Vyamanika Shastra written in 20th Century not in ancient times
Vyamanika Shastra written in 20th Century not in ancient times
Today many Indians think and spread the message that aircraft technology existed in India thousands of years before the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903.
To substantiate this claim that aeronautical engineering in India dates back to Vedic times, they referred to a book, called as Vyamanika Shastra that claims to document ancient Maharishi Bharadwaja’s writings on aviation technology.
Forty years back a group of five young Indian scientists from the aeronautical engineering and mechnical engineering departments of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore had debunked such claims after conducting a thorough study.
In a paper titled “Critical Study of the Work Vyamanika Shastra’’, published in the journal Scientific Opinion in 1974, Mukunda, S M Deshpande, H R Nagendra, A Prabhu and S P Govindaraju said: “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.”
the scientists found that 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.
The group, led by H S Mukunda, a now retired professor of aerospace engineering from IISc, had found that none of the technologies documented in the Vymanika Shashtra would allow an object to fly. They also found that the Vyamanika Shastra was based on a figment of imagination of a man who lived in the 20th century, and not the ancient sage Maharishi Bharadwaja
The publication of the Vaimanika Sastra in 1973-74 was debunked by professors at the Indian Institute of Science. They speculated that Shastri composed portions of the text and drawings of planes between 1900 and 1919.
The IISc analysis goes on to mention that “one late Dr Talpade (of Bombay) tried to make models under the guidance of Shastriji, but that he was not successful in making any of them fly”.
Technology and Science never dies
Technology and Science only grows advances with each generation
Always learn to ask chronology and dates and other evidences just do not rely on book reference.
Suggested Reading –
Science meet didn’t hear: 40 years ago, IISc debunked flying claims
Reality views by sm –
Tuesday, January 06, 2015
Tags - Vyamanika Shastra Facts History
