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62 The celestial chariots or "aerial cars" were invariably described as bright and radiant, made of or plated with gold. India's Vimana (aerial car) had lights shining at its sides and moved "swifter than thought," traversing rapidly vast distances. Its unseen steeds were "Sun-eyed," emitting a reddish hue, but also changing colors. In other instances the aerial cars of the gods were described as multitiered; sometimes they could not only fly in the air, but also travel under water. In the epic tale of the Mahabharata, the arrival of the gods for a wedding feast in a fleet of aerial cars is described thus (we follow the translation of R. Dutt in Mahabharata, The Epic of Ancient India): The gods, in cloud-borne chariots, came to view the scene so fair: Bright Adityas in their splendor, Maruts in the moving air; Winged Suparnas, scaly Nagas, Deva Rishies pure and high, For their music famed, Gandharvas; (and) fair Apsaras of the sky... . Bright celestial cars in concourse sailed upon the cloudless sky. The texts also speak of the Ashvins ("Drivers"), gods who spe- cialized in piloting aerial chariots. "Swift as young falcons," they were “the best of charioteers who reach the heavens," always pi- loting their craft in pairs, accompanied by a navigator. Their vehi- cles, which sometimes appeared in groups, were golden-made, "bright and radiant . . . with easy seat and lightly rolling." They were constructed on a triple principle, having three levels, three seats, three supporting poles, and three rotating wheels. "That chariot of yours," Hymn 22 of Book VIII of the Rig-Veda said in praise of the Ashvins, "hath a triple seat and reins of gold—the famous car that traverses Heaven and Earth." The rotating wheels, it appears, served diverse functions: one to raise the craft, another to give it direction, the third to speed it along: "One of your chari- ot's wheels is moving swiftly around; one speeds for you its on- ward course." As in the Greek tales, so did the gods of the Vedas display little morality or restraint in sexual matters—sometimes getting away with it, sometimes not, as when the indignant Adityas selected Rudra ("The Three-Eyed") to kill their grandfather Dyaus for THE WARS OF GODS AND MEN