An ancient inscription in the Courtallam Hills that had remained unread for many years has finally been deciphered. Researchers K. Balakrishnan and Mathur B. Pavendan decoded it after two and a half years of study. The inscription lies in the Sanyasi Pudavu cave at an elevation of about 1,000 metres. It is written in the Prakrit-Brahmi script, with modified diacritic marks used to represent Tamil words. The team identified 14 of the 15 characters, using mathematical methods and comparisons with Sanskrit and Pali. The message speaks of wisdom and unity, saying knowledge stays the same even when drawn from different sources. The cave was mentioned in the 1917 Tinnevelly Gazetteer.