<p>A south Indian gentleman named Pandit Subbaraya Shastry, who spent a large part of his life in Anekal in Karnataka in early 20th century is the originator of the Sanskrit verses (slokas) that was quoted by Capt Anand J Bodse at the Indian Science Congress here while talking on aviation in ancient India.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The book written sometime between 1900 and 1922 and the only evidence in favour of Maharshi Bhardwaja being the author is the textual statement and nothing more.<br /><br />One of Shastry’s aides, Ellappa who was a draughtsman in a local engineering college at the time, made the sketches of those so called ancient Indian planes, according to five researchers of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, who published their research on the text in 1974. The scientists – H S Mukunda, S M Deshpande, H R Nagendra, A Prabhu and S P Govindraju – were from the IISc department of aeronautical engineering and mechanical engineering.<br /><br />To join the dots, they spoke to Pandit Shastry’s adopted son Venkatrama Shastry and his close associate G V Sharma who wrote down the verses uttered by Subbaraya Shastry, who is believed to have some “mystical power” and narrated the slokas when he received “inspiration”.<br /><br />“What appears strange in the whole matter is that Pandit Subbaraya Shastry, who apparently was not a ‘pandit’ in any ordinary sense, dictated a work and nowhere in it did his name appear. Also, it was written as though Maharshi Bhadadwaja was its author,” the IISc scientists reported in Scientific Opinion journal, back in 1974.<br /><br />Four types of ancient aircraft — Shakuna, Sundara, Rukma, and Tripura — were described, accompanied by drawings, which were made sometime between 1900 and 1919 by someone called Ellappa who was a draughtsman in a local engineering college at the time, they found.“The planes described are the best poor concoctions, rather than expressions of something real. None of the planes has properties or capabilities of being flown; the geometries are unimaginably horrendous from the point of view of flying; and the principles of propulsion make then resist rather than assist flying,” the scientists reported.<br /><br />“What were described in the texts, cannot be put together and fly as a vehicle. Let him build and show it works,” Mukunda, a professor of aerospace engineering told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />The scientists, however, ruled out any possible fraud on the part of Shastry, who was known for his utter simplicity, humble and unpretentious nature. It is stated in his autobiography that he was unsure of the practicality of the ideas propounded in Vymanika Shastra.<br /><br />Relying on the book, Capt Bodse made all sorts of claims on ancient aviation like aircraft that can stop mid-air and go backwards and combat aircraft. He also claimed existence of an ancient radar that will show the complete aircraft instead of a blip on the screen and special diets for pilots.</p>
<p>A south Indian gentleman named Pandit Subbaraya Shastry, who spent a large part of his life in Anekal in Karnataka in early 20th century is the originator of the Sanskrit verses (slokas) that was quoted by Capt Anand J Bodse at the Indian Science Congress here while talking on aviation in ancient India.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The book written sometime between 1900 and 1922 and the only evidence in favour of Maharshi Bhardwaja being the author is the textual statement and nothing more.<br /><br />One of Shastry’s aides, Ellappa who was a draughtsman in a local engineering college at the time, made the sketches of those so called ancient Indian planes, according to five researchers of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, who published their research on the text in 1974. The scientists – H S Mukunda, S M Deshpande, H R Nagendra, A Prabhu and S P Govindraju – were from the IISc department of aeronautical engineering and mechanical engineering.<br /><br />To join the dots, they spoke to Pandit Shastry’s adopted son Venkatrama Shastry and his close associate G V Sharma who wrote down the verses uttered by Subbaraya Shastry, who is believed to have some “mystical power” and narrated the slokas when he received “inspiration”.<br /><br />“What appears strange in the whole matter is that Pandit Subbaraya Shastry, who apparently was not a ‘pandit’ in any ordinary sense, dictated a work and nowhere in it did his name appear. Also, it was written as though Maharshi Bhadadwaja was its author,” the IISc scientists reported in Scientific Opinion journal, back in 1974.<br /><br />Four types of ancient aircraft — Shakuna, Sundara, Rukma, and Tripura — were described, accompanied by drawings, which were made sometime between 1900 and 1919 by someone called Ellappa who was a draughtsman in a local engineering college at the time, they found.“The planes described are the best poor concoctions, rather than expressions of something real. None of the planes has properties or capabilities of being flown; the geometries are unimaginably horrendous from the point of view of flying; and the principles of propulsion make then resist rather than assist flying,” the scientists reported.<br /><br />“What were described in the texts, cannot be put together and fly as a vehicle. Let him build and show it works,” Mukunda, a professor of aerospace engineering told Deccan Herald.<br /><br />The scientists, however, ruled out any possible fraud on the part of Shastry, who was known for his utter simplicity, humble and unpretentious nature. It is stated in his autobiography that he was unsure of the practicality of the ideas propounded in Vymanika Shastra.<br /><br />Relying on the book, Capt Bodse made all sorts of claims on ancient aviation like aircraft that can stop mid-air and go backwards and combat aircraft. He also claimed existence of an ancient radar that will show the complete aircraft instead of a blip on the screen and special diets for pilots.</p>
