Every Hindu is acquainted with the story of Ramayana in one way or the other. It’s the story of how Lord Rama saves his wife from Ravana’s – the demon king’s – abduction. Before that, he and his brother Laxman was exiled from the palace by his father Dasharatha. The war between the two extreme is a symbol of how good will always prevail against the evil, according to the Hindus.
When Lord Rama kills Ravana, he returns back to Ayodhya, which is 3,300 km from Lanka where the war takes place. The interesting thing is that he does so in just 18 days when there wasn’t any technology or transportation development taking place in those days like today. They only had horse carts as a means of transportation.
This has been a question of debate everywhere – in the Puranas, in religious talks, in social media. Many believe that Lord Rama and his companions had the best of the horses and Rama, too, was blessed with great horse-riding skills. Even with that theory, there is a loophole. If he did travel in the best of the horses, he would have had to travel at the speed of 183.33km per day, which is nothing but unrealistic of one horse to do so. A completely impossible in the practical life.
Some believe that Rama changed horses along the way for rather smoother rides. Then again, continuous 20 days of the ride is not feasible since the pathway included sea, mountain, forests, rivers and many other obstacles that don’t allow for smooth rides.
So what is it then?
Pushpa Vimaan
During the ancient era, there is a theory that there existed a mystical aircraft built by the master craftsman Vishwakarma. This was known as the Pushpa Vimaan. Lord Brahma got it from Vishwakarma, which was then passed on to Kuber, and then conquered by Ravana. As Ravana was defeated, Vibhishana was crowned the king of Lanka, following the kingship of Ravana. Vibhishana is said to have offered the Pushpa VImaan to Lord Rama, and thus, he was able to travel to Ayodhya from Lanka with efficiency and ease.
But this is just another mysterious story. Nobody can really pinpoint what really is true.