A team of epigraphists at the Saraswathi Mahal Library has successfully deciphered a series of 12th-century stone inscriptions found in a subsidiary shrine. The texts, written in the rare Siddham script, detail complex mathematical algorithms used for calculating lunar eclipses and planetary positions with high precision.
The inscriptions reveal that medieval Indian astronomers had developed specific recursive formulas for sine and cosine values, predating similar developments in Europe by several centuries. This find underscores the role of South Indian temples as active centers for scientific and mathematical research during the Chola-Pandya transition period.