AI brings alive India's ancient knowledge through modern technology

AI, digital storytelling and manuscript digitisation are helping revive Indian mythology and ancient scientific knowledge, making cultural heritage more accessible to younger generations.

In the festival season, technology is helping bring alive ancient stories, epic dramas and mythologies for a new generation of Indians.

 

Social media creators are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) and digital content tools to reimagine Indian mythology for younger audiences. AI-art storytellers use generative AI platforms such as Midjourney, DALL-E and Runway to create cinematic depictions of scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, transforming ancient stories into visually rich reels and short videos. Mythology-focused influencers are also using motion graphics and visual effects to recreate legendary events such as the Kurukshetra war, Hanuman’s journey to Sri Lanka and Krishna’s teachings in ways that feel relatable and modern.

 

AI voiceovers, animated illustrations and digital avatars are being used to narrate lesser-known stories from the Puranas and regional folklore, making them more accessible to younger audiences. Other creators employ augmented reality filters that allow users to interact with mythological themes, characters and symbols through Instagram Stories and Reels. Animated creators, including those behind digital channels inspired by Amar Chitra Katha-style storytelling, are adapting traditional narratives into short, shareable video formats that blend historical interpretation with contemporary visual language.

 

The result is that ancient epics and mythologies are reaching millions of young Indians through immersive, technology-enabled storytelling. By combining AI-generated imagery, animation, special effects, audio technology and social media algorithms, influencers are helping keep cultural narratives relevant and engaging in the digital age.

 

Technology is also being used to examine and validate aspects of ancient Indian science by analysing historical texts, archaeological evidence, linguistic patterns and astronomical references. Researchers are applying machine learning and natural language processing to Sanskrit manuscripts, including the Vedas, Aryabhata’s astronomical works and Sushruta’s medical texts, to better understand historical dating and early empirical knowledge. AI tools are also helping scholars map astronomical observations described in ancient epics and compare them with modern celestial models.

 

Researchers at institutions including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have applied natural language processing to ancient mathematical, astronomical and medical manuscripts. This is making large collections of texts searchable and helping scholars identify scientific concepts systematically. The effort has revealed sophisticated treatments of grammar, mathematics and astronomy in works such as Aryabhata’s Aryabhatiya and Bhaskaracharya’s Lilavati.

 

A recent example is the use of AI and machine learning in Ayurgenomics, which combines principles from Ayurveda with modern genetics. The initiative has been highlighted by both the World Health Organization and India's Ministry of AYUSH as an example of AI being used to investigate whether traditional Ayurvedic classifications correlate with measurable biological and genetic traits.

 

This year, the Ministry of Culture's Gyan Bharatam initiative began piloting AI systems that can read, transcribe, search and analyse Sanskrit manuscripts on mathematics, astronomy, medicine and other traditional disciplines. These tools are helping researchers uncover, compare and validate scientific concepts buried in manuscript collections. IIT Bombay-based BharatGen is working with the ministry on an active pilot, building AI tools that help people read these texts, learn from them and recite them correctly.

 

Museums, libraries and archives are digitising manuscripts, paintings, photographs and ancient texts to prevent deterioration and make them widely accessible. Institutions such as the National Digital Library of India and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts have created digital repositories containing millions of cultural artefacts. High-resolution scanning allows fragile documents, including palm-leaf manuscripts and rare books, to be preserved without repeated physical handling.

 

As AI advances, it is helping India understand its own heritage better. 

 

The writer is an economic analyst and author.