Disclaimer

Indica Times is a fictional newspaper inspired by the literature, traditions, history, languages, and material culture of the Indian subcontinent and surrounding areas.

Stories draw inspiration from a wide range of sources, including but not limited to the Samhitas, Brahmanas, Upanishads, Itihasa, Puranas, Dharmashastras, classical Sanskrit literature, and other ancient works. All of these sources were composed, re-composed, transmitted, and edited over a very long period of time and, therefore, do not necessarily present a single, consistent picture of the past.

The newspaper format is deliberately playful. Headlines, interviews, features, advertisements, classifieds, customer service announcements, career advice, character sheets, and other contemporary newspaper devices are our own inventions. They're used to make ancient material engaging and accessible. They should not be construed as literal descriptions of how people in the relevant literary settings spoke, thought, worked, or lived. Nor should the stories be taken as literal historical reporting or as accounts of contemporary real-world events.

Wherever possible, Indica Times distinguishes between what a source actually says and what has been reconstructed or imagined for the purposes of the story. Some details in the fictional narratives may, therefore, be plausible reconstructions rather than facts directly attested in the source. Paraphrasing or translation does not imply that it is the only possible rendering or interpretation of the source.

Translations of verses and hymns are our own, written for clarity and readability rather than strict philological accuracy. Where we render a term or verse in a particular way, this reflects an editorial choice among several reasonable options, and is not a claim that it is the only translation or an authoritative one. More literal or scholarly renderings can be found in original sources and established translations.

Classical texts from ancient India deserve to be read and re-read for themselves. We hope Indica Times encourages readers to do exactly that.