War in Ancient India c10.19

c10.19

conveying him to any place on the earth.⁷ If it had any basis in fact it must have been a flying horse. There are numerous references both in the Viṣṇupurāṇa and the Mahābhārata where Kṛṣṇa is said to have navigated the air on the Garuḍa.⁸ Either the accounts are imaginary or they are a reference to an eagle-shaped machine flying in the air. Subrahmaṇya used a peacock as his vehicle and Brahmā a swan. Further, the Asura, Māya by name, is said to have owned an animated golden car with four strong wheels and having a circumference of 12,000 cubits, which possessed the wonderful power of flying at will to any place. It was equipped with various weapons and bore huge standards. And in the battle between the Devas and the Asuras in which Māya took a leading part, several warriors are represented as riding birds.⁹