Young scholar decodes ancient Jain epic with new software in India

Aruhant Mehta, a scholar from Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, is decoding the ancient Jain epic Siri Bhoovalaya using his open-source software, Samvargani. This epic, composed around 1,000 years ago, is written in a numerical code spanning 718 languages. The Siri Bhoovalaya contains nine volumes and uses numerical matrices to encode verses, primarily in Kannada. Mehta's software aims to decode these complex shlokas and expand support for additional languages, inviting global collaboration. Mehta recently completed high school and will pursue higher studies at the University of Waterloo in Canada. He has also developed a game that pairs Sanskrit verses from the Ramayana with English translations.