Vaimānika Śāstra — English Translation

by Maharṣi Bharadvāja, tr. G. R. Josyer

The Vaimānika Śāstra — the treatise on aeronautics attributed to Maharṣi Bharadvāja, with the Bodhāananda Vṛtti commentary, in the English translation of G. R. Josyer (International Academy of Sanskrit Research, Mysore, 1973). It defines the vimāna, and treats the qualifications and training of the pilot, the routes of the sky, the metals and alloys of construction, the mirrors and yantras, and the parts of the craft. 962 passages across 6 chapters. Provenance, stated plainly: the text was dictated by Paṇḍit Subbarāya Śāstry (1866–1940) between 1918 and 1923, who described it as psychically received from Bharadvāja, and was first made public by Josyer in 1952. It is presented here as the received text. English only — the Sanskrit original is not available as usable digital text.