Echoes Of India: A History Podcast

In the Season 3 Finale, we explore South Asia at the time of its most famous ancient figure: Ashoka Maurya, ruler of the largest empire seen in the subcontinent to that point. Anirudh meets a rude South Indian visiting one of Ashoka's inscriptions and hears the words of the emperor himself to uncover the nature, structure, and sobering truths about the Mauryan empire and its impact on the history of South Asia.

Season 4 of Echoes of India will be out in November/December 2021!

Anirudh is trying to bring the history of South Asia alive though hard research and great storytelling. Please help him out on this labour of love at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/akanisetti

Alternatively, you can donate at paypal.me/akanisetti or through UPI at anirudh.kanisetti@okhdfcbank to get the same rewards - including community access, illustrations from South Asian history, and more!

Notes and sources will be available at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com - sign up for updates.

Follow Anirudh on Instagram @aniryuddha, @cholabhaturaempire, or @connectedhistories for more irreverent, critically-researched content on South Asia's incredible history.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The forgotten religion of the Ajivikas can tell us a great deal about the religions and empires of the early Gangetic Plains. Anirudh visits the medieval Jain site of Shravanabelagola near Bangalore, recounts the story of the mysterious Ajivika teacher Makkhali Goshala, and explains how the rise of the mighty empire of the Mauryas is connected to this vanished religious tradition.

Anirudh is trying to bring the history of South Asia alive though hard research and great storytelling. Please help him out on this labour of love at

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/akanisettiAlternatively, you can donate at paypal.me/akanisetti or through UPI at anirudh.kanisetti@okhdfcbank to get the same rewards - including community access, illustrations from South Asian history, and more!Notes and sources will be available at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com - sign up for updates!

Follow Anirudh on Instagram @aniryuddha, @cholabhaturaempire, or @connectedhistories for more irreverent, critically-researched content on South Asia's incredible history.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The invasion of Alexander III of Macedon is a landmark event in South Asian history. Join Anirudh as he explores the conqueror's camp, meets an Indian mercenary who served in Alexander's campaigns, and uncovers the mystery of the fall of the Nanda dynasty and the rise of the mighty Gangetic empire of the Mauryas that succeeded them.

Anirudh is trying to bring the history of South Asia alive though hard research and great storytelling. Please help him out on this labour of love at

How did the kingdom of Magadha lay the foundations for India's first empire? And how did the successors of Siddhartha Gautama establish the tradition now known as Buddhism? Episode 7 brings us to the early city of Rajagaha, where we explore its marketplaces and caves in search of answers.

Anirudh is trying to bring the history of South Asia alive though hard research and great storytelling. Please help him out on this labour of love at

Death inevitably comes to us all. But how do memories of the dead shape our world? Witness the last months and hours of Siddhartha Gautama as he travels across the Gangetic Plains desperately trying to protect his legacy - and see what our struggles against death teach us about the nature of history and history telling.

Anirudh is trying to bring the history of South Asia alive though hard research and great storytelling. Please help him out on this labour of love at

What might Siddhartha Gotama, the Buddha, have actually thought of himself? Did he genuinely believe in what he preached? How do we, sitting in the 21st century, grapple with his complexities and flaws? Anirudh travels back through time to talk to the man himself, one quiet night on Vulture Peak near the great city of Rajagaha in Magadha.

Anirudh is trying to bring the history of South Asia alive though hard research and great storytelling. Please him out on this labour of love at

Episode 4 of Echoes of India brings us to witness the burgeoning power of the Buddhist Sangha in the early Gangetic Plains. How did Siddhartha Gotama, the Buddha, deal with the struggle of becoming a leader of thousands? How did he navigate the tides of public opinion and ensure that his rules were followed across this sprawling organisation? And what kind of role did women play in early Sangha?

Anirudh is trying to bring the history of South Asia alive though hard research and great storytelling. Please him out on this labour of love at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/akanisetti
Notes and sources will be available at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com - sign up for updates!

Follow Anirudh on Instagram @aniryuddha, @cholabhaturaempire, or @connectedhistories for more irreverent, critically-researched content on South Asia's incredible history.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/androidor iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode 3 of Echoes of India, we'll begin to follow the extraordinary career of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. How did one person, emerging from the forests in the 5th century BCE, become a prophet, leading thousands of people in one of the most important religious movements in human history?

 How was he perceived in his time? And as one of the many preachers and renunciants wandering around the Gangetic Plains, what did the average person really think of Siddhartha Gautama and his ilk?

Anirudh is trying to bring the history of South Asia alive though hard research and great storytelling. Please him out on this labour of love at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/akanisetti
 Notes and sources will be available at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com - sign up for updates!

Follow Anirudh on Instagram @aniryuddha, @cholabhaturaempire, or @connectedhistories for more irreverent, critically-researched content on South Asia's incredible history.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: IVM Podcasts - Apps on Google Play or iOS: ?IVM Podcasts, or any other podcast app.

You can check out our website at https://shows.ivmpodcasts.com/featured

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Episode 2 of Echoes of India brings us to the 8th century BCE, where we will see the origins of many of the ideas that shape India today. How did some of the oldest systematic ideas about the universe and reality, the concepts of karma, atman, and rebirth originate? Who were the people who came up with them, and why?
Join us as we meet the ancient Indian theologians Gargi Vachaknavi and Yajnavalkya - and a rather grumpy author of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, who has a bone to pick with Anirudh..


Notes and sources will be available at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com - sign up for updates!

Follow Anirudh on Instagram @aniryuddha, @cholabhaturaempire, or @connectedhistories for more irreverent, critically-researched content on South Asia's incredible history.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Season 3 premiere for Echoes of India returns us to the vibrant world of ancient India. We'll meet the strange mix of peoples who together made the early cities of the Gangetic Plains, and set the stage for the extraordinary life which we'll follow this season: that of Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, one of the most important figures in the history of South Asia.Notes and sources will be available at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com - sign up for updates!Follow Anirudh on Instagram @aniryuddha, @cholabhaturaempire, or @connectedhistories for even more irreverent, well-researched stories from South Asia's incredible history.You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happened in India after the fall of the Gupta Empire? Some of the most incredible states and people in the subcontinent's history emerged. This is their story.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-22 Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the story of the Hun who tried to be an Indian emperor, and a story of the human costs of war: a story of grief, destruction, and of creation and inspiration against all odds.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-21 Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What was life in an ancient Indian city like? What were its sights and smells, and what kind of eccentric characters would it have been home to? Join us on a walk through Ujjain, one of South Asia's oldest cities, to find out.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-20 Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the 5th century, two of the ancient world's superpowers - Rome and India - were threatened by massive migrations of nomadic peoples. But while the Western Roman Empire collapsed, the Gupta Empire managed to defeat them. How? The answer lies in the story of the shadowy figure known as Skanda-Gupta.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-18 Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The same century that saw the collapse of the Western Roman Empire also saw the rise of the great temple-building movements that transformed India's society and economy - but these played out in a deadly family drama that would lead to the end of the Guptas and Vakatakas.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-18 Get in touch with Anirudh on Twitter @AKanisetti and on Instagram @aniruddhadevaraya.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did South Asian Buddhism catch on in China? How did the interaction between South and East Asia shape the intellectual and economic evolution of Eurasia? Luckily for us, in the early 400s CE, the remarkable 60-year old Chinese monk Faxian actually walked all the way to India to collect scriptures from his holy land in an epic journey of nearly twenty years, helping us answer these difficult questions. This is his story, a tale of human resilience and grit that still resonates 1600 years from now.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-17 You can also get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 5th century Queen Prabhavati-Gupta, daughter and granddaughter of kings, mother and grandmother of Queens, was one of the most remarkable women in Indian history. This is the story of her dramatic, extraordinary life.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-16 Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the story of the spectacular Gupta astro-religio-political node of Udayagiri, where, in the 5th century CE, a new idea of Indian kingship was born. Here, through a series of brilliant innovations, the God of Time was experienced and identified with one remarkable individual.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-13

Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android

or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

You can check out our website

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did Sanskrit become a language of power and knowledge, patronized by everyone from kings to monks through half of Asia for a thousand years? This is the story of how the Guptas used its splendid syllables to turn language itself into masterful political messaging.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-14 Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Season 2 premiere of Echoes of India begins with the rise of the Himalaya mountains and ends with the victorious campaigns of the mighty North Indian ruler Samudra-Gupta, as Sanskrit courtly culture flourishes and war breaks out across the subcontinent.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-13

Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android

or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Season 1 Finale of Echoes of India is a rollercoaster ride through 600 years of Indian history, of the rise and fall of empires and ideas until the eve of the Gupta Empire in 300 CE. From art to religion to language, the finale sets the stage for the beginning of early medieval India with the Gupta and Vakataka empires in Season 2, starting March 27th.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-12 Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the same time that Christianity and other savior cults emerged in West Asia, ancient India had its own Buddhist savior. This was Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future. This is his story, a story of life in ancient India's most cosmopolitan region.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-11 Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios

You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Central Asian king revered by Indians as the Second Ashoka? This is the story of the ruthless conqueror Kanishka, who led the Kushan Empire to its apogee, and ruled over most of North India - but also built the world's most splendid Buddhist stupa.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-10 Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the story of the rise of the Kushan Empire: the most powerful South Asian state since the fall of the Mauryan Empire. Episode 9 of Echoes of India brings to life the remarkable religious syncretism of one of the ancient world's most globalized regions, at a time when the Silk Roads had grown to encompass most of the Eastern hemisphere.

Notes and sources are at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/episode-9 Or get in touch with Anirudh @AKanisetti on Twitter or @aniruddhadevaraya on Instagram!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the story of the jewel of ancient South India: the great Tamil trading city of Puhar. Episode 8 of Echoes of India brings to life a city sung about in poetry for thousands of years, at a time when one of the most important elements of Indian history was emerging: the international merchant corporation.

If you have questions for Anirudh, follow him on Twitter @AKanisetti or on Instagram @aniruddhadevaraya

Notes, sources, credits and a transcript of the episode can be found at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/episode-8

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did Buddhism catch on in South India? Episode 7 of Echoes of India explores the life of the Andhra teacher Nagarjuna, called a "Second Buddha", his fascinating philosophy of "zeroness", and the ancient South Indian dynasty who built Roman-style theatres in the 2nd century CE.

If you have questions for Anirudh, follow him on Twitter @AKanisetti or on Instagram @aniruddhadevaraya

Notes, sources, credits and a transcript of the episode can be found at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-7

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did languages shape the way ancient Indians thought and behaved? Episode 6 of Echoes of India recounts the dramatic evolution of Sanskrit and Prakrit as widely-spoken languages of power and culture, in a time of political and cultural innovation.

In the first two centuries CE, the Shakas  and Satavahanas  in Central India began to issue grand royal inscriptions tracing out bloody wars between their families and jostling for power and prestige. And they chose to draw on the remarkable literary cultures of ancient India to do so. It was an experiment that would change the world, right down to the languages modern Indians speak today. Hear the boasts of an Indo-Scythian king, the words of a princess whose name is lost, and verses from the first of India's great collections of love poetry.

If you have questions for Anirudh, follow him on Twitter @AKanisetti or on Instagram @aniruddhadevaraya

Notes, sources, credits and a transcript of the episode can be found at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-6

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the story of how South India's grandest Buddhist monument was built: the story of a time when Buddhism dominated the Indian subcontinent, and South Indian Buddhism reached out to shape the art and religion of millions.

Episode 5 of Echoes of India moves further South to the fertile coastal lands of Andhra, where Buddhism flourished in the first two centuries CE, interacting with local and foreign art styles to create the gorgeous Amaravati school of art, resulting in the crowdfunding of an immense white stupa that would stand for nearly 1400 years. Hear the chanting of monks, the clear bells of a great monastic complex, and the awestruck words of the Chinese monk Xuanzang, who made a pilgrimage to the site in the 7th century.

If you have questions for Anirudh, follow him on Twitter @AKanisetti or on Instagram @aniruddhadevaraya

Notes, sources, credits and a transcript of the episode can be found at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-5

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1900 years after she was carved, an Indian ivory statuette was uncovered in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. How did she come there, and how much had the world changed since the eruption of Vesuvius buried her?

This is her story: a story of the globalization of the ancient world, a story of the vast diversity and complexity of the world that our ancestors called home.

Episode 4 of Echoes of India looks back on the first three to paint a picture of a planet in flux, as economic webs weave together ancient civilizations in a pattern of interaction and innovation that is strikingly reminiscent of the world we know today. Hear the explosion of Vesuvius, the great markets of Alexandria, and the booming thunder of the monsoons that blew trading fleets to the shores of India.

If you have questions for Anirudh, follow him on Twitter @AKanisetti or on Instagram @aniruddhadevaraya

Notes, sources, credits and a transcript of the episode can be found at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-4

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

History is written by kings. What if a queen could tell us her story?

In this episode, the rush of Central Asian nomads into India is halted by the first true empire based in the Deccan. But it would not be the last. And the most remarkable aspect of this empire? Its queens - powerful matriarchs who ruled and built in their own right, and whose vision of what a kingdom should be had profound effects on all that came after.

The third episode of Echoes of India continues the complex saga of ancient Indian history but moves South - hear the boasts of mighty queens who commanded resources unthinkable to their ancestors, as trade, greed and violence lead to a saga of revenge and competition that will change the course of Indian history forever. If you have questions for Anirudh, follow him on Twitter @AKanisetti or on Instagram @aniruddhadevaraya

Notes, sources, credits and a transcript of the episode can be found at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-3

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes, the most beautiful art is paid for by the most brutal of conquerors. This is the story of how ancient India's most remarkably globalised art was born. In this episode, the tale of Gandhara continues to unfold as the Indo-Greeks are uprooted by Central Asian nomads fleeing from a terrible foe. But their art stays behind, and meets a mighty new force: Buddhism, rapidly entering its heyday in the North-West of India as the great economic webs of the Silk Roads are born.

In the second episode of Echoes of India, host Anirudh Kanisetti continues the complex saga of ancient Indian history - hear the drums of weed-smoking conquerors, the boasts of multi-ethnic princes, and a Jain fable, as Buddhism spreads from India into Pakistan and Afghanistan.

If you have questions for Anirudh, follow him on Twitter @AKanisetti or on Instagram @aniruddhadevaraya Notes, sources, credits and a transcript of the episode can be found at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-2

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most histories of post-Vedic India start with Alexander the Great and then start with the story of North India under the Mauryas. But this story stays with Alexander's army.

This episode explores the North-West of the Indian subcontinent, where South Asia meets Central Asia and West Asia - the region of Gandhara, the melting pot of the ancient world, where Indo-Greeks worshipped Greco-Indian gods.

In the inaugural episode of Echoes of India, host Anirudh Kanisetti introduces us to Ancient India with a twist - hear the battles of Alexander, the debates of Buddhist monks, and a Sanskrit drama as we explore the genesis of Indian pluralism in the early centuries BCE.

If you have questions for Anirudh, follow him on Twitter @AKanisetti or on Instagram @aniruddhadevaraya Notes, sources, credits and a transcript of the episode can be found at https://www.anirudhkanisetti.com/home/episode-1

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Echoes is a history podcast like no other. It's by Indians, about Indians, for Indians: A 700-year journey from the invasion of Alexander to the Gupta Empire, from the sublime Greek art of Gandhara to the pearl-white Buddhist stupas of Andhra to the thriving port cities of the Tamil land. Along the way, monks debate, queens boast, and armies roar. In Echoes, the past comes back to life - noisy, breathing, as thriving as the Indian subcontinent is today.

Each week, host Anirudh Kanisetti takes you through a new aspect of the wonder that was ancient India. From politics to philosophy, culture to religion, hear the history of this land unfold every Monday, starting 19th November.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.