CONTRIBUTION OF ANCIENT INDIANS TOWARDS SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS & ASTRONOMY AND GREAT INVENTORS OF INDIA
18. AVIATION & SPACE TRAVEL DURING ANCIENT INDIA (By Ved Pal, IRSE, FIE, FIPWE, MBA, Former Chief Administrative Officer, Ministry of Rlys, Govt. of India) 18.1 INTRODUCTION Ancient Indian texts like the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and various Puranas mention Vimanas, describing them as flying chariots or aircraft used by gods, demons, and heroes. These Vimanas are often portrayed as being incredibly advanced, capable of traveling through the sky, interdimensional travel, and even interplanetary journeys. The Pushpaka Vimana, associated with Ravana in the Ramayana, is a well-known example of a Vimana. But there's no archaeological or scientific evidence to support the existence of actual flying machines. Some books and papers were published during 20 th century on the subject of Vaimanik Shastra attributing original authorship to ancient Indian sage Maharshi Bharadwaaj, but most of the scholars didn’t give any credence to this wok. A study team of IISc and western world even ...