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In the recently released movie Tumbbad they tell us about a demon god and the treasure he possesses. Is Tumbbad based on an established myth? Does the demon king Hasthar and his treasure exist in any religion/mythology?

Set in Maharashtra, between 1918 and 1947, Tumbbad tells a rich visual story telling of greed, gold and the curse of a demon god.

Is Tumbbad based on an established myth?

According to Tumbbad, this is the myth of Hastar: The world was created by the Goddess of Prosperity, who gave birth to 16 crore gods and goddesses. The Earth was her womb and she had large (perhaps endless) reserves of gold and grain. From this womb sprang her firstborn, her favourite and most evil of her children — Hastar. Though born a celestial being, Hastar’s intentions were less than noble. We wished to gain control over the goddess’ wealth. While she let him have the gold, his 16 crore siblings declared war on him as soon as he reached for the grain (which fed gods and men alike). Weakened and unable to sustain their attacks, Hastar’s mother saved him and contained him back in her womb. But there was a price: He would never be worshipped, as the other god and goddesses were. In fact, his name would be removed and censored from any texts for the rest of eternity.

Does the demon king Hasthar and his treasure exist in any religion/mythology?

Though Tumbbad positions Hastar as a Hindu god, there is no known mention of Hastar in Indian mythology. This fact plays well into the movie’s lore, since all mentions of Hastar were to be erased, as per the gods’ conditions for sparing Hastar’s life.
It is also interesting to note that the myth of Hastar being of brought down by his family bears resemblance to the elder gods — the Titans — of Greek mythology, who were the predecessors of the Olympians. Born of Gaia, the Greek Earth Mother figure who could stand in for the Goddess of Plenty from Tumbbad. But while Cronus was the leader of the Titans, who was eventually brought down by Zeus, his own son, Hastar seemed to be an outcast from the very beginning.
Another mythological figure who bears resemblance to Hastar is Mammon, whose story is found in the New Testament of the Bible. The god of material objects, Mammon’s name itself is the Hebrew word for money. Mammon either appears or is referred to as an entity that promises worldly riches, invoking greed.

Moreover, Tumbbad is a real village that actually exists. Perhaps not the way it does in the Sohum Shah-Aanand L Rai production, but it surely makes its presence known in Ratnagiri’s Khed district in Maharashtra’s Konkan division. The village is about six and a half hours away from Mumbai and about 100 km from the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary

Source:
GQ India