Access all of the Tirtha’s books across genres, forms, and interests in one place. From fiction to non-fiction, from poetry to research works, this is where you can begin. Each book listed here reflects a different phase of thinking and imagination, and together they form an ongoing body of work shaped by time, inquiry, and experience.
Tales
Tales from Mahābhārata
Tales from Mahābhārata is a collection of fifty interconnected love stories and it has been conceived as the first installment of the “Love Tales Trilogy”, the other two being Tales from Rāmāyaṇa and Tales from Purāṇas, whose works began almost concurrently. Whereas the first one contains fifty love stories from the world’s lengthiest ever written epic, the latter two contains twenty-five and thirty-three stories respectively from the aforementioned texts, making the entire omnibus a collection of 108 love stories. All fifty stories of the Tales from Mahābhārata have been titled after their female protagonists. Read the reviews here.
Tales from Rāmāyaṇa
Tales from Rāmāyaṇa is a collection of twenty-five love stories from the great epic of Vālmīki’s, the “ādi kavi” or “the first of the poets”. We all have heard about the epic being a grand narrative of the abduction of Sītā by Rāvaṇa, the king of monsters, and her redemption by her husband Rāma after the War of Laṅkā. However, did you know the epic also contains great love stories that are never told to us. In this retelling of those stories, Tirtha brings to you some of the hidden gems that are yet undiscovered by most— whether in books or in films or television/web series.
Tales from Purāṇas
Tales from Purāṇas is the concluding instalment of the “Love Tales Trilogy”. This book brings to you a collection of thirty-three love stories from the eighteen major Purāṇas in the literature of Sanātana Dharma. The Purāṇas are generally perceived to be “mythology” by the so-called rationalists and “itihāsa” or “historical anecdotes” by the traditional scholars. Whatever way you might look at them, anyone who has read them cannot simply ignore the enchanting love stories within the texts. Some of them might be known to all, but most of them are yet almost unheard of. This book furnishes them in a way retold for the present generation of readers.
Novels
India at Nine
This is going to be Tirtha’s debut novel. It is being written. More details about the book shall be revealed soon. However, as of now, can you guess what is going to be the subject of the novel? Give it a guess.
Novellas
Poetry
Firefly of Love
What is love? None can define, but all can feel. What is poetry? None can define, but all can read. What is love poetry? That which all can read and feel. Love is the theme that appeals to our heart from generations after generations. Titled as Firefly of Love, this book is a collection of hundred-and-eight love poems. Love is the only theme in this book, but all kinds of love have found manifold manifestations in it, and here lies its true charm. Well-knitted with the vivacity of wit and the ecstasy of philosophy, this is a gift to all the lovers of the world from the poet.
Non-Fiction
Tantra in 21st Century Literature
This edited volume seeks to explore how Tāntrika ideas, symbols, narratives, and sensibilities are reimagined in contemporary literary and allied expressive forms. By situating 21st-century creative and critical writings within the longue durée of Tāntrika traditions, this volume seeks to demonstrate how Tantra continues to function as a living reservoir of symbolic capital and transformative imagination. It aspires to contribute to Indian Knowledge Systems, comparative literature, religious studies, cultural studies, and South Asian literary criticism, while also opening conversations between academic and creative communities. Click here to know more about the book.
The Ontology and Aesthetics of Bhakti in the Hagiographies of Śrī Caitanya (PhD Thesis)
This doctoral thesis undertakes a comprehensive philosophical, aesthetic, and cultural study of Śrī Caitanya’s acintyabhedābheda darśana, situating it within the larger tradition of Vedānta while foregrounding its originality and historical impact. Drawing upon eight major hagiographical sources in Sanskrit and medieval Bangla, the study maps how Caitanya’s thought emerges at a critical crossroads of earlier Vedānta schools (viz. engaging Advaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, Dvaita, Śuddhādvaita, and Dvaitādvaita) while articulating a distinct metaphysical and soteriological vision centred on bhakti. Beyond philosophy, the thesis examines the rasa theory in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology, tracing its aesthetic foundations from Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra to Rūpa Gosvāmī’s bhakti aesthetics, and explores how devotion becomes an embodied, affective experience. A substantial section is devoted to kīrtana as both aesthetic practice and socio-religious reform, demonstrating how Caitanya transformed it into a universal mode of sādhanā with lasting cultural consequences across music, literature, and social life. The study finally reflects on līlā as a unifying theological and cosmological principle, proposing new interpretive pathways for future research in Indic philosophy, aesthetics, and cultural history.