Lipi vs. Nambikke

Rediscovering Ancient India — one field visit at a time

We travel to historical sites across India, collect oral traditions from locals and ASI guides, and cross-reference them against inscriptions and physical evidence.

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Latest field note · Rishimukha S1/E11

Goshala next to Vali's cave - the adorable cow

A trusting cow approached twice, two young Nandis met horns in the background, and one big Nandi beneath a tree remained completely unmoved.

Watch on Instagram → Read the field notes →
Podcast · Latest episode

S3/E7 — The Brahmagiri Revelation

Why is this hill called Brahmagiri? The final chapter of the Ashokan edicts investigation.

Listen to the podcast → Field note · Rishimukha S1/E1

Jatayu, Rishimukha and Rama’s Two Trails

The full story, Shivanasamudra testimony, and the Kaveri route hypothesis behind S3/E5.

Read the field note →

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Episodes

Rishimukha Flashback — returning to the field with Akul

S1 / E11
Goshala next to Vali's cave - the adorable cow
At a goshala in the Kishkindha landscape, a trusting cow approached twice, two young Nandis met horns, and a big Nandi beneath a tree remained unmoved.
Watch on Instagram Read on Blogspot
S1 / E10
The Best Kept Secret in Hampi
Fresh buttermilk from a goshala beside the entrance identified locally as Vali's cave—served directly into a steel plate in the Kishkindha landscape.
Watch on Instagram Read on Blogspot
S1 / E9
Hakka and Bukka Started the Vijayanagara Empire Here — Pampa Sarovar & Vijayalakshmi Devi Temple
Local temple tradition remembers Hakka, Bukka and Vidyaranya at this shrine; beside it, Pampa Sarovar and Shabari's cave carry the sacred geography of Pampa Devi and the Ramayana.
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S1 / E8
An Empire Built a Bridge Here. A German Lady Is Buried Here. A Swamiji Has Lived Here for 100 Years. This Is Rishimukha. This Is Nambikke.
Guide Hanumanthappa Angadi lives in the neighboring village, played around and helped clean these caves as a child, and showed us the garden beside the cave; his account joins a nearly century-old Swamiji and the old bridge remains.
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S1 / E7
Inside Rishimukha — The Cave and the Swamiji
A nearly century-old Swamiji, the cave identified with Sugriva, Matanga's curse, and the living memory carried beside the rock.
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S1 / E6
Rishimukha — Two Geese Beside the Crossing
Two domestic geese beside the narrow crossing, the Pampa–Tungabhadra landscape, and a return to Rishimukha with Akul.
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S1 / E5
ASI Board Says: “Anjaneya Was Born Here, in a Kingdom Called Kishkinda”
The plaque as Lipi, the living hill as Nambikke, and a climb through the Tungabhadra landscape traditionally identified with Kishkinda.
Watch on YouTube Watch on Instagram Watch on Facebook Watch on TikTok Read on Blogspot Related landscape Short
S1 / E4
The Squirrels Still Chat at Kishkinda
Squirrels on Anjanadri Hill, a water station painted with Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, and one clear chattering encounter.
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S1 / E3
Kishkindha — The Monkey Kingdom
A King, Queen, royal siblings and soldier monkeys—three accidental videos that revealed a living social drama on Anjanadri Hill.
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S1 / E2
Hanuman’s Birthplace Has a Back Route
A little-known route to Anjanadri Hill, a second staircase, a rock crossing, and Nambikke in action.
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S1 / E1
Jatayu, Rishimukha and Rama's Two Trails
Three ASI guides, Jatayu's hill, the Rishimukha cave, and the Kaveri walking-route hypothesis behind our S3/E5 investigation.
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Series 3 — Chitradurga: Ashokan Minor Rock Edicts

S3 / E7
The Brahmagiri Revelation
Why is it called Brahmagiri? Saptarishi Gautama, Ahalya, 108 Swayambhu Shivlings in hidden caves — the name reaches back further than Ashoka and further than the Ramayana.
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S3 / E6
The Marketplace on the Hill
Pearls, gems, and diamonds were once traded at a Bauddha stupa beside these edicts. The hills weren't remote — the people left when the river ran dry.
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S3 / E5
Rama's Two Trails — Rama's Seal on a Rock?
A stone near our family farm in Shivanasamudra may bear Rama and Lakshmana's own seal — kept alive in local memory for generations. We map it against Ravana's flight route and Rama's Kaveri ground journey: geometry, geography, and a discovery still waiting to be properly studied.
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S3 / E4
The Two Shivalingas — Rama, Jatayu and Hanuman
Two Shivalingas side by side. Local tradition preserves a precise account — Rama's emergency installation and Hanuman's journey to Kasi and back.
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S3 / E3
Jatinga-Rameshwara — The Climb and The Revelation
An hour's climb to a third edict — where ASI's own signage points toward a Ramayana connection nobody expected.
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S3 / E2
Siddapura — Deeper Into Nowhere
Two kilometres from Brahmagiri, a second edict on a rocky hillock. Hand-built stone steps lead to a place nobody visits anymore.
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S3 / E1
Brahmagiri — An Emperor's Message in the Middle of Nowhere
A 2,300-year-old Ashokan edict in Brahmi script, sent from Suvarnagiri, carved by Capada — on a hilltop almost no one visits today.
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Series 2 — Chitradurga: Mahabharata

S2 / E1
Chitradurga — Where Hidimbi Married Bheema
Hoysala temples, a mysterious giant tooth relic, and defensive caves where the Pandavas worshipped — the Mahabharata marriage of Bheema and Hidimbi, traced to a real place.
Read & Listen →

Series 1 — Hampi: Ramayana

S1 / E1
Hampi — Anjaneya's Birthplace and Ancient History
A 575-step climb at dawn to Hanuman's birthplace, a crossing to Rishimukha cave, and the surprising overlap between Kishkindha and the Vijayanagara Empire.
Read & Listen →

Field notes & research

From the blog

Rishimukha Flashback — returning to the field with Akul

S1 / E11 Kishkindha · Goshala
Goshala next to Vali's cave - the adorable cow
A cow approached twice, two young Nandis met horns, and the big Nandi beneath a tree had better things to do.
Read S1/E11 on Blogspot →
S1 / E10 Kishkindha · Goshala
The Best Kept Secret in Hampi
Fresh buttermilk served from a goshala beside the entrance identified locally as Vali's cave—an unexpected field discovery in the Kishkindha landscape.
Read S1/E10 on Blogspot →
S1 / E8 Rishimukha · Nambikke
An Empire Built a Bridge Here. A German Lady Is Buried Here. A Swamiji Has Lived Here for 100 Years. This Is Rishimukha. This Is Nambikke.
Four threads at one cave: a guide who grew up next door and personally showed us the location, the Swamiji's long service, the woman who remained beside Rishimukha, and the surviving bridge remains.
Read S1/E8 on Blogspot →
S1 / E7 Rishimukha · Sugriva's Cave
Inside Rishimukha — The Cave and the Swamiji
The physical cave, Matanga's curse in the Kishkindha Kanda, and a guide's living memory of a Swamiji serving beside the rock across decades.
Read S1/E7 on Blogspot →
S1 / E6 Rishimukha · Geese
Rishimukha — Two Geese Beside the Crossing
The corrected field identification, the narrow crossing, and the living Pampa–Tungabhadra landscape remembered as Rishimukha.
Read S1/E6 on Blogspot →
S1 / E5 Anjanadri · ASI Board
ASI Board Says: “Anjaneya Was Born Here, in a Kingdom Called Kishkinda”
The plaque as Lipi, the inhabited hill as Nambikke, and the Tungabhadra landscape seen from Anjanadri.
Read S1/E5 on Blogspot →
S1 / E4 Anjanadri · Squirrels
The Squirrels Still Chat at Kishkinda
Squirrels along the climb, a water station painted with Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, and a chattering encounter on Hanuman’s hill.
Read S1/E4 on Blogspot →
S1 / E3 Kishkindha · Monkey Kingdom
Kishkindha — The Monkey Kingdom
A King, Queen, royal siblings and soldier monkeys—three accidental videos that revealed a living social drama on Anjanadri Hill.
Read S1/E3 on Blogspot →
S1 / E2 Anjanadri · Kishkindha
Hanuman’s Birthplace Has a Back Route
An ASI guide, a quiet second staircase, a rock crossing, and the monkey encounter that became a lesson in Nambikke.
Read S1/E2 on Blogspot →
S1 / E1 Jatayu · Ramayana
Jatayu, Rishimukha and Rama’s Two Trails
Three ASI guides, Jatayu’s hill, the Rishimukha cave, and the Kaveri walking-route hypothesis behind our S3/E5 investigation.
Read S1/E1 on Blogspot →

Series 3 — Chitradurga: Ashokan Minor Rock Edicts

S3 / E7 Finale
The Brahmagiri Revelation
We return to where the series began to finally ask: why is this hill called Brahmagiri at all?
Read on Blogspot →
S3 / E6 Marketplace
The Marketplace on the Hill
The ASI guide's own words reframe the whole series: this hilltop wasn't remote. It was a marketplace.
Read on Blogspot →
S3 / E5 Ramayana
Rama's Two Trails — Rama's Seal on a Rock?
Two trails — one in the sky, one on the ground — and one of them leads straight to our own family's farm.
Read on Blogspot →
S3 / E4 Ramayana
The Two Shivalingas — Rama, Jatayu and Hanuman
Why two Shivalingas instead of one? The worship order itself preserves the answer, passed down for generations.
Read on Blogspot →
S3 / E3 Ramayana
Jatinga-Rameshwara — The Climb and The Revelation
A steep climb, two strangers resting in the shade, and a Ramayana connection nobody expected — confirmed in part by ASI's own signboard.
Read on Blogspot →
S3 / E2 Ashokan Edicts
Siddapura — Deeper Into Nowhere
Two kilometres from Brahmagiri, a second edict reachable only by following a farmer through his own fields.
Read on Blogspot →
S3 / E1 Ashokan Edicts
Brahmagiri — An Emperor's Message in the Middle of Nowhere
An emperor's edict, carved 2,300 years ago, in a place nobody visits anymore — the question that opens the whole series.
Read on Blogspot →

Series 2 — Chitradurga: Mahabharata

Series 2 Mahabharata
Chitradurga — Where Hidimbi Married Bheema
Hoysala temples, a mysterious giant tooth relic, and defensive caves where the Pandavas worshipped — tracing a Mahabharata marriage to a real place a few hours from home.
Read on Blogspot →

Series 1 — Hampi: Ramayana

Series 1 Ramayana
Hampi — Anjaneya's Birthplace and Ancient History
A 575-step climb at dawn to Hanuman's birthplace, a crossing to Rishimukha cave, and the surprising overlap between Kishkindha and the Vijayanagara Empire.
Read on Blogspot →

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Reel series

Rishimukha Flashback Series

Returning to Rishimukha with Akul — revisiting the field evidence, local memory, and Rama connections one episode at a time.

  1. S1 / E11 Goshala next to Vali's cave - the adorable cow Watch on Instagram →
  2. S1 / E10 The Best Kept Secret in Hampi Watch on Instagram →
  3. S1 / E8 This Is Rishimukha. This Is Nambikke. Watch on Instagram →
  4. S1 / E7 Inside Rishimukha — The Cave and the Swamiji Watch on Instagram →
  5. S1 / E6 Rishimukha — Two Geese Beside the Crossing Watch on Instagram →
  6. S1 / E5 ASI Board Says: Anjaneya Was Born Here, in a Kingdom Called Kishkinda Watch on Instagram →
  7. S1 / E4 The Squirrels Still Chat at Kishkinda Watch on Instagram →
  8. S1 / E3 Kishkindha — The Monkey Kingdom Watch on Instagram →
  9. S1 / E2 Hanuman’s Birthplace Has a Back Route Watch on Instagram →
  10. S1 / E1 Jatayu, Rishimukha and Rama's Two Trails Watch on Instagram →

Earlier reel journeys

S3 🪨 Brahmagiri edicts S3 📜 Siddapura S3 ⛰️ Jatinga-Rameshwara S3 🦅 Jatayu's hill S2 🏔️ Bheema-Hidimbi sites

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Our approach

The Lipi vs. Nambikke framework

Lipi
Inscribed evidence
Physical inscriptions, epigraphy, and archaeological record
vs.
Nambikke
Oral tradition & local belief
What ASI guides, archakas, and village elders carry in memory

Significant knowledge was lost through invasions, natural disasters, and time. We recover it by travelling to sites, recording what people carry in living memory, and cross-referencing those traditions against physical inscriptions. Neither source alone tells the whole story.