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Holy superheroine: a comic book interpretation of the Hindu Devī Māhātmya scripture*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2008

Karline McLain
Affiliation:
Bucknell University, email: kmclain@bucknell.edu

Abstract

Amar Chitra Katha (Immortal Picture Stories) is India's leading comic book series, featuring hundreds of mythological titles about the Hindu gods. Founder Anant Pai initially eliminated all miracles, believing them to be unscientific interpolations. But while producing Tales of Durga (no. 176, 1978), he declared that the comic must be an “authentic” recreation of the Devī Māhātmya scripture, and that all miracles in the classical Sanskrit text must be faithfully rendered in the comic. This article examines the discourse of authenticity that surrounds the production of Tales of Durga in particular and this comic book series more generally. Through a careful reading of the Devī Māhātmya, content analysis of Tales of Durga, a consideration of the unique characteristics of the comic book medium, and interviews with comic book producers, this study provides insight into modern interpretations of the Devī Māhātmya and evolving Hindu attitudes towards the martial goddess Durga.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 2008

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References

* Research for this article was made possible by a Fulbright-Hays grant. The author thanks the comic book creators who were so generous with their time and insight; Padmini Mirchandani at India Book House Pvt. Ltd. / ACK Media in Mumbai for granting permission to reprint images from the Amar Chitra Katha comic books; and Kathryn Hansen, Syed Akbar Hyder, Janice Leoshko, Patrick Olivelle, Martha Ann Selby, Cynthia Talbot, and an anonymous reader for their input on an earlier draft.