Mythological books written in Hindi

Diversity breathes at the nucleus of mythology, just as diversity reigns at the core of India. Stories flapped within stories, often overlapping one another, anecdotes of truth and morality, gracefully strung oral traditions and a rich culture: these bind the traditional mythology that flows through the heart of the country.

Mythology has expanded everywhere. It appears in the popular screen and stage adaptations of moral tales and folklore. It has been omnipresent in both the social and structural architecture of India. For a few, they shape the bonds of nostalgic sentiment, setting a reminder of that warm summer afternoon when grandmothers only had stories in the baskets. It’s very much embedded in the way good and evil are viewed, the ideal man is portrayed, the perfect woman is centred. Our perceptions of our surroundings are driven by those lessons driven by different renditions of The Ramayana, it could easily be a Japanese anime featured on television.

It is merely a wonder that Indian writers are falling deeply into the mythological fiction in Hindi. Mythological Hindi fiction is a much savoured genre that has awashed the Indian market for decades, through Amish Tripathi's esteemed trilogy to Devdutt Pattnaik's translated work. Even Shashi Tharoor authored an appraisal of the Mahabharata - The Great Indian Novel, written from the perspective of the Indian Independence Movement. Various renditions of Indian Mythology in Hindi today help in flashing light on a whirlwind of perspectives, such as the women, warriors, or demons in the stories. Mythological Hindi fiction has spread its wings through literal and translated works.

Let’s look at some of the Hindi literary works on mythology.

The Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripathi (Hindi)

The series that pushed Indian mythology into the forefront, Amish Tripathi's The Immortals of Meluha and the subsequent parts, find their mention on every book list discussing Indian mythological fiction in Hindi translation. Ever since these books were released almost a decade back, Amish has become the benchmark name in mythological fiction for book-enthusiasts. The storyline shadows one mythological character, Shiva, the warrior. It dives deep into good and evil, and how they are often obscured.

Asura: Tale of the Vanquished by Anand Neelakantan

Was Raavana really the fraudulent villain that he is depicted as or was there more to his frontal face? Anand Neelakantan finds the roots of this devious character from the Ramayana to yield a garden perspective. He humanises the so-called antagonist by letting them fall into the stage and tell the story. The narrator is Bhadra who explicates independently on Raavan's point of view, and his parallel responsibility as the young leader of the Asuras, a clan that was deteriorating.

Arthala by Vivek Kumar

If mythology is your ground for exploration, this is the tale which is written on the backdrop of bygone times where you can see devas, humans, asuras, and various tribes disputing their way of living, existence, beliefs and power. Vivek Kumar's writing is crisp and very imaginative on the canvas. His command of the Hindi language is enthralling, while his vocabulary is rich in taste. This book demands a translation in English and with expert marketing, it has all the components to hand in tough competition to some of the bestsellers in this genre.

Beyond contemporary mythological books, Hindu mythology covers the body of myths and mythical literature espoused by the followers of the Hindu religion, discovered in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Puranas, and regional literature like the Tamil Periya Puranam and Divya Prabandham, and the Mangal Kavya of Bengal. Hindu myths are also alive in translated popular writings, like the fables of the Panchatantra and the Hitopadesha, as well as in Southeast Asian texts.