Vimana: Flying Object In Ancient India

[Mighty_Emperor]

Ancient Sanskrit from India tell of UFO visit in 4,000 B.C.

India, according to Dr.V. Raghavan, retired head of the Sanskrit department of India's 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.

Ramayana Ancient IndiaThe 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." 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." Dr. Raghavan points out, "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: "But only three of them are known to us today. The rest remain untranslatable." Another authority who agrees with Dr. Raghavan's interpretations is Dr. A.V. Krishna Murty, professor of aeronautics at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. "It is true," Dr. Krishna Murty says, "that the ancient Indian Vedas and other text refer to aeronautics, spaceships, flying machines, ancient astronauts. "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 Vihmanas 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 Mahabharata, 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 wheels. The poem is a veritable gold mine of information relating to conflicts between gods 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 invisiblein 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 ashesthe 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 anonymously recognizable ring. Apparently, those killed by it were so burnt that their corpses were unidentifiable. The survivors fared little ether, 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 Samaraanganasutraadhaara it is written:

Strong and durable must the body of the Vimana be made, like a great flying bird of light material. Inside one must put the mercury engine with its iron heating apparatus underneath. 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. 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.

Source

 

[Jerry_B]

Isn't this just a rehash of Von Daniken's 'ideas'...?

 

[Melf]

Isn't this just a rehash of Von Daniken's 'ideas'...?

more like the other way round

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

More info:

We can find four different types of 'Vimans’ described in the text. They are; Shakuna Viman, Sundara Viman, Rukma Viman , Tripura Viman. The flying objects are either saucer-shaped or long cylinders shaped like a cigar.

The four types of 'Viman' fall into two categories; manmade and non-manmade. Manmade aircraft were described as airplanes and fly with the aid of birdlike wings. They are described in many secular Sanskrit works dealing with architecture, military siege engines, and other mechanical books.

Non-manmade aircraft were described as un-streamlined structures that fly in a mysterious manner and are generally not made by human beings. They are described in ancient works such as the Rig Veda, the Mahabharat, the Ramayana, and the Puran.

More here:
www.pravidhik.com/news/nw/n0003.htm

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VIMAN VIDYA

Excerpts from "Warfare in Ancient India" by V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar
Motilal Banarsidass, Madras, 1944

* * * AERIAL NAVIGATION * * *

Turning to Vedic literature, in one of the Brahmanas (Satapatha Brahmana, II, 3, 3, 15) occurs the concept of a ship that sails heavenwards. The ship is the Agnihotra of which the Ahavaniya and Garhapatya fires represent the two sides bound heavenward, and the steersman is the Agnihotrin who offers milk to the three Agnis. Again in the still earlier Rig Veda Samhita we read that the Asvins conveyed the rescued Bhujya safely by means of winged ships. The latter may refer to the aerial navigation in the earliest times. (Rig Veda, I. 117, 14 and 15)

Three movements are usually ascribed to these machines,--ascending, cruising thousands of miles in different directions in the atmosphere and lastly descending. It is said that in an aerial car [vimana] one can mount up to the Suryamandala, 'solar region' and the Naksatra mandala (stellar region) and also travel throughout the regions above the sea and the earth. These cars are said to move so fast as to make a noise that could be heard faintly from the ground.
* * * AERIAL BOMBARDMENT * * *

The adoption of such tactics is also mentioned in the war between Arjuna and the Asura Nivatakavaca (Vana, ch. 172), and in that between Karna and the Raksasa (Drona, ch. 176, 50) in both of which, arrows, javelins, stones and other missiles were freely showered down from the aerial regions . . . There are numerous references both in the Vishna Purana and the Mahabharata where Krishna is said to have navigated the air on the Garuda (Markandeya Purana, ch. 20). Either the accounts are imaginary or they are a reference to an eagle-shaped machine flying in the air.

After the great victory of Rama over Lanka, Vibhisana presented him with the Pushpaka vimana which was furnished with windows, apartments, and excellent seats. It was capable of accommodating all the vanaras beside Rama, Sita and Laksmana. Rama flew to his capital Ayodhya pointing out to Sita from above the places of encampment, the town of Kiskindha and others on the way. (Ramayana, ch. 123)

This is an allusion to the use of flying machines as transport apart from their use in actual warfare. Again in the Vikramaurvasiya, we are told that king Pururavas rode in an aerial car to rescue Urvasi in pursuit of the Danava who was carrying her away. Similarly in the Uttararamacarita in the fight between Lava and Candrakety (Act VI) a number of celestial cars are mentioned as bearing celestial spectators.
* * * * *
Excerpts from "Sanskrit Civilization" by Prof. G. R. Josyer
Coronation Press, Mysore, 1966

Another remarkable and astounding feature of the Hindu science of war which could prove that the ancient Hindus cultivated every science to perfection was that the Hindus could fight battles in the air. It is said that the ancient Hindus "could navigate the air, and not only navigate it but fight battles in it, like so many war-eagles combating for the dominion of the clouds." To be so perfect in aeronautics, they must have known all the arts and sciences . . . the strata and currents of the atmosphere, the relative temperature, humidity, and density and the specific gravity of the various gases.

Viman Vidya was a science which has now completely disappeared. A few years ago, facts concerning this science found in ancient records were rejected as absurd and impossible of belief. But wireless telegraphy and the recent developments in airships have prepared people to entertain the idea of the possibility of human knowledge advancing so far as to make it practicable for men to navigate the air as to navigate the sea.

This was the Viman Vidya. The airships of the Western world give us an idea of what vimans may have been like. Fifty years ago a viman was considered an impossibility. But happily those days of Western skepticism are over, and a viman, for its practical advantages, is looked upon as an idea of scientific achievement. A European critic says: "Viman Vidya (navigation of the air) was a complete science among the ancient Hindus. They were its masters and used it for all practical purposes."

This indicates their mastery of the arts and sciences on which the Viman Vidya is based, including a knowledge of the different stratas and the currents of the atmospheric air, the temperature and density of each, and various other minor particulars. Viman Vidya is thus clearly mentioned in the Vedas. The Yajur Veda (VI, 21) says: "O men, who are fit to do administrative work righteously, go to the seas in big, fast-moving steamers, and to the high heavens in airships built on scientific principles."

www.atlantisquest.com/Vidya.html

There is also a mention on Wikipedia:

A vimāna is a mythological flying machine, described in the ancient literature of India.

References to these flying machines are commonplace in ancient Indian texts, even describing their use in warfare. As well as being able to fly within Earth's atmosphere, vimānas were also said to be able to travel into space and travel submerged underwater.

Descriptions in the Vedas and later Indian literature detail vimānas of various shapes and sizes:

• * In the Vedas: the sun, and flying wheeled chariots pulled by animals, usually horses (but the Vedic god Pūsan's chariot is pulled by goats).
  * The "agnihotra-vimāna" with two engines. (Agni means fire in Sanskrit.)
  * The "gaja-vimāna" with more engines. (Gaja means elephant in Sanskrit.)
  * Other types named after the kingfisher, ibis, and other animals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimana

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See also;

www.mystae.com/restricted/streams/scripts/vimana.html
www.geocities.com/dipalsarvesh/viman1.html
http://fusionanomaly.net/vimana.html

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A book:

Vimana Aircraft of Ancient India and Atlantis
by D. H. Childress and Ivan T. Sanderson
www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc115.htm

www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/09328 ... ntmagaz-21
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0932813 ... enantmc-20

As you might imagine the UFO chappies have got their hooks into this and the above site has a lot of pages in this:

www.ufoevidence.org/topics/vimanas.htm

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See also:

Nukes in East Indian Epics?
www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1159

Ancient science fiction
www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23129

 

[eburacum]

This is what worries me most from the avalanche of material presented above:

But happily the days of Western skepticism are over...

oh dear, oh dear. That is a good thing is it?

The Mahabharata was written in the 4th century BCE about events which were set in a mythological history perhaps a thousand years before. If the epics really were set in the period 1400 BCE or thereabouts these events were occuring in a Bronze age society. The idea of a bronze age society with flying machines is amusing but absurd.

 

[rynner2]

The after-affects of this Iron Thunderbolt have anonymously recognizable ring.

Sic!

Two astronomers, Clube and Napier, several years ago proposed that in ancient times a giant comet (or comets) entered the solar system, producing strange omens in the sky. When the comet broke up, it caused a period of meteor bombardment on earth (as well as other planets). Some of these impacts may well have destroyed cities.

They suggest that the memories of this horrific time were carried and embellished for many years, leading to anthropomorphised versions of events like the Indian legends.

One of Clube and Napier's books was called The Cosmic Serpent, and the details of many of the phenomena they report sound very convincing.


On the other hand, the Indian stories of nuts'n'bolts Vimanas do have a ring of truth too, to modern readers

 

[rynner2]

Many refs on the web to Clube and Napier, including this:

Plato was aware of cosmic collisions and held them responsible for losses of history. In his Timaeus, Plato states that the myth of Phaethon (son of the Sun who burns up the natures of the Earth) is in reality true as it expresses the mutations of the bodies revolving about the Earth and indicates that, at infrequent intervals, a destruction of terrestrial natures ensues from the devastations of fire.

Clube and Napier have developed a very credible scenario that supports Plato's contention. They postulate that around 5,000 years ago a large comet, perhaps 20 km in diameter, was perturbed by Jupiter into a short period orbit which intersected our own planet's orbit. A comet of this size will inevitably break up, leaving in its path debris of varying sizes and shapes. Since this comet was crossing the orbit of Earth, at least once a year our planet would have to careen its way through this debris path producing a spectacular meteor shower about the same time every year. Most of the larger comet pieces (100 to 1,000 meters across) would be found not too far away from the original comet at first, but the force--be it rotation or gas pressure--that separated them initially would still be with them, so they would continue to drift away from the main berg, From the standpoint of the Earth, what had been a rifle bullet became a load of buckshot. Clube and Napier speculate that while streaking through this dense swarm close to the comet, the Earth could have encountered, in the course of half an hour, thirty impacts in the range of 10 to 100 megatons with perhaps a few in excess of this!

By combining astronomical facts with archaeological evidence, such as ancient calendars and astronomically aligned megalithic structures, Clube and Napier further speculate that the object responsible for this mischief was the progenitor of the comet Encke. Kenneth Brecher, an astrophysicist at Boston University, sees a link between comet Encke, the Tunguska event of June 30, 1908, and the June 25, 1178 impact on the Moon reported by the monk Gervase of Canterbury. This lunar impact is thought to have produced a crater (Giordano Bruno) 20 kilometers in diameter! To account for both these energetic events occurring on almost the same day of the year, Brecher postulates that a large piece of comet Encke broke away prior to 1178, producing a swarm of objects, some of which could be a kilometer across. He believes this swarm will be entering the Earth-Moon system again in the year 2042.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/ ... 3#continue

Their theory was refined further in The Cosmic Winter.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/063116 ... e&n=283155

 

[TinFinger]

"Inside one must put the mercury engine with its iron heating apparatus underneath"
iirc i read recently that america had a filing triangle the uses mercury that is supercooled as a prorpulsion system

 

[crunchy5]

That rings a bell tinfinger iirc TR3B, but that's probably old hat now they've got element 115, mind you thats the russkies 8)

 

[chockfullahate]

didn't velikovsky's ideas cover this whole area of thought as well?

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

This is what worries me most from the avalanche of material presented above:

But happily the days of Western skepticism are over...

oh dear, oh dear. That is a good thing is it?

The Mahabharata was written in the 4th century BCE about events which were set in a mythological history perhaps a thousand years before. If the epics really were set in the period 1400 BCE or thereabouts these events were occuring in a Bronze age society. The idea of a bronze age society with flying machines is amusing but absurd.

There are claims that some of the accounts in the Vedas refer back to 4000bc, or even earlier. Since, in Hindu belief, time is cyclic and really quite Fortean.

A Tribute to Hinduism: Vimanas

...

"European scholarship regards human civilization as a recent progression starting yesterday with the Fiji islander, and ending today with Rockefeller, conceiving ancient culture as necessarily half savage culture." It is a superstition of modern thought that the march of knowledge has always been linear." "Our vision of "prehistory" is terribly inadequate. We have not yet rid our minds from the hold of a one-and-only God or one-and-only Book, and now a one-and-only Science."

~ wrote Shri Aurobindo Ghosh (1872-1950) most original philosopher of modern India. For more refer to chapter on Quotes21_40).

Unlike time in both the Judeo-Christian religious tradition and the current view of modern science Vedic time is cyclic. What goes around come around. The Vedic universe passes through repetitive cycles of creation and destruction. During the annihilation of the universe, energy is conserved, to manifest again in the next creation. Our contemporary knowledge embraces a version of change and progress that is linear. The ascendancy of Christianity brought the first major shift to historiography as handed down by the Greeks. Rejecting the cyclic understanding of existence, Augustine (AD 343-430) saw history as moving in a linear path, purposely from point A to point B.

(source: Searching for Vedic India – By Devamrita Swami p. 335 and 47).

...

Here's some more on the subject and some quite imaginative reconstructions of the Vimana flying machines:

A Tribute To Hinduism: Vimanas

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Agreed ... One of the taints affecting paranormal sightings is the manner in which we (humans) tend to frame and contextualize everything in our own historically-grounded preconceptions.

The mystery airships of the late 19th century were projections of the same fanciful technologies artists had applied in speculating about human flying machines.

Fast, sleek, and amazingly maneuverable UFO's didn't become commonly reported until just after WW2 - when air power had demonstrated its dominance, streamlining had become a pop motif, and jet aircraft were widely known.

With the possible exception of the ancient Indian accounts of flying machines called Vimana and of improbably destructive weapons, in some very early Scanskrit texts. These date to the latter stages of Iron Age India and purport to describe far earlier events. Certainly orders of magnitude ahead of the technology of the time.

 

[Shadowsot]

With the possible exception of the ancient Indian accounts of flying machines called Vimana and of improbably destructive weapons, in some very early Scanskrit texts. These date to the latter stages of Iron Age India and purport to describe far earlier events. Certainly orders of magnitude ahead of the technology of the time.

The vimana in the texts are described as temple roofs enchanted by demons to fly. The machine descriptions are a much later add on.

 

[Indrajit86]

Same machine was probably Baba Yaga's (or as I think: Baba Yoga) flying Mortar, which is mentioned in Slavic Myths. Some people think, that they were U.F.O-s, and Aliens, but it is stupid idea. They was definetely a very smart and sophisticated humans, who invented this aeroplanes.