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7th-Century 'Shunyata' Copper Plates in the Konkan Coast Detail a Pre-Shankara Non-Dualist Ethics of Action

📅 April 5, 2026 📰 Coastal India Antiquities
7th-Century 'Shunyata' Copper Plates in the Konkan Coast Detail a Pre-Shankara Non-Dualist Ethics of Action

Archeologists working along the Konkan coast have unearthed a set of copper plates belonging to the 7th century CE that detail a philosophy of Shunyata-Vada within a Vedic context. The plates contain a dialogue between a local chieftain and a wandering sage regarding the metaphysics of emptiness and its practical application in the "ethics of action" (Karma-Niti).

The text is particularly significant for its exploration of Nishkama Karma (selfless action) through the lens of non-dualism, arguing that true freedom is found in acting without a sense of "doership." This discovery provides a missing link between early Mahayana thought and the later development of Vedantic commentaries in the Western Ghats region.

Original source: Coastal India Antiquities