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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Latest articles
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The Glass Beads of Arikamedu: How Roman Pliny’s 'Luxury' Was Just Everyday Tamil Export Stratigraphy
Excavations at Arikamedu reveal that the ancient Indo-Roman trade was driven by mass-produced glass bead workshops, challenging Pliny the Elder's complaints of a drain on Roman gold for high-status luxury goods.
Rohan Bhattacharya · Sep 4, 2026
Why Neolithic Burzahom Families Lived in Pits—And What Archaeologists Found Inside
Pit dwellings weren't caves. They were deliberate structures—postholes, hearths, and storage pits—dug into earth floors. See what Burzahom's archaeology reveals about early Neolithic shelter design.
Rohan Bhattacharya · Sep 4, 2026
The Eyyal Hoard: Roman Gold in a South Indian Field—What It Reveals About Indian Ocean Trade
In 1946, farmers unearthed a massive cache of Roman gold and silver in Kerala. This hoard reveals how Roman coins acted as raw bullion rather than local currency in ancient Indian maritime trade.
Devika Menon · Sep 4, 2026
The Nadistuti Sukta: Which Rivers the Rigveda Names—and Which It Leaves Out
The Nadistuti (RV 10.75) lists 21 rivers. The Sarasvati appears—but not where tradition places it. What does the text actually say, and how do we know?
Meera Iyer · Sep 4, 2026
The Grammar of Neutrality: What the Bilingual Treaty of Betrawati Reveals About Sino-Nepalese Diplomatic Sanskrit
An analysis of the 1792 Treaty of Betrawati's bilingual Sanskrit and Tibetan text reveals how Gorkha court scribes used classical legal terminology to negotiate peace with the Qing dynasty.
Meera Iyer · Sep 3, 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.