Chaitanya, Popular Culture, and Amar Chitra Katha Comic Books

Abstract

This article explores the representation of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu within popular culture, specifically focusing on Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) comic books. Challenging simplistic definitions of popular culture, the author analyzes how these mass-produced narratives engage with, and are shaped by, traditional religious values. Drawing on Walter Benjamin's theories of mechanical reproduction and the "aura" of art, the article argues that ACK comics, despite being products of capitalism, can still facilitate a sense of divine presence due to the pre-existing cultural aptitude within the Indian populace to find divinity in various forms, including printed matter. The author highlights how Chaitanya's own teachings of embodied devotional practice (bhakti) contribute to this ability to perceive the sacred in everyday and reproduced objects. Ultimately, the article suggests that ACK's portrayal of Chaitanya, while eschewing the miraculous, invites a personal and human connection with the divine figure, demonstrating that popular culture can serve devotional purposes.