 techniques to fly an aircraft. In fact, depending on the classifications of eras or Yugas in modern Kaliyuga aircraft used are called Krithakavimana flown by the power of engines by absorbing solar energies!’ It is feared that only portions of Bharadwaja’s masterpiece Vaimanika Shas-tra survive today.”
Marutshakha was the first model to have an Ion Mercury Vortex Engine. The Vaimanika Shastra describes in detail, the construction of what is called, the mercury vortex engine the forerunner of the ion engines being made today by NASA. The information on the mercury engines can be found in the ancient Vedic text called Samaranga Sutradhara. This text also devotes 230 verses, to the use of these machines in peace and war.
the British bros got to discover airplane just within 9 years from Shivkar Talpade's discovery cannot be mere co-incidence !

It was that era when British empire was plundering India's riches in every possible manner. The wealth looted from India, and other Asian and African countries made industrial revolution and scientific revolution possible in west and today's high standard of living and development of west - especially Western European nations is result of that shameless loot. Not just wealth, but intellectual properties were also robbed !

Shivkar Bapuji Talpade's truth is epic example of what happens with enslaved nation. Those who are admiring British rule over today's politics now a days, 1st should study well how India was colonized and what were its long term effects, and then only make such baseless remarks!
The Mystery of India.com
Sources: Wikipedia, Times Of India,
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Ancient Indian Aircraft Technology

From The Anti-Gravity Handbook

by D.Hatcher Childress

Many researchers into the UFO enigma tend to overlook a very important fact. While it assumed that most flying saucers are of alien, or perhaps Governmental Military origin, another possible origin of UFOs is ancient India and Atlantis. 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. Book number six 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 of devastating wars using such advanced vehicles and other "futuristic weapons" that had destroyed the ancient Indian "Rama Empire" several thousand years before. Only 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 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." 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 and Pakistan developed at least >fifteen thousand years ago on the Indian subcontinent 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 doubledeck, circular aircraft with portholes and a dome, much as we would imagine a flying saucer. It flew with the "speed of the wind" and 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 Sastra, 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 lightning and how to switch the drive to "solar energy" from a free energy source which sounds like "anti-gravity." The Vaimanika Sastra (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.
• 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 seventy authorities and 10 experts of air travel in antiquity.

These sources are now lost. Vimanas were kept in a Vimana Griha, a kind of hanger, and were sometimes said to be propelled by a yellowish-white liquid, and sometimes by 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 forwards 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."

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. Writing 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.

Was Easter Island an air base for the Rama Empire's Vimana route? (At the Mohenjo-Daro Vimana-drome, as the passenger walks down the concourse, he hears the sweet, melodic sound of the announcer over the loudspeaker, "Rama Airways flight number seven for Bali, Easter Island, Nazca, and Atlantis is now ready for boarding. Passengers please proceed to gate number..") in Tibet, no small distance, and speaks of the "fiery chariot" thus:

"Bhima flew along in his car, resplendent as the sun and loud as thunder... The flying chariot shone like a flame in the night sky of summer... it swept by like a comet... It was as if two suns were shining. Then the chariot rose up and all the heaven brightened."

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."

The Vedas, ancient Hindu poems, thought to be the oldest of all the Indian texts, describe Vimanas of various shapes and sizes: the "ahnihotravimana" with two engines, the"elephant-vimana" with more engines, and other types named after the kingfisher, ibis and other animals.

Unfortunately, Vimanas, like most scientific discoveries, were ultimately 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. 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, Vailixi were 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 "saucer shaped 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. The Ramayana, Mahabarata and other texts speak of the hideous war that took 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 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, 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 archaeologists 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 stonewalls 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.

Futhermore, 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! With the cataclysmic sinking of Atlantis and the wiping out of Rama with atomic weapons, the world collapsed into a "stone age" of sorts, and modern history picks up a few thousand years later. Yet, it would seem that not all the Vimanas and Vailixi of Rama and Atlantis were gone. Built to last for thousands of years, many of them would still be in use, as evidenced by Ashoka's "Nine Unknown Men" and the Lhasa manuscript.

That secret societies or "Brotherhoods" of exceptional, "enlightened" human beings would have preserved these inventions and the knowledge of science, history, etc., does not seem surprising. Many well known historical personages including Jesus, Buddah, Lao Tzu, Confucious, Krishna, Zoroaster, Mahavira, Quetzalcoatl, Akhenaton, Moses, and more recent inventors and of course many other people who will probably remain anonymous, were probably members of such a secret organization.

It is interesting to note that when Alexander the Great invaded India more than two thousand years ago, his historians chronicled that at one point they were attacked by "flying, fiery shields" that dove at his army and frightened the cavalry. These "flying saucers" did not use any atomic bombs or beam weapons on Alexander's army however, perhaps out of benevolence, and Alexander went on to conquer India. It has been suggested by many writers that these "Brotherhoods" keep some of their Vimanas and Vailixi in secret caverns in Tibet or some other place is Central Asia, and the Lop Nor Desert in western China is known to be the center of a great UFO mystery. Perhaps it is here that many of the airships are still kept, in underground bases much as the Americans, British and Soviets have built around the world in the past few decades. Still, not all UFO activity can be accounted for by old Vimanas making trips to the Moon for some reason.

Unknown alloys have been revealed in the ancient palm leaf manuscripts. The writer and Sanskrit scholar Subramanyam Iyer has spent many years of his life deciphering old collections of palm leaves found in the villages of his native Karnataka in southern India.

One of the palm leaf manuscripts they intend to decipher is the Amsu Bodhini, which, according to an anonymous text of 1931, contains information about,

• the planets;
• the different kinds of light, heat, color, and electromagnetic fields;
• the methods used to construct machines capable of attracting solar rays and, in turn, of analyzing and separating their energy components;
• the possibility of conversing with people in remote places and sending messages by cable;
• and the manufacture of machines to transport people to other planets!
• Contributed by John Burrows