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Pushpak Vimana and Human Yearnings

Illustration by Gemini AI

Ravana was not the only individual to own an aircraft back then.

One must salute Valmiki for imagining a flying palace like the Pushpak. It is a marvel of engineering that could become a reality in our times with the soaring sophistication of technology, thanks to the brilliance of the human brain. Vishwakarma, the celestial architect of the gods, created this amazing aircraft which could soar across the skies, change size at will, and travel anywhere simply through the intention of its rider. It was gifted to Kubera, the god of wealth.

Ravana was Kubera’s half-brother. Having won certain boons from gods, Ravana went on a cosmic hunt. One of his key targets was Alakapuri, Kubera’s opulent city in the Himalayas. He defeated Kubera and seized the Pushpak Vimana. Though Kubera was the god of wealth, he didn’t react like the wealthy people on the earth; he let the aircraft go.

Ravana used the aircraft for all his ignoble forages into other people’s properties. The last of his immoral adventure was the abduction of Sita. It is this aircraft that Jatayu intercepted without success.

It is this very aircraft that Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother, gifts to Rama at the end of the war in which Ravana was vanquished and killed. Pushpak Vimana carries Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and a few others to Ayodhya. After reaching Ayodhya, Rama returns the aircraft to its rightful owner, Kubera.

The Pushpak Vimana becomes a mythical crucible where divine creation, demonic ambition, and human virtue intersect. Kubera, Ravana, and Rama become symbols in a cosmic drama that surrounds the Vimana.

It is interesting to note that the Pushpak Vimana has companions in mythology. There are flying chariots, winged horses, and celestial flights in the myths of other cultures too.

In Greek mythology, the master craftsman Daedalus makes wings of feathers and wax to escape imprisonment with his son Icarus. He advises Icarus not to fly too high; otherwise the sun’s heat will melt the wax and damage the wings. However, exhilarated by the flight, Icarus forgets his father’s counsel and flies high and higher. And the obvious consequence follows: pride goes before a fall. Icarus’s wings cannot withstand the sun’s heat and he plummets into the sea and drowns. The Icarian Sea is said to have got its name from this young adventurer.

There are flying horses in Norse mythology. They were used to carry the most valiant warriors who had fallen in battle and bring them to the chief god, Odin.

In Egyptian mythology, Ra, the god of the sun, sailed across the heavens during the day on an aircraft. At sunset, he would descend into the underworld and continue his ‘flight’.

The Pushpak Vimana, like Daedalus’s wings or Ra’s flying barge, is more than a mythological curiosity. It embodies a timeless yearning – to rise above the mundane, to transcend human limits, to journey between worlds.

I am tempted to look at the Pushpak as much more than a mythological flying palace. We can draw some lessons from it on the ethical use of technology. After completing his journey and restoring dharma, Rama does not claim the aircraft as his own. He returns it to its original owner from whom Ravana had taken it by force, by adharma.

The Pushpak, as an advanced and unique technology then, offered Rama enormous possibilities. Yet Rama chooses to advance dharma rather than his political power. He refuses to treat the technology as a trophy he had won. He refuses to let it become an extension of his ego.

Today, we live in an age of unprecedented technological power – artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, weapons of mass destruction, surveillance technologies, and a lot more. Are they in the hands of Ravanas or Ramas today? Are even the upholders of Rama Rajya today guided by dharma in their use of technology and power? Rama teaches us that technology must serve dharma, not replace or override it. The value of a tool lies not in its power, but in the hands that wield it and the purpose it serves. 

If Ravana lived today... Gemini's answer

PS. I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z. This series looks at the Ramayana from various angles.

Tomorrow: The Quest for Sita

Previous Posts in this series:

Ayodhya: Kingdom of Sorrows

Bharata: The Ascetic King

Chitrakoot: The Antithesis of Ayodhya

Dharma and Destiny

Exile and the Kingdom

Friendship in Kishkindha

Golden Deer: Illusions

Hanuman: Zenith of Devotion

Ikshvaku: Mythos versus Logos

Jatayu: The Winged Warrior

Karma versus Fatalism

Loyalty: The Silent Strength of Ramayana

Mandodari: An Unsung Heroine

Nala, Nila, and Ram Setu

Omens in the Ramayana

 

Comments

  1. Hari OM
    An excellent take on this amazing craft... and your closing two sentences wrap it all together so well! The debate as to the benefits and dangers of all our technologies demonstrate is directed by those with altruistic versus avaricious motivations. YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately, those with altruistic motives don't prefer politics.

      Delete
  2. You have wonderfully interlinked the modern era technological advancements with that of int the mythology and it's right usage for betterment of humanity. I hope the Rama within the leaders of today always has an upper-hand on the Ravana within them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Keeping Ravana under control is no easy job. Looks like another avatar is required.

      Delete
  3. I didn't know about the Greek and Egyptian mythology but your beginning lines grabbed my attention. "One must salute Valmiki for imagining a flying palace like the Pushpak." Why didn't we think about it before? I think the epics were our guiding lights in many aspects of the future. - Swarnali Nath (The Blissful Storyteller)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good writers imagine big! What to say about epic writers?

      Delete
  4. "The Pushpak Vimana becomes a mythical crucible where divine creation, demonic ambition, and human virtue intersect." A different perspective. Never saw this symbolism in pushpak vimana.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One advantage of literary symbols is their amenability to multiple interpretations.

      Delete
  5. Has someone made a cartoon with that aircraft? Because if they haven't, it's high time someone did. The storytelling possibilities are endless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh there is an infinity of stories and cartoons on Ravana.

      Delete
  6. Humans are guided by their desires and dreams. Sooner or later, we chase and attain them. Perhaps the Pushpak was born from a similar longing-to soar through the skies like a bird. The Greek mythology around flight is fascinating as well. It might be a case of parallel imagination, since our admiration for birds has always inspired us.
    The discussion of dharma and adharma surrounding the Pushpak, especially in the stories of Rama, Ravana, and Kubera, is intriguing. In many ways, we carry aspects of all three within us. The balance between these qualities shapes who we become.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Epics like the Ramayana have so much to teach us because they widen our imaginations in so many directions.

      Delete

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