In Adbhut: Marvellous Creatures of Indian Myth and Folklore, Meena Arora Nayak presents a selection of fifty-five magical and monstrous creatures from the myths and folklore of India’s various cultures. Divided into five sections, this book portrays familiar and unfamiliar beings that fly across stormy skies, swim in deep seas, burrow through the earth, tread softly on land, and live between these realms, sometimes even breathing fire.

Adbhut hides within its pages creatures that are mysterious, terrible, and terrifying, yet fascinating and irresistible. These fantastical beings include the Manipuri python guardian god, Pakhangpa; Garuda, the king of birds; the immortal Kurma, the tortoise; Mahisa, the Buffalo King; Leviathan, the gigantic sea monster; Shamir, the Judaic stone-cutting worm; the Zoroastrian cosmic dragon, Azhi Dahaka; Nachash, the crafty serpent in the Garden of Eden; the shining Islamic al-Buraq; and the Harappan chimera whose origins remain a mystery.