Vyamanika Shastra is a big fat hoax: Claims of aviation in ancient India debunked 40 years ago

There were several claims made in a controversial session called “Vedic Science through Sanskrit’’ at the Indian Science Congress. Captain Anand J Bodas who conducted a session there, quoted the Vyamanika Shastra to posit that aeroplanes existed in India 7,000 years ago and they travelled from not just one country to another but also to other planets. However, no one was there to debunk it. But it seems the entire Vyamanika Shastra, on which Bodas has based his claims, was proved 40 years ago to be a big fat hoax. [caption id=“attachment_2025105” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Image used for representative purpose only. ISCON/Flickr[/caption] According to an Indian Express report, in a research paper, in 1974, a group of five 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. According to the report, one of the scientists, HS Mukunda found that the Vyamanika Shastra was based on a figment of imagination of a man who lived in the 20th century and not an ancient sage as was claimed in the session. The paper had also noted that none of the objects had the capability to fly. This is what the paper notes:

“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 text and the drawings do not correlate with each other even thematically. The drawings definitely point to a knowledge of modern machinery.”

  The report also noted that the “subject works lay uncalled for emphasis on propulsive devices and structures, but little or no emphasis on aerodynamics.” You can read the complete research report here. In the session, Bodas had said, “There is a reference of ancient aviation in the Rigveda.” Maharishi Bharadwaj spoke 7,000 years ago of “the existence of aeroplanes which travel from one country to another, from one continent to another and from one planet to another. He mentioned 97 reference books for aviation.” “History merely notes that the Wright brothers first flew in 1904,” he had added. Bharadwaj, who authored the book Vimana Samhita, has written about the various types of metal alloys used to build an aeroplane, Bodas said, adding, “Now we have to import aeroplane alloys. The young generation should study the alloys mentioned in his book and make them here” He also spoke of the “huge” aeroplanes which flew in ancient India. “The basic structure was of 60 by 60 feet and in some cases, over 200 feet. They were jumbo planes,” he said. “The ancient planes had 40 small engines. Today’s aviation does not know even of flexible exhaust system”. Bodas’ wasn’t the only controversial paper presented at the session. As this Times of India report points out, another paper pointed out that “Indians had developed 20 types of sharp instruments and 101 blunt ones for surgeries, which largely resemble the modern surgical instruments,” while another spoke of how “ancient Indian engineers had adequate knowledge of Indian botany and they effectively used it in their construction.”