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 Decipherer’s Craft: How 19th-Century Epigraphers Reconstructed the Brahmi Script
How 19th-century scholars unlocked South Asia's foundational script through bilingual coins, stone inscriptions, and cross-linguistic analysis, laying the groundwork for reading ancient Indian history.
Kavya Sharma · Oct 17, 2026
The Seeds of Sahiwal: What Archaeobotanical Residues and Genetic Timelines Reveal About Early Millets in the Indus Valley
Archaeobotanical evidence shows how Harappan communities adopted broomcorn millet alongside traditional winter barley, shifting agrarian trade networks during climate shifts.
Dr. Anil Patel · Oct 17, 2026
The Lexicon of Retainers: What Medieval Epigraphy and Sanskrit Texts Reveal About Non-Royal Fort Inhabitants
A philological examination of medieval Sanskrit epigraphy and court literature reveals how non-elite fort populations were classified and treated during siege capitulations.
Meera Iyer · Oct 17, 2026
The Mortar of Arikamedu: How Chemical Analysis of Roman Amphora Residues Redefines the Coromandel Wine Trade
Chemical residue analysis on Roman amphora sherds from Arikamedu confirms direct Mediterranean transit of resinated wine and olive oil, anchoring Sangam-era Coromandel trade to early Roman export networks.
Devika Menon · Oct 17, 2026
The Scribe’s Counting-House: Arabic-Dravidian Contact in Malabar Epigraphy
Inscriptions and manuscripts from medieval Malabar document how maritime commerce shaped Dravidian syntax, expanded loanword phonology, and generated Arabi-Malayalam on India's southwestern coast.
Asha Naidu · Oct 17, 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.