Swaveda
Indian history, plainly written.
A short daily post on Indian history — archaeology, genetics, historical linguistics, and the texts. Plus side-by-side translations of public-domain primary works. Plain language; no chest-thumping in either direction.
Plain language
Aimed at any curious reader, not the seminar room. Sanskrit / Pali / Tamil terms get a gloss on first use.
Tradition ≠ evidence
“The Mahabharata describes…” and “the Mahabharata war happened in…” are different sentences, and we don’t silently merge them.
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Latest articles
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Lances, Lutes, and Laminated Bows: How Numismatic and Textual Evidence Refutes the Myth of Hellenic Military Diffusion in Northwest India
Indo-Greek coinage and classical texts reveal that native Indian armies retained traditional longbows and unit structures rather than adopting the Hellenistic phalanx.
Devika Menon · Nov 6, 2026
The Scribe’s Measure: Epigraphic Evidence for 'Aḍa' in Early Tamil-Brahmi Inscriptions
Linguistic analysis of early Tamil-Brahmi rock inscriptions reveals how measurement terms evolved from Sangam literature to early epigraphy in Tamil Nadu.
Asha Naidu · Nov 6, 2026
The Ditch of Megasthenes: Triangulating Satellite Imagery, Pali Canon, and Wooden Palisade Stratigraphy at Pāṭaliputra
Recent archaeological remote sensing, core stratigraphy, and Pali texts provide physical bounds for Pāṭaliputra's Mauryan ramparts, testing Megasthenes' classical accounts against real material finds.
Vikram Joshi · Nov 6, 2026
Computer Vision Meets the Harappan Seals: What Hybrid Embeddings Can—and Cannot—Tell Us About Indus Script Similarity
A computational study measures visual similarities between Indus signs and Tibetan-Yi scripts. Epigraphic analysis shows why mathematical distance vectors cannot replace stratified archaeological context.
Rohan Bhattacharya · Nov 5, 2026
The Print Shop and the Zamindar: Philological and Archival Evidence for the Class Limits of 19th-Century Bengali Printing
Nineteenth-century Bengali print culture was shaped by urban elite biases and colonial policies. Early typography and texts show how Bhadralok literacy prioritized metropolitan reforms over rural economic realities.
Kavya Sharma · Nov 5, 2026
Recent translations
All texts →Sanskrit
Arthashastra
Chapter 150 · Book 15, Chapter 1: Paragraphical Divisions of This Treatise
Updated Jul 26, 2026
Sanskrit
Arthashastra
Chapter 149 · Book 14, Chapter 4: Remedies against the Injuries of One's Own Army
Updated Jul 26, 2026
Sanskrit
Arthashastra
Chapter 148 · Book 14, Chapter 3: The Application of Medicines and Mantras
Updated Jul 26, 2026
A note on tone
Swaveda is curious, careful, and dry. There’s no civilizational chest-thumping in either direction here — no “Vedic India invented everything,” no “everything came from outside.” If we get something wrong, tell us. We fix it visibly, with a dated note.