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Quotes from
Ancient Indian Texts
The Siva Purana:
The following quote seems to be a reference
to the engineering and building of Triple City (Tripura) mentioned in the
Mahabharatan account of the War of the Gods and Asuras.
Then the highly intelligent Maya [Danava] built the cities [for the sons of
Asura Taraka] . . . There were many palaces with gems. Aerial cars shining
like the sun, set with Padmaraga stones, moving in all directions and looking
like moonbeams, illuminated the cities.
The Bhagavata Purana:
Having spoken thus, Maharaja Nirga made a complete circle around Lord
Krishna and touched his crown to the Lord's feet. Granted permission to
depart, King Nirga then boarded a wonderful celestial car as all the people
looked on.
While Dhruva Maharaja was passing through space, he saw, in succession, all
the planets of the solar system, and on the path he saw all the demigods in
their vimanas showering flowers upon him like rain.
He traveled in that way through the various planets, as the air passes
freely in every direction. Coursing through the air in that grand and splendid
vimana, which could fly at will, he surpassed even the Devas.
The Mahabharata:
When the Daityas were being slaughtered they again took to their vimana
and, employing the Danava science, flew up into the sky . . . I (Arjuna)
assaulted their vimana . . . Wounded by the flight of deadly-accurate iron
missiles, the Asura vimana fell broken to the earth . . . Matali swiftly
descended earthward, as in a steep dive, on our divinely effulgent car.
Bhima flew along in his car, resplendent as the sun and loud as thunder . .
. The flying chariot shone like a flame in the night sky of summer . . . it
swept by like a comet . . . It was as if two suns were shining. Then the
chariot rose up and all the heavens brightened.
And on this sunlike, divine, wonderful chariot the wise disciple of Kuru
flew joyously upward. When becoming invisible to the mortals who walk the
earth, he saw wondrous airborne chariots by the thousands.
Vimanas, decked and equipped according to rule, looked like heavenly
structures in the sky . . . borne away they looked like highly beautiful
flights of birds.
And having vanquished his foe, Krishna furnished with weapons and unwounded
and accompanied by the kings, came out of Girivraja riding on that celestial
car . . . upon that car Krishna now came out of the hill-fort. Possessed of
the splendour of heated gold, and decked with rows of jingling bells . . .
always slaughtering the foe against whom it was driven, it was the very car
riding upon which Indra had slain ninety-nine Asuras of old.
And thereupon that best of cars became still more dazzling with its
splendour and was incapable of being looked at by created beings, as
the midday sun surrounded by a thousand rays . . . And Achyuta, that tiger
among men, riding with the two sons of Pandu upon that celestial car . . .
coming out of Girivraja, stopped (for some time) on a level plain outside of
town.
The vimana had all necessary equipment. It could not be conquered by the
gods or demons. And it radiated light and reverberated with a deep rumbling
sound. Its beauty captivated the minds of all who beheld it. Visvakarma, the
lord of its design and construction, had created it by the power of his
austerities, and its outline, like that of the sun, could not be easily
delineated.
We beheld in the sky what appeared to us to be a mass of scarlet cloud
resembling the fierce flames of a blazing fire. From that mass many blazing
missiles flashed, and tremendous roars, like the noise of a thousand drums
beaten at once. And from it fell many weapons winged with gold and thousands
of thunderbolts, with loud explosions, and many hundreds of fiery wheels. Loud
became the uproar of falling horses, slain by these missiles, and of mighty
elephants struck by the explosions . . . Those terrible Rakshasas had the
shape of large mounds stationed in the sky.
Karna took up that fierce weapon, which resembled the tongue of the
Destroyer or the Sister of Death. That terrible and effulgent dart, Naikartana,
was hurled at the Rakshasa. Beholding that excellent and blazing weapon . . .
the Rakshasa began to fly away in fear . . . Destroying that blazing illusion
of Ghatotkacha and piercing right through his breast that resplendent dart
soared aloft in the night . . . Ghatotkacha, then uttering diverse roars,
fell, deprived of life by the dart of Sakra.
And he also gave [unto Arjuna] a car furnished with celestial weapons whose
banner bore a large ape . . . And its splendour, like that of the Sun, was so
great that no one could gaze at it. It was the very car riding upon which the
lord Soma had vanquished the Danavas. Resplendent with beauty, it looked like
an evening cloud reflecting the effulgence of the setting Sun.
Yudhishthira's Ascent to Heaven
Translated from the Mahabharata by Protep Chandra Roy
Causing the heaven and the earth to be filled by a loud sound, then Indra
came to Yudhishthira on a car and asked him to ascend it.
Seeing his brothers fallen on the earth, King Yudhishthira the just said to
that deity of a thousand eyes these words: "My brothers have all dropped
down here! They must go with me. Without them by me, I do not wish to go to
the celestial region, O lord of all the celestials. The delicate princess
Draupadi, deserving of every comfort, should go with us! You should permit
this."
Indra answered, "You shall behold your brothers in the celestial
region. They have reached it before you. Indeed, you shall see all of them
there, with Krishna. Do not give way to grief, O chief of the Bharatas! Having
renounced their human bodies they have gone there, O chief of the Bharata
race! As for you, it is ordained that you shall go there in this very body of
yours."
[After a long debate between the two the following occurs.]
Then Dharma and Indra and the other deities, causing Yudhishthira to ascend
on a car, went to the celestial region. Those beings crowned with success and
capable of going everywhere at will, rode their respective cars. King
Yudhishthira, riding on his car, ascended quickly, causing the entire sky to
blaze with his effulgence.
Ashtaka and Yayati
From P. C. Roy's translation of the Mahabharata
Ashtaka then said - "Whose are those five golden cars that we see? Do
men that repair to regions of everlasting bliss ride on them?"
Yayati answered - "Those five golden cars displayed in glory and
blazing as fire, would, indeed, carry you to regions of bliss."
Ashtaka said - "O king, ride those cars thyself, and repair to heaven.
We can wait. We will follow thee in time."
Yayati said - "We can now go altogether. Indeed all of us have
conquered heaven. Behold the glorious path to heaven becomes visible."
The Ayodhya Kandam, XVI, pp. 235-236:
The splendid chariot, made of silver and coated with tiger-skin, and bright
like the fire itself, making a noise like the roaring of the clouds; defying
all obstacles, adorned with jewels and gold, dazzling to the eyesight and
bright . . . went speedily on, making space resound like unto the muttering
cloud in the sky. He issued out of his abode like the beautiful moon passing
through a huge cloud.
The Ghatotrachabadma:
Gifted with great energy the Rakshasa once more came down to Earth in his
golden vimana . . . when it had landed it looked like a beautifully shaped
mound of antimony on the surface of the ground.
A huge and terrible vimana made of black iron, it was 400 yojanas high and
as many wide, equipped with engines set in their proper places. No steeds nor
elephants propelled it. Instead it was driven by machines that looked like
elephants.
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