Kṣetrapāla
An experiment in digital comics and storytelling with AI, centered on the guardian deity traditions of eastern UP.
The Kṣetrapāla is a guardian deity, its origins going deep into the Indian civilizational past. Among the villages of eastern UP, or Purvanchal, this tradition lives in the form of Dih Baba. The word 'dih' refers to a mound, or the originating establishment of a village. Traditionally, a village was established with a dih, and expand around it. Dih Baba then is the local guardian deity of such a village, and across Purvanchal is venerated as the kṣetrapāla. He is often worshipped along with a companion Sthāneśvara Devī, or in some places Sati Mā. His mounts are usually the horse, and sometimes the bull.
In this experimental comic, we used AI to...
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