Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Pushpaka
Vibhishana gives Rama the car Pushpaka, described as self-moving, spacious, painted and furnished with chambers, windows and banners. Its departure accompanies the move from victory in Lanka to the return home. Rama invites the allied company to join the journey, and the car rises into the sky drawn by golden geese. The travellers stop to include the monkey chiefs’ wives before continuing towards Ayodhya.
Also known as Puṣpaka · Pushpaka Vimana
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In the sources
Principal account
TraditionalVibhishana gives Rama the car Pushpaka, described as self-moving, spacious, painted and furnished with chambers, windows and banners. Its departure accompanies the move from victory in Lanka to the return home.
Further detail
TraditionalRama invites the allied company to join the journey, and the car rises into the sky drawn by golden geese. The travellers stop to include the monkey chiefs’ wives before continuing towards Ayodhya.
Context & interpretation
Pushpaka is presented as the marvellous vehicle of this Ramayana retelling. Self-motion and aerial travel are traditional narrative features; they are not treated as evidence of a recovered ancient aircraft or a technological specification.
Original passages
Source 1
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
windows and flags and banners and many chambersOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Nivedita and Coomaraswamy, Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 135
Exact passage checked against the active edition text and original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0135
- Original scan leaf
- 135
- Recorded leaf number
- 135
- Current Reader position
- 126
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
the car rose up into the sky, drawn by golden geeseOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Nivedita and Coomaraswamy, Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 135
Exact passage checked against the active edition text and original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0135
- Original scan leaf
- 135
- Recorded leaf number
- 135
- Current Reader position
- 126
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
