Archaeologists excavating a monastic complex near the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh have unearthed what appears to be an intact 3rd-century BCE library. Unlike traditional palm-leaf manuscripts, this repository contains hundreds of thin, highly polished granite tablets inscribed in Ashokan Brahmi script. The texts consist of philosophical discourses, monastic rules, and early commentaries on Buddhist logic, remarkably preserved due to the humidity-controlled subterranean chamber.
This discovery provides the first physical evidence of the systematic storage of stone books in early Buddhist India. The inscriptions mention patronage from Mauryan regional governors, highlighting the state-led efforts to propagate religious learning in the southern provinces. Experts from the National Mission for Manuscripts are currently creating high-resolution digital scans to aid in the full decipherment of several previously unknown Prakrit verses.