Great Tamil King Ravanan had Six Airports in Ilangkai ( Sri Lanka )

Nowadays, we see some of the State Governments and individuals owning helicopters.  Around 7100 years ago, during Ramayanam days, Ilangkai ( Sri Lanka ) Tamil King Ravanan had ‘Vimanas’ (flying machines), in his airport hangars for his use.  According to  Valmiki Ramayanam , Ravanan had 6 such airports. They were Weragantota in Mahiyangana,  Thotupola Kanda at Hoton Plains, Usangoda on the southern coast, Wariyapola in Kurunegala, Wariyapola in Mattale and Gurulupotha in Mahiyangana.  

When Lord Sri Ramar was flying over Ilanglkai ( Sri Lanka ) in the Pushpaka Vimanam after killing King Ravanan , he described the aerial view  to Vibishanan as “Lanka shines on the earth, studded with many Vimanas” (Valmiki Ramayanam , Yuddha Khandam , Sarga 20):

A temple stands today at the Ashoka Vatika ( Ashoka Vanam ) site
in Sri Lanka, not far from the site of Werangantota ancient airport of Tamil King Ravanan. )

Texts like Ramayanam and other Puranic texts speak about the stories of Vimanam. The technical details on Vimanam are available in a few other texts in India. The more prominent among these is the Vimanika Shastram written by Maharishi Bharadwaja.  In this treatise, Maharishi Bharadwaja states that he was only compiling information available at his time for various Vimanam and that most of them were prior to his time. He writes about 120 different Vimanans that existed in different times in different lands. He also gives glimpses of fuels used, aeronautics, avionics, metallurgy and other manoeuvres that were deployed in flying these Vimanam.  Besides, Yantra Sarvasvam  (by  Maharishi Bharadwaja) and Samarangana Sutra Dara (by Raja Bhoja) also give more technical  details about the ‘flying machines’. These great books had with technical drawings of the ancient vimanam and have also been translated into English in the last hundred years.

Four types of Vimanas are described in the ancient scriptures.  They are (1) Rukma (Conical in shape, golden in colour), (2) Sundara  (Rocket like with silver sheen), (3) Tripura (Three storied, wide body) and (4) Sakuna  (Greyish in colour, long distance cruising model). Based on the description, technical sketches have also been drawn. The  metals and fuel used and the various purposes are also found in these scriptures. 

Sri Lankan legends also mentions many airports that existed in Lanka in the Treta Yugam during the times of Lord Sri Rama and Great King Ravanan. Here are a few:


'Werangantota' in Mahiyangana - in the Singhalese language this word means 'a place for an airport to land'. In Sanskrit, 'varanka' (वारङ्क) means 'bird' and 'ghatta' (घट्ट) means 'landing place' and is is the source of the word Werangantota. Singhalese itself is a Sanskrit derived language. Legend has it that 'Werangantota' is the airport where the Pushpaka Vimana landed when Seethai is abducted and flown to Lanka. The Ashoka Vatika ( Vanam ) where Seethai is held in captivity site is located about 10 km from Werangantota.

It is also quite evident that Jatayu, the so so-called bird that tries to forestall the flight of Great King Ravanan is also an aircraft. How else could a bird battle the Pushpaka Vimanam and attempt to stop the flight of an aircraft. Of course, the pilot in the aeroplane named Jatayu has been confused for the aircraft itself. One may have noticed that whenever a powerful machinery is mentioned in the Ramayanam , Valmiki , the author describes it by saying that the person involved 'changes his shape at will'. For example, every time Hanuman takes off in the air he always transforms his shape. His arms extend out but his legs become comparatively shorter. His chest extends, he presses the ground with his chest, there are huge gusts of wind, there are loud noises and then he is airborne. That's Hanuman in an aircraft!

'Thotupola Kanda' (at Hoton Plains): The word 'thotupola' means a port, a place that one touches during ones journey, 'kanda' means rock. In Sanskrit 'ghattan' (घट्टन) means 'a landing place' and 'katha' (काठ) means 'rock'. The Singhalese word 'Thotu' may be a distortion of the Sanskrit 'ghatta'. Thotupola Kanda is a flat land over a rocky range 6000 feet above sea level in Lanka. 'Pola' may be derived from Sanskrit 'pura' meaning city. 'Pura' appears in the name Singapore as 'pore' and as 'por' in Por Bajin (Siberia) etc.

Wariyapola (Mattale): The word Wariyapola is said to have been derived from 'watha-ri-ya-pola' meaning place for landing and taking off. The source of 'watha' is the Sanskrit 'vithi' (वीथी) which means 'path', 'atarya' (आतार्य) is related to 'landing', 'tarya' (तार्य) is related to 'carrying freight'. Or 'wariya' may just be a distortion of the sanskrit 'varanga' which as mentioned above means 'bird'. In fact va (वा), vata (वात), vaha (वाह) all are realated to air, flight and flying. 'Pola' is probably a distortion of the Sanskrit 'pura' which means 'place'. 

Four Purusharthas ( Main Aims ) of Hinduism

In this article, we will discuss Hinduism facts about the four Purusharthas i.e. four aims of life.

f you are new to Hinduism, you might have a question in your mind that how to live an ideal life as a Hindu. Is it always necessary to denounce the normal life and become an ascetic to acquire salvation?  What are the aims of a Hindu’s life?

According to Vedas, there are four aims of a Hindu’s life:

1. Dharma.

2. Artha.

3. Kama.

4. Moksha.

We will discuss all these four aims in detail in this article.

1. Dharma: Dharma literally means religion or law but here it actually means righteousness i.e. duty towards the society, duty towards the family, duty towards the humanity. So, one has to observe Dharma while living in society by respecting the laws of society and doing the right things.

2. Artha: Artha means wealth or the things related to earning money. This does not at all mean that Hinduism advocates acquisition of health only but Hinduism understands the importance of money in a person’s life. To live life happily as a common person, you need money but this money should be acquired by honest methods only. If there is a clash between Dharma and Artha, Dharma should be given more priority than Artha.

3. Kama: Kama means pleasure, especially “sexual pleasure.”  The word Kama here also means the pleasure we derive from cultural pursuits, sports, and other creative activities which help us enjoy the life.

People know Hinduism for spirituality but Hinduism is also a very practical religion. Hinduism honestly appreciates that sexual pleasure is one of the highest and purest pleasures that God had given to human. Sex is, no doubt, an important part of a human’s life and we should accept it wholeheartedly. It is the basic instinct through which procreate ourselves and preserve the human race.

4. Moksha: The Moksha means salvation i.e. liberation of the soul from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Hinduism believes in reincarnation. What we are today is the result of our past life Karma and what we would be in the next life would be the result of what we do in the present life. Our soul thus gets trapped in the cycle of birth and rebirth. Therefore, Moksha is necessary to liberate the soul from this cycle. Moksha is the ultimate aim of a Hindu’s life.

Hinduism not only tells the aims of life but also tells how to achieve them. 

A Hindu’s life is therefore divided in four stages or Asramas to achieve these aims.