What does this research mean for the field?

Despite their ideological differences, contemporary Indian mythological fiction authors Amish Tripathi and Devdutt Pattanaik both utilize local and global literary modes to restrict the multiplicity of Hindu narrative traditions, thereby helping middle-class Indians navigate their public Hindu identities in an increasingly ethnocentric nation. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how contemporary Indian mythological fiction reinterprets Hindu traditions to negotiate modern Hindu identity and nationalism.

September 8, 2026South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies

Controlling Multiplicity: Hindu Mythologies in the Works of Amish Tripathi and Devdutt Pattanaik

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Authors

URUttara RangarajanUniversity of Edinburgh

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Implication

Literary analysis reveals restricted narrative multiplicity in contemporary Indian mythological fiction, highlighting how popular authors shape modern Hindu identity in an ethnocentric nation.

Key Points

To examine how contemporary Indian mythological fiction reinterprets Hindu traditions to negotiate modern Hindu identity and nationalism.
Conducted a comparative literary critique of Amish Tripathi's Shiva Trilogy alongside Devdutt Pattanaik's Jaya and Sita.
Synthesized genre theory, literary studies of the Indian English novel, and scholarship on Hindu mythology to evaluate narrative form and ideological function.
Demonstrated that both authors position themselves as cultural interpreters who standardize and curb the diverse multiplicity inherent to traditional Hindu myths.
Identified that despite occupying contrasting points on the ideological spectrum, both writers equip English-speaking middle-class readers to construct public Hindu identities in an increasingly ethnocentric society.

Cite This Study

Uttara Rangarajan (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9fd75858e84d0ff5b45f27 https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2026.2712125

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Implication

Literary analysis reveals restricted narrative multiplicity in contemporary Indian mythological fiction, highlighting how popular authors shape modern Hindu identity in an ethnocentric nation.

Controlling Multiplicity: Hindu Mythologies in the Works of Amish Tripathi and Devdutt Pattanaik

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Controlling Multiplicity: Hindu Mythologies in the Works of Amish Tripathi and Devdutt Pattanaik

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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