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In a landmark ceremony at the Naval Base in Karwar, the Indian Navy formally inducted the INSV Kaundinya, a reconstructed ancient stitched sail ship, marking a significant step in reviving India’s maritime legacy.
Presided over by Union Minister of Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the event showcased not only a remarkable feat of traditional shipbuilding but also a cultural tribute to India’s storied seafaring past.
INSV Kaundinya
INSV Kaundinya is unlike any modern vessel. Built entirely using ancient techniques, it replicates a 5th-century CE ship depicted in the Ajanta cave murals. Crafted without nails or welding, the vessel’s wooden planks were meticulously stitched together using coir rope, coconut fibre, and natural resin—a labour-intensive process carried out by traditional shipwrights from Kerala under the guidance of master craftsman Babu Sankaran.
Role of Indian Navy & Academic Institutions
The Indian Navy played a pivotal role in the ship’s realization. With no existing blueprints or surviving boats from that era, the Navy collaborated with archaeologists, historians, and shipbuilders to infer the design from iconography.
Hydrodynamic testing at IIT Madras and rigorous structural assessments ensured the vessel was historically authentic and seaworthy. The ship is equipped with square cotton sails, trailing oars, and a flexible hull—features rarely seen today but crucial to ancient navigation.
Speaking about the project’s origins and cultural resonance, Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council who first proposed the idea, said, “He [Kaundinya] is the first Indian mariner, who we know by name, to have crossed the seas to visit Southeast Asia and had a significant impact on world history.”
In his address, Sanyal recounted the legend behind the vessel’s name, tracing it to the Indian mariner Kaundinya, who is said to have founded the ancient kingdom of Funan with the local warrior queen Soma in what is now Cambodia. “Though India has an old maritime culture dating back to the Bronze Age, we do not know the names of those mariners. The first definitive one… is Kaundinya,” he explained. “We do not know what his ship looked like. But the ships of that period looked like what we have built.”
Transoceanic Voyage
The vessel is not merely a ceremonial tribute. INSV Kaundinya will soon embark on a transoceanic voyage tracing the ancient maritime trade route from Gujarat to Oman—rekindling the pathways once navigated by Indian traders and explorers over a millennium ago.
In a statement, the Navy highlighted that the ship also carries cultural symbolism: its sails bear the Gandabherunda, a two-headed eagle from the Kadamba dynasty, and the Sun; the bow features a sculpted Simha Yali, while the deck is adorned with a Harappan-style stone anchor. These elements reinforce the vessel’s deep roots in Indian maritime tradition.
“This project is not just about reviving a ship,” said Minister Shekhawat at the ceremony, “it is about reviving a legacy—of exploration, trade, and the ingenuity of our ancestors who mastered the seas long before modern navigation.”
With the induction of INSV Kaundinya, the Indian Navy and the Ministry of Culture have reanimated a vital chapter of India’s maritime story, bridging the past with the present and setting the course for a historic voyage into the future.
Team BharatShakti
