VYMAANIKA-SHAASTRA

"Vymaanika Shastra" consists of nearly 6000 lines, or 3000 verses of lucid Sanskrit, dealing with the construction of Vimaanas or Aeroplanes. 

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. Even they are to be found in mangled forms owing to the depredation of time, weather and insect hordes. There is no-written material for the vast volume of Vedas, Upanishads, Shastras, and Puranas, which have come down for over 10000 years as a patrimony, not only for India, but for mankind in general. 

The Vymanika Shastra, however, is not a myth. In recent years, an English text was reproduced in Vimana Aircraft of Ancient India & Atlantis, published by Adventures Unlimited.

Vimanas are widely described in the genuine ancient texts such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, as well as other later texts such as the dramas of Kalidasa. They are not metaphors or hyperbole, nor do you have to be a god to own or ride one as in other mythologies. They are treated as manufactured, physical objects, even if portrayed as fanciful flying houses, invested with magical powers of levitation. Sometimes they are simply employed as a plot device to get characters from one end of India to the other quickly. Often they are portrayed as weapons of war. Also compelling, in my mind, are the descriptions of ancient Indian weapons that bear a striking resemblance to artillery, mechanized infantry, chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, as well as high powered lasers or other energy beams. So there are abundant mysteries to explore in the ancient texts, which you can do at sacred-texts' Hindu texts area.

Sometime in the period just before World War I, a Brahman named Pandit Subbaraya Sastry began to dictate previously unknown texts in Sanskrit which purported to contain ancient Indian technological knowledge. He in turn, credited a Vedic sage named Maharshi Bharadwaja, as well as other Rishis who appear in legitimate Hindu texts a technical manual for the construction and use of 'vimanas,' the flying machines of the Vedic sagas.

This text is top-heavy with long lists of often bizarre ingredients used to construct various subsystems. This includes items such as monkey skin, eagle bones, sea-foam, and many that are only named in Sanskrit. Often the recipes are a mix of plant, animal and mineral ingredients, and involve mixing these ingredients and cooking them at high temperature in a furnace shaped like an animal, such as a frog. One wonders whether we are talking about metallurgy here, or some kind of alchemy. Most of the systems are described as mechanical devices, powered by steam, electricity or even solar power; a number literally involve smoke and mirrors.

The book is divided into 6 chapters. 
First chapter describes Vimana, it's parts, Metals, Aerial Routes, The Pilot, His Clothing & Food. 
Second chapter is about Heat absorbing metals & Melting.
Third chapter is all for Mirrors ( Mirrors play a vital role in a Vimana ).
Forth chapter describes Power.
Fifth chapter includes details of Machinery and it's parts.
Sixth chapter is a description of various types of Vimanas.

There are 4 types of vimanas described in Vimanica Sasthra. They are,

1.       Shakuna Vimana

2.       Sundara Vimana

3.       Rukma Vimana

4.       Tripura Vimana

Many may ask, if we have all the knowledge, why don't we make 'vimana' then ? Answer for that is very simple - many of the metals mentioned are not understood by present day science.

Some argue it is all imagination of  an artist. If so, how can the writer be so specific about the construction ? The Author also suggests which atmospheric region is best suitable for Vimanas of different worlds. For eg. Vimanas of this world are best for traveling through Rekhaapatha region. If it was mere imagination of someone; how could he suggest air routes for traveling ?


Any comments / questions are welcome.