Storybook Plan

 

Photo Taken by Navneet Shanu

 

Storybook Theme: The main idea of my storybook revolves around ancient technology in India. Most of the themes and stories I will retell are speculative or untrue, and will be told with that in mind.

Story Style: The stories will be an anthology of separate stories

Stories: Vimana Spaceship, Nuclear Energy, Weapons

Bibliography:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimana

https://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2014/06/reading-guide-sanghi-krishna-key.html

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4541

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harappa

http://veda.wikidot.com/ancient-city-found-in-india-irradiated-from-atomic-blast

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24663434?seq=1

https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/ancientman/1054.html 

https://www.mysteryofindia.com/2014/08/myth-of-ancient-nuclear-war.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astra_(weapon)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayanastra

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmastra

Topic Research: Ancient Indian Techonology

 

Ashwathama uses Narayanastra

(Image source: Narayanastra)

 I'm choosing to do Ancient Indian Tech for my project. There is a lot of speculation and myth associated with the stories I'm choosing, so I'm going to have to make it clear that it is fictitious (as a lot of my ideas came from the infamous Ancient Aliens).

 

Vimana Spaceship:

 A mythical flying palace. The Vimana has been associated with aliens. I would like to relay the story from the Ramayana, and include the speculation surrounding the Vimana spaceship in conspiracy circles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypHNy2-JC-Q

 

Nuclear Energy:

This subject is also highly speculative, but there are a lot of urban legends involving it. I want to explore the cities and myths involved, and discuss the possibility of nuclear power in ancient India.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngGHwmpNPdg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgTti6-iZ0c

https://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2014/06/reading-guide-sanghi-krishna-key.html

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4541

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harappa

http://veda.wikidot.com/ancient-city-found-in-india-irradiated-from-atomic-blast (This source is 100% false, but I'm including it for the speculation.)

Astra: Ancient Indian Weapons:  

The weapons associated with the Gods are very powerful, and many speculate that these weapons were akin to modern day weapons. There are stories of Vishnu wielding powerful heat-seeking missiles,  and atomic bombs dropped on ancient cities. I want to tell the myths and stories involving these legends, and then speculate about the weapons having technology like we have in the modern world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astra_(weapon)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayanastra

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmastra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2_f3YXGGuA

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24663434?seq=1

https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/ancientman/1054.html 

https://www.mysteryofindia.com/2014/08/myth-of-ancient-nuclear-war.html

 

Other Sources:

https://scienceblog.com/20159/science-and-technology-in-ancient-india/

Topic Brainstorm

 

 Buddha head overtaken by the roots of a banyan tree. Bangkok, Thailand. 

(image source: The head in the roots | © edusma7256 / Pixabay)

 

Indian Astrology:

I didn't initially know this was a thing until Laura told me about it. Like in the mythology course, I would want to research Hindu Astrology, the myths behind it, and create stories that interject these concepts into them. In my short research of this, I found that Hindu astrology also uses palm reading, so I may try to incorporate that into the stories somehow. Following the astrology idea, I though maybe there are Indian constellations — and there are! I'm interested in astronomy, and I know about the Western constellations, but I would be interested in learning the myths behind Indian constellations. I would research Indian astronomy, and the techniques they used to map the stars. I would learn about the constellations myths, and tie the stories into the astrology aspect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_astrology

https://www.tifr.res.in/~archaeo/papers/Astronomy%20and%20Sanskrit%20literature/Astronomical%20Myths%20in%20India.pdf 

https://www.debsheppard.com/what-are-the-stars-saying-a-vedic-astrology-reading-for-us/

http://www.hindustanlink.com/palmistry/lines-sun.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_astronomy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nakshatras

https://theskylive.com/sky/constellations/indus-constellation

 

Ancient Indian Technology: 

I saw a video on YouTube discussing this, and thought it was incredibly interesting. There are many cultures that have ancient technology, yet again I don't know much about India or their history of ancient technology. I'm interested in learning and researching the history of science and technology in India. I'm not sure how I could create stories out of this idea — although I don't suppose the stories have to be fictional. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science_and_technology_in_the_Indian_subcontinent

https://www.thebetterindia.com/63119/ancient-india-science-technology/

 

Sunken Cities:

Again, I saw a video on YouTube and thought it was fascinating. The ocean has swallowed many cities all over the world, but I'm interested in Indian cities. What is their history? Do they have any good stories or myths related to them? Are they real or legendary? I would research the cities, and tell the story if the have one, or I would create one of my own. Or if there aren't many that I can find, perhaps I'll include abandoned or lost cities along with sunken ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok1243NBRmY&list=PLrWYQjLLbXcie5DuhgxacocxvQp_5pNIX&index=58

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_archaeology_in_the_Gulf_of_Cambay

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/9500-year-old-city-found-underwater-off-india-gautam-sen/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarka

 

 Sacred Trees and Places:

There are many sacred places in India, and I'm interested in their history. I'm interested in learning about these places - specifically trees that are holy grounds for prayer and meditation. I want to know their history, and the stories associated with them. Are there groves of trees? Do people make pilgrimages to these sacred places? Are they lost, or do they still exist?

https://www.talesbytrees.com/a-brief-guide-to-the-sacred-trees-of-india/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdD-5CMOn0Y&list=PLrWYQjLLbXcie5DuhgxacocxvQp_5pNIX&index=71

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_grove