A collaborative project between computational linguists and Sanskrit scholars has successfully deciphered a cache of fragmented 8th-century Sharada script manuscripts found in the high-altitude Kishtwar region. The texts contain advanced mathematical theorems concerning wave diffraction and the interference patterns of light, predating similar Western discoveries by nearly a millennium.
The manuscripts utilize a proto-calculus notation to describe the behavior of light as it passes through various translucent media. Scholars believe these findings indicate that ancient Indian physicists possessed a highly refined theoretical framework for optical phenomena, likely used to enhance the precision of astronomical instruments and ritual architectural alignments during the early medieval period.