A joint team of linguists and astronomers has completed the translation of a rare Sharada script manuscript discovered in a remote Tibetan monastery last year. The text, titled Graha-Gati-Vichara, provides meticulous data on the transits of Venus and Mercury as observed from the Kashmir Valley in the mid-9th century CE.
The manuscript demonstrates that ancient Indian astronomers were using sophisticated correction factors to account for atmospheric refraction, achieving a level of precision that matches early European observations made centuries later. This find significantly enhances our understanding of the Siddhantic tradition of Sanatan mathematics and astronomy.