History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c13.26

v1.c13.26

There is no doubt that during the Vedic period the opportunity and the atmosphere were congenial for experimentation and development of new technologies, but owing to the religious beliefs and rituals associated with each experimentation, the free dissipation of the knowledge was prevented. How long this tradition has been in-vogue before the written records of these epics and processes were prepared is difficult to be decided and hence the exact history of the discovery of the metals and metallurgy in the Indian Subcontinent is not known. But it is certain that many of the common metals were known during the Vedic period and they were being used for the manufacture of various tools used for agriculture, defence, and transport by land, sea and probably also by air (vimān) using steam and other energy sources. The need for development of such technology has been described in Rgveda, Śruti 1.1, 1.3.1, 1,3.2. and in Yajurveda 1.4 and 4.33.