Meet INS Kaundinya – Indian Navy’s Masterpiece Ship Without Weapons And Engines-OxBig News Network

New Delhi: The Indian Navy on May 21 introduced again a vessel to its fleet that after misplaced to time. The hand-made one-of-a-kind wood ship, INSV Kaundinya, isn’t any odd vessel. It is a tribute to Kaundinya – considered one of India’s earliest recognized ocean voyager. As legend suggests, he was a service provider who found a kingdom 2,000 years ego in Southeast Asia.

The story begins alongside Mekong Delta – immediately’s southern Vietnam. The ship of Kaundinya that was carrying Indian retailers got here below assault by pirates. He was compelled to seaside the ship; and when he did it, he was surrounded by a bunch led by a warrior queen – Soma.

The incident witnessed a dramatic twist whereby Soma fell in love with the courageous mariner and tied knots with him. They collectively established the dominion of Funan, which is taken into account to be the primary in Southeast Asia.

Centuries later, the Navy is maybe reviving Kaundinya’s legacy. The newly manufactured ship is the masterpiece of the previous craftsmanship. Built utilizing 1,500-year-old strategies, the vessel has been made with out utilizing a single nail.

The artisans from Kerala have stitched its wood planks along with coconut fibre, pure resin and coir rope. Like the ship as soon as did when Indian merchants sailed throughout the Indian Ocean to journey to Mesopotamia, Bahrain and Oman, etec., its sq. cotton sails catch the wind.

Talking to The Indian Express, the person behing the revival, Sanjeev Sanyal, who’s a member within the prime minister’s financial advisory council, described Kaundinya because the “first Indian mariner we knew by name to have changed history”.

Though Indian commerce by way of sea routes is as previous because the Bronze Age, the names of only some voyages survive. Preserved in Southeast Asian sources, Kaundinya’s identify is an exception.

Since there aren’t any data of drawing of his ship, therefore this vessel has been designed as per a fifth century portray discovered within the Ajanta caves which might be one among the many earliest visible clues of what historical ships might have appeared like. For further inputs, overseas travellers’ account and historical scripture corresponding to Yuktikalpataru have been relied upon.

The vessel is stuffed with symbolism. Its sails characteristic the solar and the legendary two-headed eagle as soon as utilized by the Kadamba dynasty – Gandabherunda. A legendary creature – Simha Yali – adorn the ship’s bow. It even carries a Harappan-style stone anchor.

INSV Kaundinya has neither engine nor radar. Using sq. sails and steering oars, it runs solely on wind energy. The Navy will quickly practice a 15-member crew to grasp this misplaced artwork of crusing.

Part of grand cultural challenge of shipbuilders from Goa-based Hodi Innovations, the Ministry of Culture and the Indian Navy, the ship is slated to sail to Oman in late 2025 to retrace the traditional commerce routes, which have been one utilized by Indian retailers.

Speaking on the launching ceremony of the vessel, Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat termed it a “resurgence of India’s maritime glory”. India, with this ship, will not be attempting to revive solely a ship, it’s reviving a forgotten sea-borne legacy, a talent and a narrative.