Pushpak vimana mean the flowery chariot. This is a flying craft that was mentioned in the Ramayana. It is the first ever flying craft that is mentioned in the Hindu epics. The story goes that the Pushpak viman was originally built by Vishwakarma. He was the architect of the gods he built this flying machine for Brahma.

Bit of history

Brahma is the creator of the universe. He used this Pushpak viman for some time. Later Kuber (the care taker of the world’s wealth) got the Pushpak viman from Brahma. Kuber used this flying craft to move around. The craft was a beauty and it could fly for any distance. The rider just had to mention where he or she has to go and the Pushpak vimana would take him or her.

Features and shape

The Pushpak viman would fly high in the sky and within the clouds. No one in the world at that time had a flying machine like this. . The Pushpak viman could be used to reach heaven, hell, moon, Kailash, etc. You name it and it would take you there. The Pushpak viman had a huge capacity to hold any number of passengers.Even if the craft was filled it would always have one seat empty.This might seem bit fanciful but current day mathematicians have done a lot of research on this area and you can find one such paper by clicking here.

The mythology also states that the Pushpak viman looked like a peacock. Some pictures depict it with wings and horses which are just additions made later. The original description in the Ramayana did not mention these points.

Stolen by Ravana

Kuber was very proud of his Pushpak viman. Ravan the half brother of Kuber got attracted towards the Pushpak viman. Ravan wanted to have the Pushpak viman for himself. Kuber did not want to give it. However, Ravan stole it from Kuber. Ravan was very powerful and he also was the biggest devotee of Lord Shiva. Kuber could not do much about it.

In Ramayana the Pushpak viman is mentioned when Ravan used it to abduct Sita. Ravan came in his Pushpak viman and he took Sita with him to Lanka. Lord Rama came to know about it and he came to Lanka for rescuing Sita. The Pushpak viman was very powerful and fast. Ravan also used it to fight Lord Rama and his army.

The experts today belive that perhaps it’s true that, India had the expertise to make a flying machine long back. We don’t know if Pushpak viman was a reality or a fiction. However, the Pushpak viman can be found in many paintings. It was the first flying machine that finds mention in the Indian mythology.

After Lord Rama defeated Ravan there was no mention of the Pushpak viman anywhere. No one really knows what happened to the Pushpak viman. It just vanished away. After Ramayana there was no mention of the Pushpak viman in any of the epics. This is the basic information about the Pushpak Viman.

We hope you found the facts interesting. It is difficult to say if the Pushpak Viman was a reality or not. However, it is interesting that thousands of years back people could think of a flying craft with incredible powers.