Ancient Chariots of Alien Gods: The Great Vimana Controversy

by Micah Hanks

The ancient Hindu epics are rife with tales of the strange and fantastic. Elements described within consist of elaborate tales of massive wars, superheroes, and gods that walk alongside common mortals. And yet, perhaps no subject hailing from the Sanskrit fables has captured the minds of ancient mystery proponents better than the flying vehicles of ancient India, known today as vimanas.

Vimanas are, without question, mentioned throughout many of the ancient Vedic texts, proving they certainly are not a concept that originates entirely from recent times; but if not sophisticated avionics of the modern variety, what then might they have been? Could it be possible that some elements regarding the vimana mystery–specifically our interpretation of these objects as technologically advanced aircraft that existed in ancient India–could be a result of our own desire to superimpose modern themes and ideas into the framework of the ancient Indian epics?

Before we get to the discussion of flying craft, there are a few things we must look at first with regard to the exact meaning of what a “vimana” is, in order to better unravel why I feel there may be misinterpretation associated with their presence in literature. One thing that we must take into consideration is that “vimana” is a word used to describe a number of things in a variety of different contexts throughout the Vedas. For instance, vimana can translate to mean the innermost sanctuary of a Rama temple (sometimes called an “adytum,” though this word actually has its origins in the Greek, rather than the Sanskrit). A variety of different temples, palaces, shrines, towers, and other structures associated with kings, emperors and divinity were also called “vimanas” in the Vedas, roughly translated to mean “a god’s palace.”

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