Pushpaka Vimana
BY: SUN STAFF
Rama Leaves Lanka in the Pushpaka Vimana
Ramayana - Pahari School, Himachal Pradesh, c. 1650
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Apr 15, 2013 — CANADA (SUN) —
Pushpaka Vimana was built by the divine architect Vishwakarma for Lord Brahma, who then gifted it to Kuvera, the God of wealth. But the vimana was later stolen, along with Lanka, by Kuvera's half-brother, the demon king Ravana. In the Ramayana, Ravana's pushpaka ("flowery") vimana is described as follows:
"The Pushpaka chariot that resembles the Sun and belongs to my brother was brought by the powerful Ravana; that aerial and excellent chariot going everywhere at will .... that chariot resembling a bright cloud in the sky ... and the King [Rama] got in, and the excellent chariot at the command of the Raghira, rose up into the higher atmosphere." [1]
The word vimana means vi, 'the sky', and mana, 'measure'. Vimana is one that measures the sky as it traverses through it. There are many stories in Vedic literature about vimanas, and we have discussed the subject at some length in past Sun articles. [2] The vimanas are not the same sort of vehicle as the flying horse-drawn chariots employed by the devatas. Rather, they are flying machines employing highly advanced technology.
By far, the most famous flying machine in the Vedic epics is the Pushpaka Vimana used by Lord Rama and Sita to return from Lanka to Ayodhya after vanquishing Ravana. Vibhishana, the king of Lanka, delivered Rama and his entourage to Ayodhya in Pushpaka.
After having stolen Pushpaka Vimana from his brother Kuvera, Ravana hid it in a hanger at one of six airports he maintained in Lanka. Pushpaka was just one of several vimana that Ravana owned. These six airports were:
- Weragantota in Mahiyangana: in the Sinhalese language, mahiyangana means 'place for an aircraft to land'
- Thotupola Kanda at Hoton Plains: thotupola means a port, a place one stops along a journey. Kanda means rock. Thotupola Kanda is a piece of flat land above a rocky range, sitting at 6,000 feet above sea level.
- Usangoda on the southern coast
- Wariyapola in Kurunegala
- Wariyapola in Mattale: wariyapola is thought to derive from watha-ri-ya-pola, meaning 'place for landing and takeoff of aircrafts'
- Gurulupotha in Mahiyangana: gurulupotha in Sinhalese means 'parts of birds', indicating this may have been an aircraft repair centre or hanger
Ravana's six airports
In one sloka from Valmiki Ramayana, Ravana's air travel is described in a statement made by Rama, who is talking to Laksman as they fly over Lanka in the Pushpaka Vimana after defeating Ravana:
Lanka shines on the earth
Studded with many Vimana
As if it is the capital of Vishnu
Covered with white clouds
Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Khanda, Sarga 20
Another of Ravana's vimanas was called Dandu Monara Vimana. Monara means peacock, and dandu monara means 'that which can fly like a peacock'.
Ravana Seizes the Chariot Puspaka from Kuvera
Mughal, c. 1600 A.D.
Freer Gallery
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Dutt, Manatha Nath (translator), Ramayana, Elysium Press, Calcutta, 1892 and New York, 1910.
[2] "Vimanika Sastra" Series -
Part 1 |
Part 2 |
Part 3 |
Part 4 |
Part 5 |
Part 6 |
Part 7 |
Part 8
