IttiHaas Chronicle
philosophy

Rare 8th-Century 'Jnana-Pramana' Tablets Discovered in Andhra Pradesh Outline a 'Philosophy of Intellectual Refinement'

📅 April 3, 2026 📰 Smithsonian Magazine
Rare 8th-Century 'Jnana-Pramana' Tablets Discovered in Andhra Pradesh Outline a 'Philosophy of Intellectual Refinement'

During salvage excavations in the Krishna River basin, researchers found 8th-century copper tablets titled 'Jnana-Pramana'. These tablets describe a Philosophy of Intellectual Refinement, emphasizing the role of doubt and self-correction as the primary tools for achieving true spiritual knowledge.

Unlike many dogmatic texts of the era, this work posits that Brahman is best understood through the systematic removal of personal biases and cognitive errors. Scholars are particularly interested in the text's sophisticated treatment of Anumana (inference) and its insistence on intellectual humility.

Original source: Smithsonian Magazine