Mumbai: Did you know - according to Hindu mythology, there are three types of cows? Which is the animal associated with Goddess Durga? Which animal served as the mount to Lord Indra? Viewers are mostly familiar with the famous legends in Indian mythology and can recount the various gods and deities and their animal associations, but how and why this came to happen remains lesser known to people at large.

EPIC TV, the only Hindi language Indian infotainment channel, aims to bring to fore stories, legends and lesser known facts in its first animated series - Animals in Mythology, beginning July 4, every Wednesday at 10 pm. Each episode of the 4-part series will feature 2-3 animals who are an integral part of fables like, peacock, snake, horse, lion, turtle, dog, and more.

Speaking about the launch of the unique series, Akul Tripathi, Content and Programming Head, EPIC TV said, “At EPIC we strive to engage with viewers and based on feedback, we learnt that viewers, especially younger ones were curious as to the origin and association of animals in our mythological stories, so we decided to tell it in a way we had not explored in long form content – through animation. We are confident that the stories and the presentation will make for many happy faces.”

Owing to its treatment and the use of contemporary animation, infographics and presentation, the series is also poised to be extremely relevant and useful to young viewers. Showcasing some interesting trivia from Indian mythology, an episode on ‘snakes’ highlights lesser known facts like - the snake is found in many avatars in Hindu mythology. The Vasuki snake wraps its self around Lord Shiva as a necklace, while the Sheshnag is famous as Lord Vishnu’s mount. A snake is also often adorned by Ganpati as a sacred thread or ‘janeu’ and is also known as Lord Brahma’s heir. According to Varah Puran, Brahma’s son Kashyap had four wives, and one of his wife gave birth to a snake. Kashyap’s wife’s name was Kadru and therefore snakes are also popularly known as ‘Kadruj’. She gave birth to 1000 snakes and amongst them the most significant ones are Shesh, Vasuki and Takshak. The Vasuki snake was also used as a rope by Gods and demons during the famous “Amritmanthan”.