At the Indian Science Congress on January 4, in a session on Vedic Science through Sanskrit, a former pilot Anand J Bodas claimed that technology for aviation had already been introduced in India even before the Wright brothers actually invented it. He talked about a book, Vyamanika Shastra, where it has been mentioned that the science of aircraft technology has already been worked on by Maharshi Bharadwaj 7000 years ago.

However, 40 years back, a group of five young Indian scientists from the aeronautical engineering and mechnical engineering departments of the prestigious Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore had debunked such claims after conducting a thorough study, an Indian Express report stated. In a paper titled A Critical Study of the Work Vyamanika Shastra, published in the journal Scientific Opinion in 1974, Mukunda, SM Deshpande, HR Nagendra, A Prabhu and SP Govindaraju talked about why the Vedic plane theory was not feasible according to Vyamanika Shastra.
1. None of the technologies documented in the Vymanika Shashtra would allow an object to fly.
Sketch of a vedic plane in the book, Vyamanika Shastra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The Vyamanika Shastra was based on writings of a man who lived in the 20th century, and not the ancient sage Maharishi Bharadwaja.
Sketch of a vedic plane in the book, Vyamanika Shastra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. The book was, in fact, brought into existence sometime between 1900 and 1922 by Pandit Subbaraya Shastry, an interpreter of Sanskrit shlokas whose work was documented by an aide before his death in 1944 as the Vyamanika Shastra says. The work, according to the paper by the IISc scientists, was discovered in 1951 by AM Joyser, the founder of an International Academy of Sanskrit Research at Mysore, who published it.
Sketch of a vedic plane in the book, Vyamanika Shastra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. The planes described are at 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.
Sketch of a vedic plane in the book, Vyamanika Shastra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. While the science of aeronautics requires the understanding of aerodynamics, aeronautical structures, propulsive devices, materials, and metallurgy, the Vyamanika Shashtra paid little or no emphasis on the aerodynamics.

FAIR USE NOTICE

This article is a copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 52 of the Indian Copyright Law. In accordance with Title CHAPTER XI: Infringement of Copyright, section 52 the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://copyright.gov.in/CprAct.pdf. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this update for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

We will remove from this article from our website if the author or publication has objection to us posting this content on our website.  Please provide us with the URL of the item.