Vimanas

The ancient Hindu epics are rife with tales of the strange and fantastic. Elements described within consist of elaborate tales of massive wars, superheroes, and gods that walk alongside common mortals. And yet, perhaps no subject hailing from the Sanskrit fables has captured the minds of ancient mystery proponents better than the flying vehicles of ancient India, known today as vimanas.

Vimanas are, without question, mentioned throughout many of the ancient Vedic texts, proving they certainly are not a concept that originates entirely from recent times; but if not sophisticated avionics of the modern variety, what then might they have been? Could it be possible that some elements regarding the vimana mystery–specifically our interpretation of these objects as technologically advanced aircraft that existed in ancient India–could be a result of our own desire to superimpose modern themes and ideas into the framework of the ancient Indian epics?

Before we get to the discussion of flying craft, there are a few things we must look at first with regard to the exact meaning of what a "vimana" is, in order to better unravel why I feel there may be misinterpretation associated with their presence in literature. One thing that we must take into consideration is that "vimana" is a word used to describe a number of things in a variety of different contexts throughout the Vedas. For instance, vimana can translate to mean the innermost sanctuary of a Rama temple (sometimes called an "adytum," though this word actually has its origins in the Greek, rather than the Sanskrit). A variety of different temples, palaces, shrines, towers, and other structures associated with kings, emperors and divinity were also called "vimanas" in the Vedas, roughly translated to mean "a god’s palace."

Some scholars assert that from this interpretation of the word, references in the Ramayana to Ravana’s flying palace "Pushpaka" may lend credence to the idea that a vimana is some kind of "floating palace." From a modern perspective, we might also take this to mean a "flying vehicle," too… after all, we can’t think of many buildings that float; on the other hand, plenty of different kinds of flying vehicles that exist in modern times come immediately to mind (though interestingly, some of our own modern flying warplanes have been called "fortresses" at various times, too).

The expression "Chariots of the Gods," popularized by Erich von Daniken, also stems from the Vedas too, in reference to some of the vimana craft described variously as flying carts, seats, or thrones. But again, many of these same descriptions often described the vimanas in question as resembling various kinds of abodes, buildings, palaces, or towers. Some of these were understood to be capable of flying or hovering, and in modern times, their presence has been interpreted by some ancient astronaut proponents as evidence of "space stations" and similar "flying fortresses" that existed in ancient times. While we can’t rule anything out, this may indeed represent a bit of a hypothetical leap to be made; furthermore, here again the modern bias with regard to this interpretation seems rather obvious.

There are still other meanings of the word vimana, however, that should be taken into consideration. In the Vimanavatthu, a token prayer or text used as the inspiration for a Buddhist sermon was once referred to also as a "vimana." Futhermore, some "vimana" references dealt merely with scientific methods of making precise measurements, as well as a more general meaning that involved medicines used to treat various ailments. But no less, the link between vimanas and aircraft remains a tenet even in the modern Indian languages (sometimes used literally as a term meaning "aircraft"). Vimanapura is also an Indian word synonymous with the Bangalore HAL Airport. What this shows is that, yes, vimana means "flying vehicle," and certainly, many references within the vedas refer to such things.

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