A South Indian Buddha

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

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

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

Welcome back to Accessible Art History: The Podcast! In this episode of Metropolitan Masterpieces, I'm exploring a stunning statue of the Seated Buddha! For images and sources: https://www.accessiblearthistory.com/post/podcast-episode-93-seated-buddha ____________________________ ... Show More

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and teachings of The Buddha. Two and a half thousand years ago a young man meditated on life and death and found enlightenment. In that moment he saw his past lives spread out before him and he realised that all life, indeed the very fabri ... Show More

India was the forgotten heart of the ancient world. For a millennium and a half, from about 250 BC to 1200 AD, India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilisation, creating around it a vast empire of ideas, an ‘Indosphere’ where its influence was predominant. During this p ... Show More

Who was South India’s equivalent to Alexander The Great? How did the Chola dynasty conquer Southeast Asia? And what was life like for the enslaved “service women” in the Chola court? William and Anita are joined once again by Anirudh Kanisetti, author of Lords of Earth and Sea: A ... Show More

On this episode of the podcast, we learn about the life of Siddhartha Gautama and his Heisenberg-esque transformation into Buddha. We learn how Buddha left a lifestyle of being fed grapes and being fanned with palm leaves to pursue a life of celibacy, starvation, and sleep depriv ... Show More

On the rocky banks of South India's Tungabhadra River, an enormous ruined city lies crumbling...In this episode, we look at the Vijayanagara Empire of Southern India, a civilization that has all but faded from memory in many parts of the world. Find out how this remarkable societ ... Show More

<p>3300 BCE - 570 CE - How did Hinduism and Buddhism emergence and how did each religion cope with the fragmentation or their followers? &nbsp;Why do we see so little of Buddhism in India despite the continued protection and preservation of the Bodhi Tree there?</p> 

India’s transformation of the ancient world is indisputable, and tangible evidence of this can be found in the magnificent Hindu and Buddhist temples scattered across the landscapes of South East Asia. But what was the process by which India transported its vast empire of art, cu ... Show More

While in the West the legends of King Arthur were being born, a Buddhist tantric magician of immense magical powers - Vajrabodhi - was enshrining himself as the Merlin of first India, and then China. Undeniably one of the most extraordinary characters of the 8th century, Vajrabod ... Show More