Air & Space travel: Indian and not Western world origin- Tribute to Chandrayaan 3 (SOSD article #5)

On the account of Chandrayaan 3, the 3rd mission to explore the lunar environment has been launched successfully by the Indian Space research organization (ISRO), and the criticism India and its scientists have received for plenty of space exploration missions, irrespective of their successful missions. Today I dedicate an article as a tribute to Chandrayaan 3, and also to raise awareness regarding the origin of ‘Air and space travel’ in India, and not Western countries.

Quick facts about Chandrayaan 3, before we move ahead with knowing the origin of air and space travel:

Chandrayaan 3 is 3rd mission to explore the lunar environment as mentioned earlier. It consists of a lander and rover, except the orbiter, which was also a part of Chandrayaan 2. The rocket that will launch Chandrayaan 3 is LVM3 M4. Chandrayaan 3 is a follow-on mission of Chandrayaan 2. This mission is basically to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface, conducting in-situ experiments in the lunar environment, measuring the thermal properties of the lunar surface near the polar region, measuring the seismicity around the landing site and delineating the structure of the lunar crust and mantle, determine the elemental composition (Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Fe) of Lunar soil and rocks around the lunar landing site. This Chandrayaan 3 mission can also pave the way to future discoveries of smaller planets in reflected light, allowing us to probe into a variety of Exo-planets that qualify for habitability.

Origin of Air travel in India:

To date, we have learned that ‘The Wright brothers’ invented and flew the first ever manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft—the airplane, in December 1903. But as a matter of fact, Indians have known about air travel and space travel way before the alleged invention of the airplane that first took flight in 1903. A treatise ‘Vaimanika Shastra’, which consisted of 8 varieties of ancient aircraft details was based on solar rays, the energy of stars, mercury, electrical energy, etc. to fly machines known as ‘Vimana’, which is nothing but an aircraft. As per this treatise, ancient Indian aircraft science not only relied on laws of physics but also advanced technology that is not currently known due to the loss of literature in the Nalanda library that was burnt down by Mughal invader Khilji. Apart from this, Vaimanika Shastra is a part of Rigveda. Not to mention the incident where Ravan, king of Lanka kidnapped Sita, and took her away to Lanka from India in his airplane. Furthermore, there are pieces of evidence that the first modern flight was flown from Mumbai, the financial capital of India in 1895, which was 8 years before ‘The Wright brothers flight’.

Origin of space travel in India:

Similar to air travel’s origin that we were taught to have originated in the Western world, we are living in an illusion that space travel too, was invented in the Western world. We were taught that Copernicus proposed a heliocentric model of our solar system, but the very first written evidence is available in Rig Veda, where the central position of the Sun, and other planets orbiting around it has been mentioned. It also mentions that Earth and other planets move around the sun in a manner that they do not collide with each other because of a force of attraction, and also because the sun is heavier than the planets. (Rig Veda 1.164.13, Rig Veda 1.35.9).

The solar system's positioning and the distance from Earth to the Sun have been known since ancient times. ‘Hanuman chalisa’, a prayer dedicated to Lord Hanuman by Hindus mentions the distance of the Earth to the Sun. The verse in the prayer is as follows:

“Yug sahasra yojana par bhanu, Lilyo taahi madhur phal jaanu”.

This translates to the calculation of the distance from Earth to the Sun, which was measured by Lord Hanuman when he flew to the Sun as a child, thinking of it to be a sweet fruit-mango.

1 Yug is 12,000 years, and 1 Sahasra Yug is 1,20,00,000 years, whereas 1 Yojan is 8 miles. Thus, the verse calculates the distance of Earth to the Sun to be 15,36,00,000 kms. As per modern science, the distance is known to be 15,20,00,000 kms, which is just about close to the one calculated and mentioned in Hanuman Chalisa.

Eye-opener:

Scientists from Western countries always criticize and debate the origin of air and space travel in India for obvious reasons to claim the glory of invention, but doesn’t the evidence of advanced scientific knowledge in Indian puranas and Vedas convince you enough to believe that maximum of world inventions have an Indian origin? FYI, Nalanda Library was the largest library which consisted of hundreds of thousands of books based on science, mathematics, literature, etc. that educated thousands of people worldwide. Unfortunately, Mughal invader Khilji burnt the entire library down and it burnt for months. Indian history has always been manipulated and told for obvious political benefits, and our generation has never known the actual truth behind the fake history that we have always been taught. If you think and delve deeper into understanding the reason why India was invaded by Mughals, Britishers, etc., and how and why India became an underdeveloped country, you will understand the facts that will help answer these questions.

PS: The reason behind writing today’s article is not only based on air and space travel but also to enlighten my readers that we have learned and relied on the wrong history which has been manipulated and presented to us and that it is high time that we stop praising foreign inventions and start discovering facts about the depths of knowledge Indians possessed. As an Indian, I am proud of ISRO and its hardworking scientists who have made Chandrayaan 3 possible on a budget 15 times lesser than any other country's space missions.

Concluding the article by appreciating the Chandrayaan 3 lunar mission, and acknowledging the depth of air travel and space travel knowledge Indians possessed way before it was mentioned by scientists from the Western world. I hope my articles educate you all in a positive eye-opening way.

Thank you.

- Rachna Jadhav

@theresilientresearcher