Saturday, August 21, 2004
The sanskrit text of science of astronautics, vaimAnikashAstra or vidYa, originally by Maharshi Bharadwaj was discovered in 1875. Although the Sanskrit text is not available in encodeed format on-line, (Vaimanikashastra Aeronautics by Maharishi Bharadwaaja, translated into English and edited, printed and published by Mr. G. R. Josyer, Mysore, India, 1979) the reference to the text can be found in the links 1, 2, and 3, which can be an interesting reading. There is a record of Mr. Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, a Sanskrit scholar, flying an airplane marutsakhA in 1895, almost 1500 ft high on the beach of Chaupati in Mumbai. This feat was accomplished in front of notable individuals and was reported in the newspapers, eight years before the Wright brothers first flight. This is not commonly found or mentioned in the history off Aeronautics.
