THE VIMANAS OR FLYING CHARIOTS - POETIC FLIGHTS OF FANCY

 


 

THE VIMANAS OR FLYING CHARIOTS  -  POETIC FLIGHTS OF FANCY


The God Indra descended on the earth in a  Flying Chariot near Sage Gautama's hermitage to seduce Ahalya - the wife of the maharishi Gautama - whose beauty had been smitten by Indra.  The Gods were found to be using Flying Chariots to travel.  Indra's chariot is most famous.


Arjuna climbed the snow-clad Himalayas and reached the mountain top.  There he saw a chariot descend from the skies and landing at the peaks.  It was Indra's chariot.  The Charioteer Matali invited him to Amravati "SWARGA" to join his father Indra.  He said that Indra is in trouble due to the fighting Asuras and Indra want Arjuna to defeat the Asuras along with the Deva force using his knowledge of Pashupat.  Indra believed that Arjuna is the best bet to defeat the Asuras.


And Indra's trust got paid off.  Arjuna leading the Deva forces defeated the Asuras.  Indra hugged his son and told him that you are now in paradise.  Whatever you wish will be yours.  Arjuna loved Amravati (Swarga) and enjoyed everything to his heart's content.  He also learnt dance from the Gandharvas.


The star of Apsaras "Urvashi" had fallen in love with Arjuna at the first sight.  She loved Arjuna and wanted to make love to him.   Even though Urvashi was a stunning beauty, Arjuna rejects her on the grounds that his ancestor King Pururavas was her husband and hence she is a mother to him.  For him making love to her is incest. 

 

Urvashi was furious listening to Arjuna's reasoning.  She said all these happens on the earth and applies only to mortals.  

 

***

(One cannot justify who is right and who is wrong.  The values of mortals and apsara are different.  What is mere passion and pleasure for Urvashi is taboo for Arjuna, being the mortal.  The two people follow different value systems).

*** 


An unapologetic Arjuna stuck to his stance.  A furious Urvashi further more shouted that you mortal you reject me,  how dare are you to reject me.  Urvashi cursed Arjuna to become a eunuch instantly.

 

A stunned and grief stricken Arjuna ran towards his father Indra and narrated what has happened.  However, Indra could not revoke the curse but he modified the curse that Arjuna has to be in the hiding unrecognized for one year.  My dear son the choice is yours.  I suggest that you can combine it along with the thirteenth and final year of your exile.  


An inconsolable Arjuna considered himself as the most unfortunate to get slapped this curse. 



The Devas ride on vimanas or flying chariots.  Some section of the people believe that in Vedic times, people had the knowledge of aerodynamics and had actually built the planes.  Rationalists, however, consider reference to flying chariots of the gods as poetic flights of fancy.


The Mahabharata identifies the Himalayas as the stairway to the paradise of the gods because its peaks touch the sky. 



Similarly, Raavan's sister Shurpanaka  had a crush on Ram and Laxman.  She lusted after their carved, sweating and  beautiful body.  Laxman asked her to refrain from her intentions.  However, an obsessed Shurpanaka started advancing towards him to satiate her desires.  An enraged Laxman cut her nose and breasts with his sword.


A shocked and mutilated Shurpanaka ran crying towards her brother Raavan and asked him to take revenge.  This was one of the reason other than Sita's beauty that had captivated him.  Raavan wanted to abduct Sita and make her his queen in Lanka.

 

Raavan used "PUSHPAKA VIMANA" to abduct SITA.   


The "MAHABHARATA"  AND  "RAMAYANA" together with Puranas are considered to be the itihasas. These two epics have Vedic literature and the Upanishads are only secondary to Vedas.

 

 

Leonardo Da Vinci's design of Vimana.




 The famous artist Leonardo Da Vinci's sketch of an airplane.

 


Modern Spaceship :
In terms of available interior space, material and radiant heat loss, a sphere is the most efficient form. A saucer shape might be a useful approximation for craft that need to enter an atmosphere, and could be designed as a docked part of a spherical ship.

A fully assembled shuttle is 184 feet tall and weighs 4,500,000 pounds. The bay is 15 feet in diameter and 60 feet long; large enough to fit a school bus or 50,000 pounds of payload. The shuttle's velocity on orbit is about 17,500 mph.


Man has invented and hoisted  flag on the Moon.

 

There are many luxury airplanes in the orbit of mother earth today.  The science is progressing and conquering new spheres.




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