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
Sign in to send a correction or addition. If it holds up, it changes the article and credits you. If it’s contested, it’s preserved as a reader note.
Latest articles
All articles →
Decoding Ancient Decay: How Software Replicates the Chemical Degeneracy of Ancient Indian Genomes
A newly released command-line tool named SCAR allows geneticists to simulate the post-mortem chemical decay of ancient DNA, helping to prevent false kinship and ancestry matches in highly degraded South Asian samples.
Dr. Anil Patel · Oct 2, 2026
The Tribute of Hindūš: What the Naqsh-e Rostam Reliefs Reveal About Achaemenid Administration in the Indus Valley
The stone reliefs on the royal tombs of Naqsh-e Rostam visually catalogue the administrative integration of the Indus Valley into the Achaemenid Empire around 500 BCE.
Rohan Bhattacharya · Oct 1, 2026
The Grammar of the Temple Spire: What the Word ‘Kūṭa’ Reveals About Medieval Indian Architectural Manuals
How did medieval Indian temple architects balance geometric rules with creative designs? Philological analysis of the word 'kūṭa' reveals how a simple Sanskrit noun transformed into a complex architectural module.
Meera Iyer · Oct 1, 2026
The Potsherds of Alagankulam: Re-evaluating Sangam-Era Stratigraphy and Maritime Exchange
Excavations at the Vaigai estuary site of Alagankulam reveal early maritime networks operating independently of Roman imperial initiative, challenging old chronological assumptions.
Rohan Bhattacharya · Sep 30, 2026
The Munich Devī: How a Bavarian Royal Collection Shaped the European View of South Asian Bronze Art
Archival records from Munich's Museum Fünf Kontinente reveal how 19th-century German curators and collectors shifted South Asian metalwork from bizarre curiosities to masterworks of fine art.
Kavya Sharma · Sep 30, 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.