A newly deciphered set of 7th-century Pallava-Brahmi inscriptions has revealed that ancient Indian scholars possessed a sophisticated understanding of oceanography and deep-sea current patterns. The study, published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology, details how the Sanskrit texts describe 'Urmi-Gati' (wave paths) and thermal layering within the Bay of Bengal, which were used to optimize trade routes between the Coromandel Coast and Southeast Asia.
Using AI-driven linguistic modeling, researchers from the National Institute of Oceanography were able to reconstruct fragments found near a submerged coastal site in Puducherry. The findings suggest that early mariners utilized calculations of seasonal changes in salt concentration and density to navigate deep-water channels, predating similar Western nautical theories by several centuries.