During a rescue excavation in the Mekong Delta, archaeologists discovered a 6th-century stone stele inscribed with both Sanskrit and Early Pyu characters. The inscription contains a Buddhist prayer and a list of donations from a maritime guild based in Kalinga (modern-day Odisha).
The find is a crucial link in understanding the Sanatan-Buddhist cultural synthesis across the Indian Ocean. It suggests that Indian merchant guilds not only traded goods but established significant religious and educational institutions along the coast of ancient Vietnam, fostering a deep cultural integration long before the rise of the Khmer Empire.