Ithihāsas
Learning and science
mythology reference explorer
SHOW HN2026
176points
45comments
#349of 4,366 in 2026
Top 8%of 2026 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
9 positive, 11 neutral or asking, 5 mixed, 7 critical, out of 32 comments about the project. Thread score +0.06.
Design: 3 for, 3 againstExecution: 0 for, 3 againstIdea: 2 for, 0 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Clean, pleasant UI and Crimson Dusk theme
From 3 comments
Feels like you created an Obsidian of the entire Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa... I love the Crimson Dusk theme. I think, for the relationship graph, when the clusters get too…
danish00111 on HNJust want to say that the UI is very pleasant.
r0b05 on HNAbsolutely slick UI and wonderful implementation. As an ardent follower of Santana Dharma I admire OP’s courage and grit to put this piece of work out there. More power to OP and…
ultrasounder on HN
Graph-based navigation suits the relationships in the epics
From 2 comments
This is a genuinely delightful project. The graph-based approach to navigating the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa feels really natural — these epics are fundamentally about…
sparin9 on HNI like the attempt but mythology is significantly more layered that just the study of their characters at the end. A single perspective of these stories will help you get the lay…
stinger on HN
Objections
Data is incomplete and built from curated summaries, not primary sources
From 1 comment
That’s a fair point, and you’re right. Right now the data isn’t directly modeled from primary sources like the Valmiki Ramayana or the Mahabharata. It’s an MVP built quickly…
cvrajeesh on HN
Low contrast makes text hard to read
From 2 comments
Is it just my setup or is the contrast so bad that I cannot read anything.
ksdme9 on HNGood vis. I wasn't sure what to expect, tbh. A few notes: - The default vis has very low contrast (despite changing theme colors).. perhaps make the contrast stronger. I find…
aanet on HN
Relationship graph is dense and dynasty tree is confusing
From 3 comments
Very cool! I like how cool it is to see the graph, but at the current density it’s a bit hard to read. I’ve been working on a similar project for biblical texts. For example,…
FrancisGerard on HNIn the Mahābhārata, what's going on with the dynasty tree of the Kurus? That's a view you get in every single book, and it looks really weird here. I feel like it's important to…
quadrifoliate on HNReally cool stuff, but I really don't understand the dynasties viz. For example, Kunti somehow has her sons to the left of, right of, and above her, making the relationship…
dhruvmittal on HN
Content looks AI-generated and shallow
From 3 comments
I like the approach, however, could tell this is done by AI, someone that studied it at the periphery. The characters, if you are automating the creation, should be a lot more in…
yalogin on HN1. Is this actually based on any textual analysis or just AI generated? The popular understanding of the epic material is rather poor and the AI is stupid on it. Eg: Indra would…
never_inline on HNIs this a joke? > Draupadi-- strength 6, wisdom 8 Are you creating RPG characters? Its clear you used AI to create the whole thing, but did you stop to think if it makes sense?
shantnutiwari on HN
Requests
Cite primary sources and references
From 2 comments
Good attempt. What were the sources for these graphs? Orginals? Valmiki Ramayanam and Vyasa Mahabharata? Looking at Mahabharata's relationship graph on the website - it feels…
ashtavakra on HNGood vis. I wasn't sure what to expect, tbh. A few notes: - The default vis has very low contrast (despite changing theme colors).. perhaps make the contrast stronger. I find…
aanet on HN
Show multiple character perspectives on the same event
From 2 comments
Good point. One way to handle this might be to show the same event from multiple character perspectives - like how Karna's story looks completely different depending on whether…
ethan_smith on HNCan you do comparative textual analysis between original sources and popular retellings? Or highlight it better across different versions. E.g. Laxman Rekha incident is not…
wordspotting on HN
Link characters to the stories they appear in
From 1 comment
it's a novelty to see the connections. One way it will be useful is to connect every character to the stories they're part of - either in the site, or in new tab. this will allow…
anilgulecha on HN
Add edge labels showing relationships
From 2 comments
This is cool, but also add the relationship between two entities on the edge as an edge label. Probably only when one node is highlighted.
atulvi on HNI like how it's mapped out the relationship graph. The edges could be labelled to follow and validate quickly
deepikaa_s on HN
Extend to more epics and caste hierarchies
From 2 comments
Would love this to be extended well beyond common Western known classics and other similarly complex ones like Ananda Math, Baburnama, etc. This with Amar Chitra Katha would be…
alephnerd on HNYou should also update this with Caste hierarchies.
qwertyuiop_ on HN
Questions
What sources were used for the graph data?
From 2 comments
Good attempt. What were the sources for these graphs? Orginals? Valmiki Ramayanam and Vyasa Mahabharata? Looking at Mahabharata's relationship graph on the website - it feels…
ashtavakra on HNLooks great. Which libraries / themes did you use?
avrionov on HN
Was the project vibe coded or generated by an LLM?
From 2 comments
Is this fully vibe coded?
rockstar2001 on HNAnd where did the stats come from? I find it very amusing & interesting & informative. I'm assuming you had the LLM generate these? That would be so interesting to see the…
jauntywundrkind on HN
Which database or data storage is used?
From 1 comment
Do you use any DB? like Neo4J? or static jsons generated at build time?
the_arun on HN
Alternatives named
Obsidian graph view
From 1 comment
Feels like you created an Obsidian of the entire Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa... I love the Crimson Dusk theme. I think, for the relationship graph, when the clusters get too…
danish00111 on HN
Wikidata as a data source
From 1 comment
I wonder how using wikidata as a source would work. I haven't checked but I assume these characters would be realtively comprehensively covered.
TheLNL on HN
hypr.bible character pages
From 1 comment
Very cool! I like how cool it is to see the graph, but at the current density it’s a bit hard to read. I’ve been working on a similar project for biblical texts. For example,…
FrancisGerard on HN