Excavations at a newly discovered site in the Godavari Valley have brought to light stone inscriptions from the 6th-century BCE that outline the 'Anasakti-Vritti-Niyama', or the "Rules for the Practice of Non-Attachment." This early ethical code focuses on the metaphysics of desire, arguing that social stability is predicated on the psychological ability to act without being bound by the results of those actions.
Historians believe these inscriptions represent a proto-Stoic tradition within ancient Indian thought that pre-dates the formalization of the Bhagavad Gita's central tenets. The text provides specific exercises for 'cognitive distancing,' suggesting that ancient Godavari civilizations possessed a highly developed system of psychological self-regulation and intentionality in civic life.