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 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
The Bhitari Pillar of Skandagupta: What Imperial Epigraphy and Omitted Names Reveal About the Gupta Succession Wars
The monolithic sandstone pillar at Bhitari and later imperial genealogies reveal a bitter, mid-fifth-century civil war that fractured the Gupta dynasty's golden age from within.
Rohan Bhattacharya · Sep 29, 2026
The Scepter of Heliodorus: What Epigraphic Prakrit and Besnagar’s Pillar Stratigraphy Reveal About Early Foreign Converts
How a 2nd-century BCE Greek pillar inscription in Besnagar and its underlying soil stratigraphy verify the early adoption of Bhagavata Vaishnavism by foreign envoys, contrasting with Sanskrit epic traditions.
Vikram Joshi · Sep 29, 2026
The Barley of Kunal: What Early Harappan Stratigraphy and Micro-Botanical Remains Reveal About Pre-Indus Agriculture
A detailed look at stratified layers at Kunal in Haryana challenges the idea of a sudden agricultural shift, showing localized transitions that predate the regional integration of the Indus Valley.
Rohan Bhattacharya · Sep 28, 2026
The Nālandā Plate of Devapāladeva: What the National Museum’s Ninth-Century Copper Charter Reveals About Pala Maritime Diplomacy
The Nālandā copper plate of Devapāladeva reveals a complex web of 9th-century maritime relations, Buddhist patronage, and diplomatic linkages connecting Bengal and the Melaka Straits.
Devika Menon · Sep 28, 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.