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NEWS October 2024
OCTOBER 2024 The recent cyber attack on the Internet Archive is deplorable and can be reasonably compared with the repeated burning of the Great Library of Alexandria. I have used the Wayback Machine extensively, but, until the full extent of the permanent damage is clear, I am unable to assess its effect on Atlantipedia. At […]Read More »
Joining The Dots
I have now published my new book, Joining The Dots, which offers a fresh look at the Atlantis mystery. I have addressed the critical questions of when, where and who, using Plato’s own words, tempered with some critical thinking and a modicum of common sense.Read More »
Vaimanika Shastra
Dokras, Uday
Uday Dokras is a prolific writer with a focus on Eastern religions and history. Many of his papers are available on the Academia website(a). He is reputed to have written the highest number of books and research papers! Included in his extensive output is a book entitled Atlantis – The Lost Continent. In it he reviews the subject of sunken cities and land both in the West and in the Orient, such as Kumari Kandam(b). His chapter on Atlantis offers little that is new and is simply a brief review of current theories.
>He also produced a paper on the ancient lighthouse at Alexandria (Pharos)(c).
Arguably his most contentious offering is an extensive paper(d) on the existence of the vimanas of ancient India and Pakistan. He presents an array of evidence from Hindu scriptures and concludes with a review of modern writers and the unsuccessful attempts to design and build a vimana today using these old texts.
Although Dokras’ paper is worth a read, I suggest that it be undertaken along with the more critical responses of debunkers, such as, Jason Colavito has drawn attention to the fact that
“The concept of these flying chariots as UFO-style airships originates in a fraud, the Vaimanika Shastra, allegedly an ancient Sanskrit epic, but one “channeled” from the astral realm by a Hindu psychic in 1918. No evidence of this text exists prior to 1952, and even the “translator” of the text makes explicit that it was channeled from the spirit world between 1918 and 1923. The fake text specifically compares the vimanas to modern aircraft, describing their propulsion systems and other modern technological achievements.”(e) David Hatcher Childress’ story of the Vaimanika Shastra has been challenged elsewhere including an article by Andrew May(f).<
(a) https://su-se.academia.edu/DrUdayDokras
(b) https://www.academia.edu/95153127/ATLANTIS_The_lost_Continent_BOOK
(c) https://archive.org/stream/lighthouse-of-alexandria-book/Lighthouse%20of%20Alexandria-BOOK_djvu.txt *
(d) (99+) VIMANA Ancient Conquests of Wind | Dr. Uday Dokras – Academia.edu *