Beloved of the Gods: Ashoka Maurya in His Time and Ours

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 uncov…

The Emperor is Naked: How History Forgot the Ajivikas and Remembered the Mauryas

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…

Alexander the Brute: Building Empires in the Ancient World

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 …

Thrones of Blood: Ajatashatru's Wars and the First Buddhist Council

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…

The Great Extinguishing: Memories of the Death of Buddha and the Rise of Magadha

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 histor…

So I Have Heard From the Blessed One: Anirudh Speaks to the Buddha

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 ne…

Nun of Your Business: Women, Society, and the Sangha in Early Buddhism

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…

Buddha the Prophet: The Republics, Slaves and Ethics of Early India

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? …

Gargi's Fires: Gender, Caste, Rebirth, and the Metaphysics of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

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…

Buddha Goes to Sarnath: How Cities and Civilisations are Born

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 …