Hindu mythology is full of variety. There are 330 million gods. There are gods, goddesses, spirits, personal gods, household gods and gods of space and time. There are gods for each caste, and guardian gods who look after the artisans. There are gods who are protective of the nature, living in trees, and other who take animal form. Some are fond of minerals, some find meaning in geometrical form. Then there are numerous demons, each of which has its own story of rise and fall. Yet, there is no central Devil to this mythology, no head honcho on whom to lay the blame for the demons and their ravaging. In this book, Devdutt Pattanaik seeks to help readers understand many aspects of Hindu mythology. He selects a few stories which speak for themselves, helping readers understand why Yudhishthira alone went to heaven while his brothers were doomed to hell. He throws light on Rama’s status as the model king despite his banishment of Sita to the woods. He also explains why Gauri and Kali are the same, even though one nourishes while the other slays. This book is a definite read for all those who wish to understand more about Hindu mythology.

About Devdutt Pattanaik

Devdutt Pattanaik is an Indian writer, mythologist and leadership consultant. He is a former physician, having given up that career for his love of writing. He has also written Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata and The Pregnant King.

Specifications

Book Details

Imprint

India Penguin

Dimensions

Height	198 mm
Length	129 mm

Ratings & Reviews

4.2

★

404 Ratings &

84 Reviews

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A very informative read

First when I started reading this book, I assumed that this would be filled with heavy mythological facts that will make me snore. But once I started reading further and further, turned out that I really enjoyed reading it.

The best part about this book is that it unravels the reason behind every belief that we have been following blindly till date. Gives a clear picture about mythological stories with proper validations. The language used is very simple, crisp and to the point.

A must rea...

Lakshmi Narayan

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Sep, 2012

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full of facts

I am generally on a lookout for mythology books. At least this one sounds interesting. And the facts were presented quite unbiasedly. Even if there are more scholarly writers on hindu mythology and interpret it, no one writes it in objective manner and leave spiritual meaning to the reader. all other authors rty to influence reader's mind by passing judgement that "wow hinduism is great". For not doing this "influencing" thing, i commend Pattnaik. However, observation of other readers that th...

Charu Gupta

Jan, 2012

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Excellent book to read

Recently I've purchase this book and now it became a trouble for me. As my mother is unable to read or understand English, so every day I've to read and explain two or three stories every day in Hindi. Somewhere she found something to comment as some stories she had already heard in her childhood but many are very new for her.

Somewhere, it is seen that author is rising several unexplained questions instead explaining the things, but it is manageable because non of us were there when that th...

Deekeshwar Dobhal

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Oct, 2011

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Book for every Indian

This book is about understanding Hindu mythology and its relevance in today's time. Mythology was never so much fun till the time I started reading books from Devdutt. Author's indepth research and hard work has resulted in such a great book. I strongly recommend this book for all readers who are interested in mythology and also to those readers who are not. Go, read and enjoy!!!

Abhinav%20 Raje

Certified Buyer, Mumbai

Jan, 2012

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an engaging book

The author's deep interest, passion and knowledge about Hindu Mythology truly reflects in this little book. Compact in size and handy, it is an ideal Travel read. One does not need to follow the chronological order to enjoy it. Any page opened, it catches the eyes and the reader can find himself herself engrossed in the particular story. This book reminds one of his/her childhood days when granny used to narrate the Rakshas Devas stories. I recommend it sincerely for a light and informative r...

Geetha Sunil Pillai

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Jan, 2012

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Awesome Book

i would like to thank Devdutt for his Wonderful Answer which is almost convincing, there are lot of question in my mind while i was at childhood, why are they following this customs , i rised question but most of the people just follow for the name sake or reliogious sake, i found answer for the question which i asked during school day and would like to know more about Hindu God and Goddess.

Gurumoorthy Thiruvengadam

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Nov, 2011

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Awesome book

Wonderful book,
Anyone who wonders what is hinduism, what's the meaning and importance of traditions and rituals practiced in our culture, should read this.

Myth=Mithya, is truly a handbook of hindu mythology.
This book logically deals with our hindu culture, and gives proper reasoning as to why such beliefs and rituals are carried out.
Anyone who thinks hindu culture promotes superstition will modify this preconception after reading this book.

I'll give it 3 starts out of 5, and being Dev...

Siddhi Tripathi

Certified Buyer, Sagar

Jul, 2014

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Logic in Mythology

It makes you understand things taught to you as a kid about Hindu mythology. The stories that grandparents/parents told the kids to make them eat faster are given a much more clear understanding in this book.
His writing is impeccable as always and leaves room for reasonable judgement on your part whether you want to accept things he said or not.

Sravani Nyayapathy

Certified Buyer, Bangalore

Mar, 2014

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Interesting read but...

The book showcases some of the intriguing versions of the mythological stories, we've grown hearing from our dadies n naanis. Different forms of Vishnus and the various stages of the Shivas with Brahma generates curiosity in your mind. References given for various incidents validates the stories nicely. Just that with the way the entire flow was going was not concluded as effectively in the end. The book in the end gave impression of a set of short mythological stories compiled into one.

Th...

Lokendra Saini

Certified Buyer

Mar, 2013

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Myth= Mithya is an apt title for the book, as a common man brought up with hindu believes often suffers between myth & Mithya.

The most common concepts are very well explained with logical reasoning. Every hindu, for that matter anybody who has some knowledge and interest in Hindu mythology should clear their doubts by reading this book. The logic behind the cycle of birth, death & rebirth which I always doubted is very much convincing. this is a nice connect of an individual with the myth-ology. I enjoyed reading this book and wish to read 'The Pregnant King'

Rajashree rotkar

Dec, 2012

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