Vimana

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The Pushpaka vimana flying in the sky.

Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also mentioned in Jain texts.

Etymology

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Sculpture of the Pushpaka vimana, as a temple flying in the sky.

The Sanskrit word vimāna (विमान) literally means "measuring out, traversing" or "having been measured out". Monier Monier-Williams defines vimāna as "a car or a chariot of the gods, any self-moving aerial car sometimes serving as a seat or throne, sometimes self-moving and carrying its occupant through the air; other descriptions make the Vimana more like a house or palace, and one kind is said to be seven stories high", and quotes the Pushpaka Vimana of Ravana as an example. It may denote any car or vehicle, especially a bier or a ship as well as a palace of an emperor, especially with seven stories.<ref>Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary</ref> Nowadays, vimāna, vimān or bimān means "aircraft" in Indian languages, for example, the Bangladesh Biman (national flag carrier of Bangladesh) and in the town names Vimanapura (a suburb of Bangalore) and Vimannagar (a town in Pune). In another context, Vimana is a feature in Hindu temple architecture.

Hindu epics

Ravana rides his Vimana, Pushpaka.

Ramayana

Pushpaka vimana depicted three times, twice flying in the sky and once landed on the ground.

In the Ramayana, the pushpaka ("flowery") vimana of Ravana is described as follows:

The Pushpaka Vimana that resembles the Sun and belongs to my brother was brought by the powerful Ravana; that aerial and excellent Vimana going everywhere at will ... that chariot resembling a bright cloud in the sky ... and the King [Rama] got in, and the excellent chariot at the command of the Raghira, rose up into the higher atmosphere.<ref>Dutt, Manatha Nath (translator), Ramayana, Elysium Press, Calcutta, 1892, and New York, 1910.</ref>

It is the first flying vimana mentioned in existing Hindu texts (as distinct from the gods' flying horse-drawn chariots). Pushpaka was originally made by Vishvakarma for Brahma, the Hindu god of creation; later Brahma gave it to Kubera, the God of wealth; but it was later stolen, along with Lanka, by his half-brother, king Ravana.

Mahabharata

A title of Uparichara was received by a king named Vasu after a Vimana (flying chariot) was granted to him by Indra, who was pleased with him. This chariot enabled him to wander (chara) above (upari) all mortals. The Vimana appeared as a crystalline entity in the sky.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Verse translation

Jain literature

Vimāna-vāsin ('dweller in vimāna') is a class of deities who served the Template:IAST.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> These Vaimānika deities dwell in the Ūrdhva Loka heavens. According to the Kalpa Sūtra of Bhadra-bāhu, the 24th Template:IAST himself emerged from the great Template:IAST;<ref>(2) Template:Webarchive</ref> whereas the 22nd Template:IAST emerged from the great vimāna Aparijita.<ref>(171) Template:Webarchive</ref> The Template:IAST (4th) and Sumati-nātha (5th) both<ref>Johann Georg Buhler (ed. by James Burgess) : The Indian Sect of the Jainas. London : Luzac, 1903. p. 67</ref> traveled through the sky in the "Jayanta-vimāna", namely the great vimāna Sarva-artha-siddhi, which was owned by<ref>Johann Georg Buhler (ed. by James Burgess) : The Indian Sect of the Jainas. London : Luzac, 1903. p. 74</ref> the Jayanta deities; whereas the Template:IAST (15th) traveled through the sky in the "Vijaya-vimāna".<ref>Johann Georg Buhler (ed. by James Burgess) : The Indian Sect of the Jainas. London : Luzac, 1903. p. 69</ref> A vimāna may be seen in a dream, such as the nalinī-gulma.<ref>Saryu Doshi (transl. by Thomas Dix) : Dharma Vihara, Ranakpur. Axel Menges, 1995. p. 11a.</ref><ref>Mewar Encyclopedia, s.v. "Ranakpur, founding of" Template:Webarchive</ref>

Ashoka Edict IV

Ashoka mentions a model vimana ("aerial chariot") as part of the festivities or procession which were organised during his reign.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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Samarangana Sutradhara

Chapter 31 of Samarangana Sutradhara, an 11th-century treatise on architecture, discusses machinery and automata, discussing their operation in terms of the four elements and aether, but suggesting that mercury may be an element in its own right.<ref name="Cardiff">Template:Cite journal</ref> The author says he has personally seen most of the devices he describes in use, but does not specify which ones. The list includes two wooden aircraft, referred to as "vimanas": a "light" one shaped like a huge bird and a "heavy" one shaped like a temple.<ref name="Baroda">Template:Cite book</ref> Both types contain a fire chamber which heats a container of mercury, somehow causing the aircraft to rise from the ground. However, the description is purposely left incomplete for ethical reasons:

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Vaimānika Shāstra

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An illustration of the Shakuna Vimana that is supposed to fly like a bird with hinged wings and tail.<ref name="Mukunda 1974">*Template:Cite journal</ref>

The Vaimānika Shāstra is an early 20th-century Sanskrit text on aeronautics, obtained allegedly by mental channeling, about the construction of vimānas, the "chariots of the Gods". The existence of the text was revealed in 1952 by G. R. Josyer, according to whom it was written by one Pandit Subbaraya Shastry, who dictated it in 1918–1923. A Hindi translation was published in 1959, the Sanskrit text with an English translation in 1973. It has 3000 shlokas in eight chapters. Subbaraya Shastry allegedly stated that the content was dictated to him by Maharishi Bharadvaja.<ref>Childress (1991), p. 109</ref> A study by aeronautical and mechanical engineering at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1974 concluded that the aircraft described in the text were "poor concoctions" and that the author showed a complete lack of understanding of aeronautics.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ayyavazhi

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Pushpak Vimana, meaning "an aeroplane with flowers", is a mythical aeroplane found in Ayyavazhi mythology. Akilattirattu Ammanai, the religious book of Ayyavazhi, says that the Pushpak Vimana was sent to carry Ayya Vaikundar to Vaikundam.

A similar reference is found in regards of Saint Tukaram, Maharashtra, India. Lord Vishnu was so impressed by the devotion and singing of Saint Tukaram that when his time came, a Pushpak Viman (a heavenly aircraft shaped as an eagle) came to take him to heaven. Though it is believed that every other human being can go to Heaven without body, Saint Tukaram went to heaven with body (Sadeha Swarga Prapti).

Vimanas have appeared in books, films, games, on the Internet, etc., including:

See also

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References

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