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.
Readers can edit
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primary textsSanskrit and Pali translationKapilendra Deva's Gambit: Navigating Eastern Indian Power Plays
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Meera Iyer · Jul 10, 2026
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Khariboli, a market dialect spoken around Delhi, evolved into modern Hindi and Urdu through Mughal courtly patronage, British colonial policy, and 20th-century nation-building. We trace the evidence from early Persianate sources, colonial linguistic surveys, and modern sociolinguistic studies.
Devika Menon · Jul 9, 2026
Recent translations
All texts →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.