Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Pralay…how are missiles named… is there any special rule?

India’s missile arsenal has deadly missiles like Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Pralay, Brahmos, Nag, Trishul. These missiles can wipe out the enemy with just a press of a button. But have you ever wondered how these missiles are named, is there any special rule for this? Let’s find out.

Most of India’s missiles are named after the elements of the universe and the weapons described in mythological texts. Texts like Ramayana and Mahabharata mention such weapons which, when fired from one place, would travel a long distance and destroy their target. Missiles are also a result of such imagination.

In the modern world, the beginning of missiles is considered to be from the guided missiles V1 and V2 in Germany. After this, many types of missiles were developed all over the world. When missile scientists in India developed powerful missiles, they were named with mythological references. This tradition continues even today.

However, if we talk about rules, then no specific rules have been made for naming missiles. The names of missiles also reflect the cultural symbols of countries. For example, the Brahmos missile made in collaboration with Russia is named after India’s Brahmaputra and Russia’s Muskova river.

The scientists who develop missiles play an important role in naming them. Sometimes the missile is named after the technology used in it. Missiles are also named based on their nature. For example, a surface-to-surface missile is named Prithvi, and a surface-to-air missile is named Akash.

Sometimes the missile is named before its development. Sometimes the missile is named after its development. The director of any project proposes some precise names according to his own understanding and then this proposal goes to the Chief Controller and the name is decided.

Many times the country’s prominent leaders also give names to weapons. For example, India’s indigenous fighter aircraft was named Tejas by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003. Tejas means brilliance in Sanskrit.

India has a stock of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles. The Agni series is one of India’s major ballistic missiles. Brahmos is a supersonic cruise missile. The Nag missile is a third generation anti-tank missile.

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