By Sabes Sugunasabesan –
Dear reader,
You are invited to assist in the urgent matter of collecting evidence on King Ravana of Lanka’s aviation heritage. It is a lost heritage that deserves to be resurrected. See notice above. As you may know Ravana feature in the epic Ramayana believed to have been written 5000 years ago. Important matters deserve serious consideration. Therefore I decided to make a specification for the type a data that would be required for a research. 
The evidence sought could consist the following:
We need confirmation of the name Ravana used for his fleet. Would ‘The Royal Pushpaka Air Transport ‘ be correct?
Technical drawings.
Specifications for the air crafts.
Names of aviation engineers and scientists from Arabia, Greece or India who worked in Ravana’s hangers and air bases.
Photographs –
Photographs can include passengers of some note such as Sitha, Ravana and his sister and brothers.
Drawings, analogue photographs or digital images all dated to the period of the epic Ramayana in which Ravana features.
Flight and passenger data.
Air traffic data.
War expeditions undertaken by Ravana’s fleet.
Digital images should carry the metadata and should not have been altered in any sense.
Satellite images and Google Earth images of the fleet and their locations with date.
Tools used in building the aircrafts.
Documents of specifications to contractors, contract documents and payment details from Ravana’s technical and financial services.
Flight menu, specially used during the abduction of Sitha
Data of caterers to the fleet
Vehicles used in the abduction and their registration numbers
News paper reports, tv coverage and the names of the media workers
Damages caused to the Ravana-fleet by Hanuman on the rescue mission of Sitha.
Tourist photographs walls of Sitha Eliya where she was imprisoned
Evidence of secret links between Garuda Air used by Hanuman and Ravana’s Pushpaka Air Fleet.
If favourable to our standpoints we may consider works by Ananda Gruge, Gananath Obesyesegara and Anuradha Seneviratne. Certainly not Heinz Bechert.
Any firsthand oral evidence from your Ravana branch of the family from the Ramayana period.
Napkins, soap or toilet roles that you may have inadvertently put in your flight wash bags are also welcome. Total confidentiality will be maintained.
Type and amount of fuel used and supplier data.
Parts bought from other countries (we suspect there is hardly any as the Ravana Pushpaka Air was unique in the whole universe and Lanka was fully self sufficient as always)
Fleet sold by Ravana to other countries-there should be a abundant evidence around
If available credentials of Ravana’s teachers and masters.
All evidence should be sent before 30th July 2020. Yes in a week. As the election is nearing we need to receive all data before the purdha period. The research will be conducted by the Sri Lanka Military Archeological Resurrection Unit.
The following is to remind you, the reader, who may be already well versed in the history of the epic Ramayana. In this epic Ravana was portrayed as a demon king with ten heads, a musical virtuoso and a scholar. He had a soft spot for Sitha and abducts and imprisons her. Sitha was the wife of Prince Rama of Ayodhya in India (remember Modi and the Mosque of Ayodhya?) Not elaborated here as irrelevant to our research. Anyway, Sitha did not reciprocate Ravana’s advances which is of great sadness for our country but that is not the focus of our research either. Ravana’s Pushpaka fleet may have undertaken many honourable expeditions but sadly only remembered for the abduction of Sitha. We aim to disrupt this impression with the our own research.
Ramayana was initially written by Valmiki over 5000 years ago. This is also before the period of settlement of the current communities in Sri Lanka. This is also most likely before the development of current languages and religions of Sri Lanka. These are besides the point. Some parts of the epic were added at later stages therefore the epic contains internally contradictory stories (as this essay). It is not clear if the story is based on reality, partial reality or imagination. We in Sri Lanka believe that it was real. Different Researchers have put the date of Ramayana period from 5000 BCE to present day.
To our knowledge there are no photographic evidence of dominance of the airways by Ravana. However, a France based photographer has recorded characters from the epic Ramayana as late as 2017. It is unlikely that he would have documented the Ravana legacy as his documentation took place in India and not in Sri Lanka where Ravana was the king of. Despite being French he has a Tamil name and therefore we doubt if he would have cared to document anything pertaining to Ravana. In any event, we invite him to submit any evidence he may have about the dominance of Ravana’s air fleet. We also know of a London based artist of Sri Lankan Tamil origin who depicts outbound air traffic routes out of Lanka in his paintings on sheets of metal used for building aircrafts. We strongly suspect that he may have some research data on Ravana’s heritage of air dominance. We humbly invite him to submit his findings too.
We very much hope you will have some evidence of Ravana in your computer harddrives, basements or attics. In the absence of anything please make up something-anything and send to us. Our country respects facts but celebrates imagination.
Your work can be posted here or anywhere. Data will get to us.
Foot note: We do not agree with the Valmiki, Kamban or any other version of Ramayana. We may consider Dasharatha Jataka as it is a Buddhist version although not in Sinhala. We are committed to make our own version.
*Sabes Sugunasabesan is a multi media artist of Lankan origin living in UK.
SJ / July 29, 2020
“We may consider Dasharatha Jataka as it is a Buddhist version although not in Sinhala.”
This is not very precise as what interests ‘us’ is not any old Buddhism, but Sinhala Buddhism.
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old codger / July 29, 2020
Dear Sabes,
You are barking up the wrong tree, looking for photographs, hard drives, drawings, etc. You are clearly influenced by 21st century technology. Ravana’s pure Hela technology was so advanced that it would have been indistinguishable from magic, as Arthur Clarke said.
Looking for Ravana-era hard drives is like trying to buy a gramophone nowadays. Ravana used much more sophisticated systems . I hear his fly-by-wire system was connected with Pirith nool , and his landing gear was 24 monkeys, also tied together with said Pirith nool to stop them running away.
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leelagemalli / July 31, 2020
How come the kind of articles be permitted to publish on CT ? Right at the moment, srilanka is about to be robbed out by Rajapkahe criminals, the kind articles to waste the web space ?
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I have never read about this writer. He is bubbling something not precisely.
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old codger / July 31, 2020
Leela
Don’t get upset. Can’t you see the joke?
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Rajash / July 29, 2020
There is strong evidence that the Ravana Air Dominance concept aircraft may have been powered by the hot air caused by the pre election fart of the Rajapakse’s Sri Lanka Sinhala Buddhist.
After the election the concept will crash land without any trace like the MH370
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Champa / July 29, 2020
Sabes Sugunasabesan
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What you say about King Rawana having a soft spot for Sita, abducting her and paying advances towards her are all factually incorrect according to many Indian versions of the story.
The Jain version of the Ramayana directly says Sita was King Rawana’s daughter. The Kannada version says another story. According to Book “Asura”, Sita was King Rawana’s daughter. The older generation in India also believes the same.
Ramayana says Sita was “adopted” by King Janaka of Mithila. Why did Valmiki hide the real truth of Sita’s parents? The only reason could be his evil intention to wrongly portray King Rawana a villain, in order to make Rama a hero.
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Also, Hanuman was not a monkey. He belonged to a human clan (similar to Yakkha), and ruled a part of a region under King Rawana. Later, like Vibhishana, Hanuman had also switched his allegiance to Rama. Rawana, according to India’s own ancient records, had ruled 3 regions.
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Sinhalese should be very careful before sharing first hand information about Rawana.
The immense loss of ancient books and palm leaf manuscripts to the Indians and the British in the past should not be forgotten.
Today, Sinhalese are in the danger of losing ancient historical buildings at the hand of a government elected by themselves.
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Champa / July 29, 2020
About Dasaratha Jathaka:
According to Dasaratha Jathaka, King Dasaratha who ruled from Benares had 16,000 wives and from his first queen, he had two sons; Rama and Lakshmana and a daughter called Sita.
If you believe Dasaratha Jathaka, you will see that Sita was Rama’s sister, not wife.
As far as I know, Dasaratha Jathaka says Buddha was Rama in one of his previous births, which will be rejected by Sihalese Buddhists.
Didn’t Rama become a Jain monk afterwards?
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SJ / July 29, 2020
C
One has to go by the oldest version, namely that of Valmiki for the theme.
The rest are variants based on faith, local traditions and beliefs etc.
*
We seem to attach much guilt to one desiring another’s wife. The values may have been different altogether in another society.
That a woman is abducted (in whatever manner) points to looking at woman as commodity.
Most versions suggest that Ravana did not attempt to force himself on Sita. That is something positive about Ravana.
Rama, on the other hand, demanded of Sita to enter a fire to demonstrate chastity. That suspicion did not stop there, it followed him even after being crowned king.
*
To construct history out of Ramayana is folly.
Ramayana offers interesting into the human mind in each of its versions. That matters very much to me.
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / July 29, 2020
King Dasharatha had three wives . Kausalya , Kaikeyi and Sumitra. Rama was born to his first wife, Bharata was born to his second wife Kaikeyi and his third wife had two sons Lakshmana and Shatrunga. He never had 16000 wives most probably these women belonged to the harem but were not his official wives. Only these three. Si also called Janaki was raised by King Janaka . She was not his natural daughter but definitely not the daughter of either king Dasharatha or King Raavana. King Janaka was the king of Videha even called Mithi, in the current Mithilanchal region of North India( UP/Bihar). Ramayana may be mixture of what really happened and myths. Not how similar it is to the story of Helen of Troy . A foreign king kidnapping a well neighbouring
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / July 29, 2020
Queen who is a beauty. Stop posting nonsense . There were no such people called the Sinhalese or the Sinhalese language existing , when this epic occurred. Sinhalese is not an original language . It is a mixture of Tamil , Pali and Sanskrit. Pali also would not have existed at that time. Only Sanskrit and Tamil would have existed. The original version in Sanskrit was written by Valmiki . The second most read and well known version is the Tamil Kamba Ramayanam , that was written in the 12th century by Kamban. There are certain differences between them in the manner of composition, style of poetry used and the like. Both place a lot of importance in religion and are great classics. So many other versions in other Indian languages and even in Persian and East Asian languages were written but it is these two versions that are considered to be the classics and greatly read
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Stanley / July 29, 2020
‘It is a mixture of Tamil , Pali and Sanskrit. Pali also would not have existed at that time’
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What do you mean by ‘Pali’? Did you mean a mixture of Magadhi and Prakrit? Or Rj1952 language perhaps?
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Champa / July 29, 2020
Siva Sankaran Sharma
Which language did Rama speak? Sanskrit.
Which language did Hanuma Speak? Sanskrit.
Which language did King Rawana speak? Sinhala. As per Ramayana, he has excelled Sanskrit and composed many stotras. So he didn’t have any problem with communicating in Sanskrit.
Tamil language surely has not existed by then. Otherwise Valmiki could have mentioned about it.
From where did Valmiki get all those precise information about King Rawana including his Vimanas?
It is yet to be explored, but I guess, Valmiki was inspired by an original book written in Sinhala which he translated into Sankrit as Ramayana, with some distortions here and there.
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / July 30, 2020
Idiotic person . I do not know in which language Rama or Raavana spoke and do not care as the chances are these two people never existed and or their characters based on some far gone historical incident. The chances are the so called Lanka was in some part of India and may not be this island. Tamil is older than Sanskrit and this has been historically proven. Even the Sanskrit mad Indian Prime Minister Modi had openly admitted to this fact. Therefore if Sanskrit existed Tamil would have been existing and thriving. If Raman had lived in the north of India , he would have been speaking some form of Prakrit( Sanskrit was never a spoken language ) and if Raavana had lived in the deep south of India or in this island he definitely would have been speaking
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / July 30, 2020
A Dravidian language most probably Tamil or a proto Tami/Dravidian dialect. Definitely not the mongrel Sinhalese language that only came into existence around the 7TH -8TH century. Proto Dravidian is basically old Tamil as more than 85% of the vocabulary of Proto Dravidian is only found in Tamil and not in in the other Dravidian languages , that appeared much later from old and middle Tamil( in the case of Malayalam) . As for the Ramayana there are many versions of this classic in many languages but the only two classical and recognizes versions of this great religious epic that is sacred to all Hindus, are the original Valmiki Ramayana written in Sanskrit and the Kamba Ramayanam written in Tamil by the poet Kamban. They may differ but state the same story and are great classics , acknowledged by many scholars. None of the other versions are and do cannot be compared to the beauty and the poetry of these two versions. These are the only two versions , that are generally recited in the Hindu temples.
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SJ / July 31, 2020
The bit on Ramayana is correct I would say.
But “Tamil is older than Sanskrit and this has been historically proven”? Which historian of repute.
*
Modi will say anything to please the gullible. He knows that the Tamils have a weakness for being told that they are the oldest anything under the sun.
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / July 30, 2020
Pali or Maghadhi Prakrit a Middle Indo Aryan language , and mixture of many Prakrits , only came into existence from around 3 BCE. Pre Asokan Maghadhi is definitely not Pali. It definitely would not have existed , at the time when Ramayana was supposed to have taken place. Tamil and Sanskrit are far more older and were existing at that time. Valmiki was inspired by an original book written in Sinhala. A language and people who never existed . What are you a comedian?
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Siva Sankaran Sharma / July 29, 2020
Sorry Sita and not Si
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Champa / July 29, 2020
Siva Sankaran Sharma
I referred to Dasharatha Jathaka as a reply to the footnote of Sabes Sugunasabesan’s article, which he says is the Buddhist version.
I know nothing about your version of Dasharatha Jathaka. Is it the Hindu version?
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SJ / July 30, 2020
C
The Dasaratha Jathaka says that Dasaratha ruled from Benares not Ayodhya.
Given the vast differences, the chances are that what is called Valmiki Ramayana and Dasaratha Jathaka are different narratives of an old tale.
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Champa / July 29, 2020
The last para of my first comment seems missing.
I said;
Today, Sinhalese are in the danger of losing ancient historical buildings at the hand of a government elected by themselves.
The property comprising a 13th Century Royal Assembly Hall built by King Buvanaikabahu II who ruled from ancient capital Kurunegala is under threat as the government cohorts have challenged its archaeological value. A part of the building has already been secretly demolished by the town’s mayor. This situation is not conducive to our cultural heritage.
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Champa / July 29, 2020
Sri Lanka hasn’t done any excavations about native King Rawana’s kingdom mainly due to the Archaeological Department’s hesitance to believe the existence of King Rawana, although they embrace foreign-born Vijaya Hora.
We should have at least conducted excavations at King Rawana’s two airports named “Gurulu-potha” and “Wera-gantota” in Mahiyanganaya, the ancient capital of Yakkha.
His other airports were “Thotupola-kanda” in Horton Plains, “Watha-riya-pola” in Kurunegala and Guruthalawa and “Ussan-goda” in Hambantota.
I urge the Sinhalese youth in these areas to protect the above places without letting anyone dig unlawfully.
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According to RigVeda, there had been 3 types of airships: while
1). Tri-chakra Ratha (3-wheeled airships pulled by animals used by Gods),
2). Vaayu Ratha (wind, solar or gas powered) and
3). Vidyuth Ratha (powered by electromagnets) were being used by AsuraChakravarti, King Rawana.
“Vaimanika Shastra-the science of spacecraft” has given a detailed description of King Rawana’s Vaayu and Vidyuth Vimanas such as; (rocket shaped, silver-colour) Sundara Vimana; (cone shaped, gold-colour) Rukma Vimana; and (cruise shaped with wings and a tail) Sakuna Vimana; being gas, solar and wind powered, while (three storied palace style) Pushpaka Vimana being powered by mercury, and the (saucer shaped) Tripura Vimana which could travel (a) on land, (b) through water and (c) fly in outer space, was powered by nuclear energy.
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SJ / July 30, 2020
Man desired flight from the beginning of civilization. As a result there have been fantasies of flight.
Kites were known in ancient China. But, despite all manner of flying machines designed by people, flight itself eluded man until the balloon in the 18th Century. Then there was the steam powered airship.
Then came gliders and early last century we had the aeroplane.
What technology did we have before European colonization? Was it adequate even for automated road transport?
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old codger / July 30, 2020
SJ,
Is there any mention of wheels in our ancient history?
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Mallaiyuran / July 30, 2020
Old,
Are you milking a bull?
The bull can come out with all kind of cow dung. But replies to the questions that “the one knows know, and who doesn’t know (the one like him) doesn’t know.
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SJ / July 31, 2020
Here is cow dung without demand.
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Mallaiyuran / July 31, 2020
” Here is cow dung “ Where? Why; did you infected the cows also with your cholera?
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Mallaiyuran / July 30, 2020
Champa,
Vaimānika Shāstra was written in last century by storytelling authors, but not real. Those guys were born in Tamil Nadu but made in India. They wrote in Sanskrit, not in Tamil only to fool readers. But that was printed in English and Hindi too. India invents a lot. They rang the bells to chase Covid-19 and hanged Comba (Margosa) leaves to stop those viruses on the door ways. Nobody else but Prime Minister Modi and Finance minister Nirmala invents those.
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Champa / July 30, 2020
Mallaiyuran
You are talking about the English translation of the book.
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Before scientists discovered viruses and bacteria, it was a tradition of Sinhalese households to hang Kohomba leaves at the doorway to convey that they practice self-isolation to stop the spread of contagious “diseases of the Gods.”
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Native Vedda / July 31, 2020
Champa
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“it was a tradition of Sinhalese households to hang Kohomba leaves at the doorway to convey that they practice self-isolation to stop the spread of contagious “diseases of the Gods.”
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If that is the case why the hell do you leave the old folks outside the house irrespective of rain or shine under the open sky? Don’t they ward off Golu Sanniya before it enters the house?
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Mallaiyuran / August 1, 2020
“Before scientists discovered viruses and bacteria, it was a tradition of Sinhalese households to hang Kohomba leaves “
Champawati you are very good in delivering Old Wine in new bottle.
So then why Tamils and Sinhalese use Ash Gourd, coconut palm leaves, mango tree leaves, Temple Tree leaves, Arugam(What is English word for this)? grass, Darbha (Desmotachya bipinnata), Rudraksha (Elaeocarpus ganitrus) et al? Because sometimes they run out of Margosa leaves?
Margosa is a difficult one to bring up; can we start to use Kathankuddy Dates leaves, it is flourishing a lot there?
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Mallaiyuran / July 30, 2020
There weren’t horses in that time but Valmigi is talking about Ashvamedha. Queen has to sleep with horse on yaga night. Unfortunately Sita did not return to Ayodhya; died on the way on Ram’s returning journey from Ceylon. The young princess could not stand for the long journey, though some distant might been covered by a palanquin. But the story did not give any if suggestion it was used. The pregnant princes died but doctors tried to save the prince cutting her. They thought they failed and had brought a stolen child from neighborhood. But Sita’s child survived. Ram could not care any of these because he had got nothing out of the marvelous victory in Ceylon but the Apsara like princess, Ravana’s daughter, whom also he lost to the tragedy. He went back palace; handed over the kingdom to brothers; made a statue of Sita; withdraw from normal life but spent his time with his imaginary wife. He never took care of children and they were mainly with Gurus’ custody. Sage Valmigi says he took care of Sita. His classical Sanskrit is less than 2,500 years old and Sanskrit started only few centuries after Aryan invasion, about 3,000 years ago. Ram the Dravidian king lived well before Aryan invasion.
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SJ / July 31, 2020
Here is yet another Ramayana
BTW,
Wonder who made Sita pregnant?
It takes a few weeks to ascertain pregnancy, and Rama did not hang about in Sri Lanka after his mission was accomplished.
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Mallaiyuran / July 31, 2020
You are asking me? When did your morality get that good?
Come out with honest answer for you question, instead of punishing me with milking the bull.
You are the master in twisting the dialogs & putting the questions in the filthiest way to get the gossip answer you like to hear; aren’t you? You get that much trouble in the day time? Then I am obliged to complete your request.
If you don’t understand English, don’t come out with your biology; it is science. It is not Ramayana.
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Mallaiyuran / July 30, 2020
Sage Valmigi put together the story from legends of his time. Once after his eminent writing appeared other legends quickly lost value and the real story messed to revere Aryan culture, though Ram’s story has nothing to do with Aryans.
This author is as ignorant as the bald heads because he too seems to believe the plane was Ravana’s. Ravana’s Ashura family didn’t know that technology .Ravana forcefully seized from his step brother, Kupera, who was an angel, for whom it was built by another angel, carpenter Visakarma. The story is not telling the technology was available on the earth though Ravana was flying it on earth. There may have been some technology parallel to that existed in Indus Valley so it induced to imagine a full flying machine like Ravana used.
Another legend says Valmigi died by leprosy because he wrote Ravana fell in love with his daughter and kidnapped from her husband, knowingly. She is the daughter of Bhumi and Ravana. When Ravana went to war angel land he left her with Janaka. So he went to bring her back. Ram got only after defeating Ravana. Island Ceylon was built by Ravana only to give Uma, who thought such a devotee of Siva needed a good gift but Siva refused help her. So she asked Ravana to build pearl like place and then gave it to him telling the truth.
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old codger / July 30, 2020
SJ,
Is there any mention of wheels, wheeled vehicles, or depictions of same in our pre-colonial history?
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SJ / July 31, 2020
OC
Wheels and wheeled vehicles powered by animals were very much there across South Asia.
The chessboard as we know now went from India, and the Bishop is really a chariot as in the Indian system. The Mahabharata mentions horse-drawn chariots and even long range missiles but not aircraft.
(The Devas may have had aircraft as they live up in the sky.)
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Mallaiyuran / July 31, 2020
“The Devas may have had aircraft as they live up in the sky. “
Please stop spraying cholera cow dung story. Please, kindly, if don’t understand walk up to the road & ask there from a walking child to read the question for you and explain it.
The question is about your bloody statement that Ceylonese did know nothing until Europeans came in. Other day I said Tamils invented the trigonometry and used it in Periya Kovil too, you said Egyptians built Pyramid. Why do you write such dumb, Konanky things like that without understanding what you are talking? To show that you know a lot?
Please, Kindly answer Old question. It is related to Europeans and Ceylonese. Not about Deva-s who send Konankies to angels land with their oligopoly product of Jaffna Kanja.
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old codger / July 31, 2020
SJ,
Specifically in SL. I think water wheels were not used for power here either unlike in other South Asian countries.
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soma / August 1, 2020
No one talks about Hanuma who didn’t
need any f*****l to get from place to place.
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Soma
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Mallaiyuran / August 1, 2020
Somu,
Because he used Buddha’s Airhell-diva to fly around.
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