Relying on Vaimanika Prakarana Text Did an Indian Flew the First Airplane?

Vaimanika Prakarana is an ancient Sanskrit text dealing with aeronautics. Ganesh Nerlekar-Desai, epigraphist and manuscriptologist at Shivaji University’s Manuscript Research Centre at Kolhapur, now claims that in 1895, an Indian, Shivkar Talpade, had flown the first aircraft. This happened ten years before the Wright brothers successfully flew their aircraft.

Shivkar Talpade, a drawing teacher from JJ School of Art in Mumbai, is said to have flown an aircraft, Marutsakha, on Girgaon Chowpatty in 1895.

DNA reports 

There are two streams of thought regarding the existence of aircraft in ancient times. One believes that the ancients did build and fly aircraft, while the other believes it is too fantastic to be true.

However, what cannot be disputed is the existence of an ancient text on aerodynamics, titled ‘Vaimanikprakarnm’. “At the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal in Pune, there exists an undated handwritten manuscript of Vaimanikprakarnm, a treatise on aerodynamics, said to be originally written by sage Bharadwaj. Lord Shiva apparently imparted knowledge of aerodynamics to his son Ganesha, who then transferred it to Bharadwaj,” said Nerlekar-Desai.
Other manuscripts of Vaimanikprakarnm exist at Oriental Institute at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda; Gujarat Ayurved University in Jamnagar and one was in the possession of Talpade, who flew his aircraft at Girgaon Chowpatty. 

The text contains information about ways to build aircraft and also how to protect them from the harsh sun and attacks from the ground. “Vaimanikprakarnm suggests the use of certain gemstones on an aircraft to protect it should it venture too close to the sun. It also talks about five different types of lightning and offers solutions to make the aircraft lightning-proof,” said Nerlekar-Desai. He added that the treatise also says that in order to insulate your aircraft from cannon shots from the ground, its body should be made of crystal.