ANCIENT INDIA - THE " VIMANAS "Sacred Hindu literature is the only one to mention the existence of flying vehicles as they are and not in a symbolic way. Called vimanas, they can be found throughout the MahΓbhΓrata, an immense literary work whose composition took over hundreds of years beginning in the 400 B.C. as well as in a later epic, the RΓmΓyana.One of the chapters in MahΓbhΓrata, the Karnaparvan, describes the vimΓnas as the following : "We have seen something in the sky that resembles a scarlet cloud, like the cruel flames of burning fire. From this mass emerged an enormous vimΓna ,painted in black, which launched blazing missiles ; the sound that it made when approaching the earth sounded like a thousand drums beating at the same time. The vimΓna approached the ground at an incredible speed while throwing out weapons which sparkled like gold, thousands of bolts accompanied with violent explosions and hundreds of firewheels. This was a horrible commotion, during which horses were seen falling, war elephants and thousands of soldiers were killed by explosions. Routed army was pursued by the terrible vimΓna until it was annihilated." Obviously, the subject here is a strange flying object acting as a fighter-bomber during a war between human nations... In an treatise on architecture and urbanism from 900B.C., the SamarΓngana-s√tradhΓra, consecrates an entire chapter to the mechanics and functioning of the vimΓnas, whose most significant passages are the following :
"95. His firm and solid body ( that of the vimΓna) is, according to the rule, (like) a big bird made of light wood. A mercury engine is put inside and, underneath, a blazing basin, filled with (fire?). Lacking modern technical knowledge, the author's explanation of the functioning could seem whimsical when reading it for the first time. However, it is noteworthy to state that this almost 3,000 year old text speaks of fuel, an unknown concept up until the invention of the steam engine, barely more than two centuries ago. However, the vimΓnas are not the only surprise that the ancient Hindu epics have to offer : "Once he had been attacked by Valadeva, Jarasandha, full of anger, launched upon us, to destroy us, a projectile capable of killing all of Earth's creatures. Projecting a bright light, this mass of fire split the firmament in two, like a part separates hair on a head. Wnen he saw the blazing object, Rohimi's Son launched a weapon called Sthunakarma at it ; and this weapon destroyed the power of the opposing projectile, which came crashing down to the ground and split it while making the mountains tremble." (in Dronaparvan, a chapter of the MahΓbhΓrata). These apocalyptic weapons are not the only ones that are mentioned in the texts. There also is, taking another striking example, "Agneya's weapon", an "enormous blazing projectile" resembling "a long pointed spindle" and whose explosion sounds like the end of the world, darkening the sky, burning men and animals, and causing nails and hair to fall out. The "gods" of the sky who possess these weapons and the vimΓnas use them to intervene in conflicts between human nations. These machines are precisely described within the limits of the dead authors' vocabulary more than 2,000 years ago. And present in a kind of military operation which did not have any model like it at the time, somewhat as if a text from ancient Rome had referred to an aircraft carrier during a passage from a naval combat between fighting galleys. The importance of this ancient Indian epic literature ( which does not make do with neither allusions nor symbols) is vital in demonstrating that contacts between men and entities coming from beyond which get involved in human affairs go back thousands of years. And the Indian authors confirm the stories of "divine" interference which are mentioned on other texts such as the Bible.
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