Echoes Of India: A History Podcast

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All Episodes

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 emper ... Show more

. 1h 7min

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 expla ... Show more

. 31min 24sec

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 migh ... Show more

. 34min 4sec

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 ... Show more

. 31min 5sec

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 t ... Show more

. 34min 48sec