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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The Maritime Gateway to Insular Indo-Aryan: How Early Epigraphy and Coin Hoards Trace the Southward Path of Sinhala
Maritime trade along the Coromandel Coast bypassed southern Dravidian linguistic strongholds, enabling direct North Indian sea migrations to Sri Lanka and establishing Sinhala Prakrit on the island.
Devika Menon · Nov 10, 2026
The Weaver’s Shuttle in the Text: What Dravidian Substrates in the Rigveda Reveal About Early Textile Technology
Linguistic analysis of loanwords in Vedic Sanskrit reveals early Dravidian contributions to South Asian textile technology, complementing archaeobotanical evidence of ancient cotton and hemp processing.
Asha Naidu · Nov 10, 2026
Deciphering Without a Rosetta Stone: Why Harappan Signboards Demand Context, Not Math Puzzles
A critique in South Asian Studies highlights why statistical models miss the mark on the Indus script, pointing instead to physical artifacts like signboards, trade seals, and pottery marks to uncover ancient meaning.
Kavya Sharma · Nov 9, 2026
The Paleogenomics of Rakhigarhi: Triangulating Ancient DNA, Starch Granules, and Harappan Continuity
How ancient DNA from Rakhigarhi individual I6113 and microfossil plant residues clarify South Asian population ancestry and Bronze Age diet without relying on speculative models.
Dr. Anil Patel · Nov 9, 2026
The Sanskrit Verse of the Infinite Series: Philology and Trigonometry in Mādhava’s Lineage
How 14th-century Kerala mathematician Mādhava used Sanskrit metrics and kaṭapayādi verse mnemonics to encode infinite series for pi and trigonometric functions centuries before European calculus.
Meera Iyer · Nov 9, 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.