Art and Culture of India and Sanatana Dharma
Debroy’s edition is a complete and unabridged English translation based on the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata. Extending across ten volumes, it brings together the central account of the Pandavas and Kauravas with the epic’s numerous philosophical discussions, genealogies, legends, political reflections and subsidiary narratives.
Modern Termez stands close to the Amu Darya in the Surkhandarya region of southern Uzbekistan, near the country’s border with Afghanistan. In antiquity, this region formed part of Bactria, a crossroads connecting the Indian subcontinent with Iran, Central Asia and the wider Silk Road.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo formally marked the commencement of the new excavation season during a visit to the site, where he inspected the trenches, archaeological remains and antiquities recovered during the first phase. The work is being undertaken by the Centre of Central Asian Studies at the University of Kashmir in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums.
Situated near Varanasi, Sarnath occupies a unique place in the history of Buddhism. It is traditionally identified as the location where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon after attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, setting in motion the teaching of the Dharma. The event is remembered as Dharmachakra Pravartana — the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma — and marked the beginning of the Buddhist Sangha.
Located on the left bank of the Swat River in present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Barikot is identified with ancient Bazira, also known in regional traditions as Vajirasthana. Archaeological evidence indicates human occupation in the area from at least the second millennium BCE, followed by successive Early Historic, Indo-Greek, Kushan, Kushano-Sasanian, later Hindu Shahi and early Islamic phases.
The discovery comes from Leilo Kaa, a rock shelter in the Chiphur area of Noklak district near the India-Myanmar frontier. A joint team from Nagaland University’s Department of History and Archaeology and the Government of Nagaland’s Department of Art and Culture conducted the first preliminary archaeological cave expedition in the district in March 2026. The wider survey identified and mapped five caves and four rock shelters across the rugged limestone terrain of the Naga Hills Ophiolite Belt.
The inscription was noticed after villagers cleared vegetation around the temple and alerted local researchers. Scholars associated with the Krishnagiri District Government Museum and historical research organisations subsequently examined the stone and identified it as a medieval merchant-guild inscription.
India’s tribal communities preserve several hundred languages and dialects, many of which remain unwritten or have limited presence in formal education. As transmission between generations weakens, the disappearance of these languages could also result in the loss of traditional knowledge relating to ecology, agriculture, medicinal practices, oral history and community customs. The conclave therefore aims to create a broader national framework for documenting and revitalising vulnerable languages with direct participation from tribal communities.
The project connects the Bábbarra Women’s Centre in Maningrida, Northern Territory, with Bengaluru’s Tharangini Studio, bringing together two women-led organisations with distinct but deeply rooted textile traditions.
The British administration did not attempt to suppress Vande Mataram because it feared music. It feared what the song was beginning to achieve.
