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 20th
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 termed it
as a poor concoction and a work of fiction. But latest studies by few western
and Indian researchers have thrown new light on this book. Let us have a deeper
look.
18.2 MAHARSHI DAYANANDA SARASWATI’S
RIG-VED BHASHYA BHUMIKA
First written reference on the subject is available in
Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati’s ‘Rig-ved Bhashya Bhumika’ published first in
1878 or earlier). He had stated on movement of aircraft “…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.”
Nothing much is clear from this text. So Rig-Ved gives indication that vimans
existed during ancient India but no other details are available.
18.3 AIRCRAFT BY SHIVKAR BAPUJI TALPADE
Shivkar Bapuji Talpade (1864–1916 CE) was an Indian
instructor at the J.J. School of Art, with an interest in Sanskrit and
aviation. He lived in Mumbai, and is claimed to have constructed and flown an
unmanned, heavier-than-air aircraft named ‘Marutsakha’ (friend of
the air) in 1895 that was built under the guidance of Pandit Subbarāya Shāstry
Two reports on the event are available
for public scrutiny. One by an architect - historian Prathap Velkar and another
by the author KRN Swamy. Even though they differ slightly like the number and
identity of those who attended the event, they are quite identical on what
really counts. Velkar noted that very few common onlookers attended while Swamy
reported that Maharaj of Baroda was in attendance. Both reported that the aircraft was
unmanned and Talpade was never inside the craft at any time.
One of Talpade’s
students, Pt. SD Satawlekar, wrote that ‘Marutsakha’ sustained flight
for a few minutes. Deccan Herald in 2003 stated “scholarly audience headed by a
famous Indian judge and a nationalist, Mahadeva Govin-da Ranade and H H Sayaji
Rao Gaekwad, respectively, had the good fortune to see the unmanned aircraft named
as ‘Marutsakha’ take off, fly to a height of 1500 feet and then fall
down to earth.”
The most detailed work on Talpade has been given by
the architect-turned- historian Pratap MB Velkar (1922-2021 CE) in his
book Maharashtracha Ujwal Itihaas. Velkar, who grew up in Girgaum in South
Mumbai, lived two buildings away from where Talpade had lived, recalled “my father would always point to
the house and tell us about how Talpade had gone about creating his aircraft”
he says. His father had also attended the Chowpatty flight demonstration.
Velkar also came across some essays written by one of Talpade's students, P
Satwalekar. From relatives of Talpade Velkar learnt about how Talpade had gone
about building the aircraft. According to Velkar, Talpade's ‘marutsakha’
was a cylindrical structure made of bamboo. The structure seems to have been
filled with liquid mercury. Talpade based his work on the Vaimanika Shastra
and was guided by Subbaraya Shastry (details about Pt Subbaraya Shastri
given in para 18.2). According to Madhav K Deshpande, a secretary at the Arya
Samaj in Pune, who recently wrote a book in Marathi on the subject and claims
to have found some handwritten notes by Talpade, “The theory of aerodynamics was
always present in our Vedas. What Talpade did, with the help of Shastry, was to
put that theory into motion.” According to Velkar,
after the show at Chowpatty, Talpade tried to raise funds to build another
aircraft. He unsuccessfully asked for funds from the then Maharaja of Baroda
and there is even one recorded instance of his appealing to a group of
businessmen in Ahmedabad. The damaged aircraft, used in the Chowpatty show, was
meanwhile housed in a warehouse in Mumbai's Malad area. According to some
versions, the aircraft was later sold to Ralli Brothers, a Tata company,
and, according to some others, to Hindustan Aeronautics in Bangalore. When
Velkar tried to find out, he learnt from relatives of Talpade that an Air Force
official, Air Vice Marshal (retired) SN Goyal, had taken some parts of the
aircraft and the research papers that Talpade had written, from the family.
When Velkar tried to contact Goyal, he was told that the papers had been passed
on to a Scientific Officer in the Union Defence Ministry, GH Bedekar, who had,
by then, retired and was living in Pune. Velkar concluded “I agree that we have
very little evidence to say whether Talpade was successful or not in creating a
flying machine. But what is interesting is that someone, way back then, had
tried.”
Reasons for non-recognition of Talpade’s work: There
is minimal documentary evidence of Talpade's work, and the details of his
flights are not well-documented. This makes it difficult for historians to
verify his achievements. Secondly Talpade's work occurred in India during a
time when the country was under British colonial rule. The focus of historical
narratives centres on Western inventors like the Wright brothers, who are
recognized for their contributions to aviation in a more documented and widely
publicized context. Another reason may be that Talpade's aircraft reportedly
used a form of propulsion that was not well understood or replicated in
subsequent aviation developments. This raises questions about the technical
feasibility and practicality of his design.
18.4 VAIMANIK SHASTRA ATTRIBUTED TO
MAHARSHI BHARDWAJ
The presently available written text has its origin in
One Pandit Subbaraya Shastry (C. 1866 to 1940 CE). The details about him
are based upon his biography published by MC Krishnaswamy Iyengar, and C.
Venkatachala Sharma which was written to fulfil a promise made to Jagdish
Chandra Bose by Pandit Subbaraya Shastry during one of the discussion meetings
at Bombay.
Pandit Subbaraya Shastri was born in a small village
called Anekal in Hosur Taluk (in erstwhile Madras State, presently in a
major town and taluk of Bengaluru Urban district of Karnataka). During
childhood he went through miseries of death of parents to begging for
livelihood to death of siblings to incapacitation leading to eating grass and
leaves for survival. Finally, he met a great saint, referred to as Guruji
Maharaj who 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. He came back to Anekal, settled down with his wife and adopted Shri
Venkatarama Shastry as his son. He then made several trips to Bombay and
dictated Parts of Vimana Shastra to Shri Gotur Venkatachala Sarma there.
In Introduction of Hindi version (details given in para 18.2.1) Shri Bramhamuni
Parivrajaka has stated that they got transcript copy of 1918 was received from
‘Baroda Rajkiya Sanskrit Library’ and again transcript of 1919 received
in 1959.
However according to GR Josyer (details about Jocyer
given in para 18.4.2), Pandit Subbaraya Shastri began to dictate "Vymanika
Sastra" on 1-8-1918 to his close associate Shri
Gotur Venkatachala Sarma, who took down the whole dictation in 23
exercise books up to 23-8-1923. Subbaraya Shastri had the drawings (of
aircraft) made by one TK Ellappa, a draughtsman in a local engineering college.
In 1923 Pandit Subbaraya Sastry was arrested by British Government during
Non-co-operation movement. He was released, but his activities had to remain
confined. In 1928 he addressed a letter to the Maharaja of Darbhanga for aid in
publication of the manuscripts, but there was no response. After death of
Pandit Subbaraya Shastri in 1931/1940 or so, most of this and other similar
materials were kept in charge of his son Shri Venkatrama Shastry. This work was
showcased in form of a transcript copy in ‘Rajkiya Sanskrit Library, Baroda’.
महर्षिभरद्वाजप्रणीत ‘बृहद विमानशास्त्र’
सम्पादक एवं भाषानुवादकस्वामी ब्रह्ममुनि परिवाजक,
गुरुकुलकांगडी
(हरिद्वार)
सम्पादन स्थान--,
गुरुकुलकांगडी
प्रकाशकसार्वदेशिक आर्य प्रतिनिधि सभा,
दयानन्द भवन,
नई दिल्ली १,
फरवरी १६५८ ई०
18.4.2 ENGLISH TRANSLATION: During
1951, Shri G.R. Josyer, a scholar, Sanskrit enthusiast and author,
established an organization, called International Academy of Sanskrit Research.
An exhibition of rare manuscripts was held during the inaugural function
that was graced by Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur. Shri M.C. Krishnaswamy Iyengar, another
associate of Pandit Subbaraya Shastry and publisher
of the English translation of the autobiography of Pandit Subbaraya Shastry
took some of the manuscripts, including the “Vymanika Shastra”, and exhibited
there. Subsequently, GR Josyer’s first son, GS Josyer contacted Mr. Venkatrama
Sastry and brought the manuscripts, composed a portion of the Manuscripts,
prepared it for the press. With help of many others in 1973 GR Josyer,
published “Vaimanika Shastra” in English as given below:
MAHARSHI BHARADWAAJA'S VYMAANIKA-SHAASTRA
OR SCIENCE OF AERONAUTICS
Part of his unknown work "YANTRA
SARVASVA" or "ALL ABOUT MACHINES" as revealed to venerable
Pandit SUBBARAYA SASTRY and recorded in hand-written Sanskrit
Manuscript Form translated into English by G. R. JOSYER, M.A., Hons.,
F.R.E.S., M.R.S.L. Founder Director, INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF SANSKRIT
RESEARCH, Printed at the CORONATION PRESS, MYSORE 4, INDIA [1973]
In the first chapter it is mentioned “At the outset Maharshi Bharadwaaja
invokes God in the traditional manner for the successful commencement,
progress, and completion of his great literary work. Attaining mastery over the
Vedas by Divine Grace, and studying the works of earlier Aachaaryaas or
preceptors, he has churned the Vedic lore, and extracting the, cream, presented
it to mankind for reaping untold benefits, in the work named 'Yantrasarvasva.'
In the fortieth chapter therein, he deals with the science of Aeronautics,
explaining the construction and use of many kinds of aeroplanes, in 8 chapters,
containing 100 subject heads, comprising 500 sutras or oracular
pronouncements.” [VP1]
It describes
various types of aeroplanes, Layers of atmosphere, areal routes, diet of pilots
for high altitude issues, 32 secrets pilots should know, type of clothes,
emergency nutrition pills, take off, landing, expand and contract the plane,
glowing it in darkness, hear distant voices, take photographs, finding secrets
of enemies, camouflaging the plane etc. The book also mentions 16 types of
alloys that are light weight, unbreakable, fire resistant and generate energy
on absorbing heat. It also talks about Yantadhikaranam (counter-measures),
protection from lightening etc. "Regarding power there is mention
of seven sources of power of the vimaana: fire, earth, air, sun, moon, water
and sky. It also covers various types of yantras, batteries having acid and
crystals, dynamos, wirings, manis (crystals), lenses, mirrors etc
18.4.3 PAPER AT INDIAN INSTITUTE OF
SCIENCE: On 4th January 2015 a paper presented (by
Captain Anand Bodas, a retired pilot and trainer, and Ameya Jadhav) on ancient
Indian aviation technology at the Indian Science Congress claimed that
“Maharshi Bharadwaj’ (an ancient Indian rishi) had given detailed guidelines
for making aircraft. “Maharshi Bharadwaj in Brihadvimanshastra, he has given
500 guidelines,” of the two authors of the paper, said. The Maharishi, he said,
defined an aeroplane as “a vehicle which travels through air from one country
to other, from one continent to other, from one planet to other.” He appealed
to young scientists to attempt to make metal alloys named by the sage in his
book, Vimana Samhita for plane-making. Captain Bodas also spoke of the “jumbo”
aeroplanes of ancient India. “The basic structure was of 60 by 60 feet and in
some cases, over 200 feet,” he said, some with “40 small engines”. The ancient
Indian radar system was called, rooparkanrahasya. “In this system, the shape of
the aeroplane was presented to the observer, instead of the mere blimp that is
seen on modern radar systems,” he said. Bharadwaj’s book, Captain Bodas said,
even mentioned a diet for pilots — milk of buffalo, cow and sheep. Pilots of
ancient India’s planes had to wear clothes made out of vegetation grown
underwater, Bodas said. This claim by Captain Bodas was apparently based on
English translation of Vaimanika Shastra published by GR Josyer mentioned in
para 18.2.2 above.
Presentation of this paper was severely criticised
by scientific community. Researchers and professors of science
across the country, several of whom had PhDs from Ivy League institutions in
the US and top institutions in India, took umbrage at political patronage
leading to the mixing of science and mythology at the 102nd Indian Science
Congress in Mumbai. Over a 1,000 scientists and science lovers signed an
online petition ‘Stop the attempts to dilute the integrity of scientific
process in science meets.’
After
publishing English translation by GR Josyer, reactions came from world-over
most of which were critical and dismissive, particularly from western part of
the world. Even many of the Indians also criticised the book. A critical study
was carried out by IISc Bangalore as detailed below:
“A CRITICAL STUDY OF THE
WORK “VYMANIKA SHASTRA”
By H.S. MUKUNDA§, S.M. DESHPANDE§, H.R. NAGENDRA§§, A. PRABHU§, AND S.P. GOVINDARAJU§ (§ Departmental
of Aeronautical Engineering, §§Department of Mechanical Engineering) of Indian
Institute of Science, Bangalore (published in Scientific Opinion 1974 page
5-12). This study also found only loopholes in the work and
raised many questions. After this study Vaimanik Shastra was mocked and made a
laughing stock.
Although many things have been pointed out by various
critics about ‘VYMAANIKA-SHAASTRA’, but the main points of criticism are
discussed below:
18.5.1 Authorship
of the work attributed to Maharshi Bharadwaja though Pandit
Subbaraya Shastry dictated the verses who had no degree or formal education
and that how could he dictate shlokas about Viman Shastra on his own.
As has been mentioned in
the English translation by GR Josyer, the original knowledge is attributed to
Maharshi Bhardwaj, one of the Saptrishis, whose era is not clearly determined.
It has been clearly mentioned by GR Josyer in Foreword to the book as “Maharshi Bharadwaja is an august name in the pantheon
of Hindu Sages who recorded Indian civilization, in the spiritual,
intellectual, and scientific fields in the hoary past. They transmitted
knowledge from mouth to mouth, and from ear to ear, for long eras. Written
transmission through birch-backs or palm-leaves, or home-made paper, are from
this side of a thousand years”. It is an established fact that since thousands
of years, thousands of Rishis (sages) and the Gurus imparted knowledge to
shishyas or sons with tradition of remembrance generally through shlokas. Most
of the original books and manuscripts got destroyed during Islamic invasion of
India when most of the big universities were destroyed and libraries burnt and
most of the scholars slaughtered (ancient Nalanda university library alone
had 90 lakh rare books and manuscripts, which Bakhtiyar Khilji set afire in
1192 CE that kept burning for months. Details of all such universities can be
seen in Part I and Part V of article ‘Education System in India Through Ages’
by same author at vedpal-irse.blogspot.com).
But some of the scholars and ex-students of these universities had survived. So,
it is quite probable that a small part of VYMAANIKA-SHAASTRA permeated through
to saint, referred to as Guruji Maharaj in para 18.4 above who taught those
shlokas to Pandit Subbaray Shastri and Pandit Subbaraya
Shastri dictated those shlokas to Venkatachala Sarma.
Conclusion:
From
above discussion, there is no doubt about authorship of the book and in Hindi
as well as English translation it has been clearly mentioned that the original
author was Maharshi Bharadwaja only. The knowledge on Vaimanik Shastra from
Bhardwaj was transmitted from generation to generation, probably orally in form
of shlokas, part of which is available in these translations.
18.5.2 No
explanation how the Vimans i.e. Aircrafts flew in the air
In
both Hindi and English translations of Vaimanik Shastra it is mentioned that
this is one volume out of total 40 volumes created by Maharshi Bhardwaj on this
subject (of Aviation). So, it is very clear that there were 39 more parts to
complete this work. On top of that it is quite possible that some notebooks in
which shlokas were dictated by Pt. Subbaraya Shastri, got lost after his death
and only 23 notebooks remained. What is available today is an incomplete work
and hence some information is bound to be missing.
Secondly,
it can be observed that throughout in Vaimanik Shastra there are large number
of references to various Granthas and books which indicate that there were many
other works that contained other details, but are no more available, perhaps
destroyed for ever mostly by Islamic invaders. Therefore, it can be concluded
that some information on aeronautics is available in these books, while a large
part of knowledge is not available today, which critics are looking for.
18.5.3 Absurd
and bizarre ingredients mentioned in making material and devices
In
Vaimanik Shashtr there is mention of some unconventional ingredients like nails
and bones of specific animals, herbs, leaves, roots etc for making alloys, materials
and devices. For example, for making a special alloy, called Chumbak-Mani, for a
device used for detecting underground materials from flying aeroplane, called ‘Guha
Garbh Drshan Yantra’, is made by heating at specified temperature loh-ayask
(Fe3O4), sand, borax, ivory, pippali, mercury, parvan (mixture of equal amount
of K2CO3 and KCL) copper, ranjik (shinguraf), sonamakhi, gridhanik, sauri,
Buffalo’s nail and Vishwa Kapal (buffalo’s head) in a certain proportion. A
Study was conducted on Chumbakmani by Maheshwar Sharon (solid state chemist
with specialization in photoelectrochemistry, developer of Sharon-Schottky type
cell and solar chargeable battery) and A. Sundaresan Chemistry Department
(IIT Bombay) and Madhuri Sharon (Research Director at Walchand Center for
Research in Nanotechnology and Bio-nanotechnology Monad Nanotech Pvt Ltd) with
grant provided by CSIR to carry out this work [project No 10(91)/83 for 5
years] which was published in Indian Journal of Energy (Vol: 2 | Issue: 1 |
January 2013 | ISSN 2278-9278). Abstract of this detailed scientific study
states “Maharshi Bhardwaj in his book Brihad Viman Shastra has given the
recipes for making many instruments. In one chapter he describes an instrument
called GuhagarbhaDarshanYantras, which helps to detect any arsenal hidden
underground. This instrument has many parts, but this paper we report the
results of our efforts to prepare three instruments: Panchloha (sutra No
38-41), Pargrandhik Drav (sutra No 42-46) and Chumbak Mani (sutra No 47-50). It
is observed that the instruments work like a photoelectrochemical cell, where
solar energy is converted into electrical energy. A flux material developed is
very reactive and can dissolve sand, iron and platinum even at 600℃. Chumbak
mani which behaves like a magnet shows metallic as well as semiconducting
properties. It is concluded that the given in the book for the preparation of
these materials are genuine. It is also suggested that there is a need to carry
out experiments on all other recipes described in the book to find out their
usefulness.”
Above
scientific study by has clearly establishes that materials produced by using
ingredients given in Vaimanik Shastra have special desired properties as
claimed in the book.
18.5.4 Non-Aerodynamic
shapes and designs of aircrafts which hinder flying
It might have appeared so at the time of publication of Vaimanik Shastra book in 1970s, but later advancements in aeronautics and space research have thrown new light on this aspect. If one closely observes, it will be seen that ‘SPACE X's Dragon spacecraft’ launched in December 2010 looks very similar to Rukma Viman mentioned in Vaimanik Shastra. If Dragon spacecraft is suitable for space travel than Rukmi Viman having similar shape couldn’t be ridiculed. As advancements take place in aeronautics and space travel more and more spacecrafts might be developed having shapes similar to those given in Vaimanik Shastra.
Dr Travis Shane Taylor, an aerospace, Mechanical & Electrical Engineer; Astronomist and NASA scientist tested models of aircraft based on the ancient Indian text Vaimanika Shastra in a wind tunnel at the University of California, Irvine during April 2017 with aim to determine if the designs were aerodynamically viable. The results indicated that the designs were indeed viable, suggesting a stable aerodynamic structure that could withstand high wind speeds.
Kavya Vaddadi, an Indian Aeronautical Design
Engineer and CFD analyst who is also Head of Education & Awareness, Ancient
Technology Division, Maarks Aerospace and Marine Services, has also
conducted detailed study and experimentation in this field. With
the support and guidance of former scientists of ISRO, DRDO and NASA, she
worked on Vedic Vimana’s manufacturing, structures, propulsion, aerodynamics,
space mechanics and is currently working on Vimana prototypes, re-translations
and interpretations with an emphasis on Reverse Engineering. She has co-authored
a book “Reverse Engineering Vedic Vimanas: New light on ancient Indian
heritage” with Enrico Baccarini, a journalist, writer editor, specialist in
Cultural Anthropology and in Asian Studies and Professor of Oriental Studies,
at University of Turin. The book reveals unearthed discoveries explaining
scientific and technical details of Vimana Shastra. For the first time in
history 3D modelling of Vedic Vimanas are done and their CFD analysis
revealing the flying abilities of the Vedic space crafts. Kavya has
concluded “Ancient
technology is 100 per cent efficient, free energy using and never harms or
disturbs nature in any manner. The technology we are now adopting is very less
advanced when compared to the highly advanced know-how applied during the
ancient period. The vehicles don’t create any space debris, spoil environs and
what we need is understanding them thoroughly.”
Kavya has also written
number of articles on ancient Indian Vimanas, latest being “Artificial
Intelligence of Pushpaka Vimana used in Ramayana’ published in
International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications (ISSN:
2248-9622, Vol. 14, Issue 7, July, 2024). She has concluded “The Pushpaka
Vimana with artificial general intelligence (AGI) would possess advanced,
holistic capabilities, including autonomous navigation, strategic mission
management, and empathetic human interaction. It would excel in adaptive
learning, comprehensive situational awareness, and proactive defense, operating
with intuitive resource management and dynamic communication. In contrast,
modern AI is limited by its narrow focus, requiring human oversight in complex
scenarios, and often lacking in true adaptability, deep contextual
understanding, and empathetic interaction. Current AI systems are specialized,
with fragmented situational awareness and static learning models, highlighting
the significant gap between contemporary technology and the hypothetical
sophistication of AGI.”
18.6
CONCLUSION
This study proves that
in ancient India Aeroplanes and spacecrafts were a reality, which were perhaps
more advanced than those available today. Vaimanik Shastra by Maharshi Bhardwaj
is very much a treatise on aeronautics and space travel, though a large part of
it is unavailable today. Some experiments have been carried out by foreign and
Indian scientists which have established authenticity of some of the processes
given in the book, but there is need to study it with open mind and to conduct
more experimentation.
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