Historical Methodology
Ramachandra Dikshitar introduced a new methodology in the study of ancient Indian history. His book "Warfare in Ancient India" speaks of the usage of vimanas in wars in ancient India and claims that the boomerang was invented in South India. As a result, this book is widely referenced by the historians of the Sangh Parivar for its notes on vimanas and by Dravidologists for its theory on the origin of boomerangs.
He believed that the references to the vimanas were quite real as evidenced by his writings in "Warfare in Ancient India"
No question can be more interesting in the present circumstances of the world than India's contribution to the science of aeronautics. There are numerous illustrations in our vast Puranic and epic literature to show how well and wonderfully the ancient Indians conquered the air. To glibly characterized everything found in this literature as imaginary and summarily dismiss it as unreal has been the practice of both Western and Eastern scholars until very recently. The very idea indeed was ridiculed and people went so far as to assert that it was physically impossible for man to use flying machines. But today what with balloons, aeroplanes and other flying machines, a great change has come over our ideas on the subject…the flying vimana of Rama or Ravana was set down as but a dream of the mythographer till aeroplanes and zeppelins of the present century saw the light of day. The mohanastra or the "arrow of unconsciousness" of old was until very recently a creature of legend till we heard the other day of bombs discharging Poisonous gases. We owe much to the energetic scientists and researchers who plod persistently and carry their torches deep down into the caves and excavations of old and dig out valid testimonials pointing to the misty antiquity of the wonderful creations of humanity.
In his Origin and Spread of the Tamils, Dikshitar includes Australia and Polynesia among the regions known to the ancient South Indians thereby suggesting that South Indian traders might have at least had a general idea of existence of the Australian continent even before it was discovered by Portuguese and Dutch sea-farers of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Read more about this topic: V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar
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