Savi asked Roshani Chokshi:

What sources did you use and will continue to for your Aru Shah books? Parts of the epics? I'm really excited to learn about Indian mythology, but am curious about how much of it will be tied with religion too.

Roshani Chokshi Hi there! This is a great question. And yes, you guessed right. For the ARU SHAH series, I drew on episodes within the epics, both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the plays of Kalidasa, and the Vishnu Purana. As you know, Hindu mythology is inextricable from its religious context. But even though I am a practicing Hindu, I was/remain hesitant to give fictional personalities to the deities I worship. With that in mind, I chose to focus on Vedic deities, found in the Rigveda (Vedism dates back to 1500 BCE and later gave way to what we now understand as classical Hinduism). That means that the pantheon I am focusing on includes deities such as Indra, Surya, Agni, Ushas, Yama, etc...as opposed to Durga-Ma, Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganapati.

I should also add that the biggest source I used was my grandmother's stories. As a product of diaspora, I was exposed to these myths and legends in a different setting than someone who was born in India. I'm also mixed-race (my mother is Filipina) and my hope with this series was that all kids would be able to see pieces of their childhood no matter where they stand on a cultural spectrum.

Hindu mythology is vast and nuanced. It changes from region to region. I'm not an expert by any means, but I sincerely hope that it sparks your interest to find out more. That's the wonderful thing about stories.

I hope that answers your question :)

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