Amish Tripathi On Unknown Facts About Shiva, How The Aghoris Have Been Misrepresented And Why He Feels Marxism Is The Biggest Superstition

Legends of Shiva with Amish unravels the enigma of Shiva, one of the most revered and complex deities in Indian mythology. Across three episodes, Amish embarks on an expedition from the North to the South of India, decoding the mysteries of Shiva. His search for Shiva’s symbolism, legacy, and enduring influence across time takes him from Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand to the sacred ghats of Varanasi, all the way to the majestic temples of South India. Throughout the show, Amish meets experts, delves into sacred geographies, unearths ancient mysteries, and deciphers paradoxes that define Shiva’s ethos. The first episode premiered on March 3 at 9 pm on Discovery Channel and discovery+, with new episodes releasing every Monday.

In a Zoom call with Tripathi, we delved into the details of the series and his career. Excerpts:

Q. Why is there an increased demand for fact-based storytelling rooted in mythology now? Or was it always there?

A. I think it’s the latter. The demand for stories, be it fiction or non-fiction, on our traditions and Itihasa has been around for millennia, and whenever a high-quality supply has been given, it has been received well. You notice it’s always the supply which has been the problem, never the demand.

Even Bollywood for some reason has lacked on the supply side, but in Telugu and Kannada cinema, NTR had legendary movies in this genre. Similarly, on TV, the re-telecast of Ramayan during the COVID era got more viewership than the last season of Game of Thrones worldwide. That is the demand for these subjects in India. We never tire of hearing about our gods and goddesses.

Q. Are there any misconceptions about Shiva that the documentary also addresses?

A. More than misconceptions, I think it would be a lack of understanding. Lord Shiva is someone every Indian would know. But do they know about him in detail? I think that is the opportunity that this documentary serves. Even someone like me, who’s been a very devout worshiper of Lord Shiva, ended up discovering things I didn’t know. Lord Shiva is the kind of God who’s not just restricted by what’s written in the scriptures. The folktales about him are as strong, or perhaps stronger. For example, there’s a temple in Maharashtra called Khandoba, where Hindus and Muslims both worship Lord Shiva.

Q. The Hidden Depths of Patal Bhuvaneshwar – the ultimate secret of existence is said to be hidden. What is it?

A. Shiva is the secret…now see the series!

Q. The Aghori sect are followers of Kaal Bhairav. Do you feel they have been represented properly over the years?

A. I think they’ve been misrepresented terribly. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a Shaivite and Aghoris are also Lord Shiva worshippers. I’m not saying I follow Aghori rituals, but do you know in Maharashtra there’s a ‘quote unquote’ anti-superstition act that was brought in by some leftist intellectuals (The Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice, Other Inhuman and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013).

Aghori practices do not hurt anyone. In my mind, Marxism is the biggest superstition there is because it doesn’t work. They claim it’s a great way to run the economy. Well, it’s been 100 years, show me one economy where it’s worked. In every place where Marxism has been tried, it has destroyed the economy completely. My point is, if the Aghoris are doing something by themselves that you may find disturbing, what’s your problem? To me, this is completely anti-liberal.

Q. You were in the financial industry for about 14 years before you became an author. How did the switch happen? And what if your book wouldn’t have been a bestseller?

A. I would have continued writing even if the only ones reading my books were my family members. What drives me is a story that has captured my soul and my immense pride in our culture for myself. I’m lucky that all the stuff I’ve done till now—my books, my documentary podcasts—has been received well. It’s the blessings of the gods and love of my audience. But even if it stops working, I’ll continue doing this. But if the first book hadn’t succeeded, I would have continued with my banking job and writing on the side; I mean, I need to pay the bills!

You can’t plan these things. I mean, look at Kafka, his wonderful books. And no one knew him; he died without any of his books being published. And he told his friend ‘burn all my manuscripts.’ Luckily, some of them were published, and later on, we even had the term Kafkaesque enter the English language. Even if the writing didn’t succeed, who cares? You write for yourself. Creativity is for yourself.