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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
It's a good handbook for beginning to understand the concept of Hindu Mythology and symbolism. It does get confusing at times but that's more because there are a lot of concepts and symbolisms to keep track of. Don't worry if you don't get it all in one go - it is written in a way that you can go back to sections of it any time you want.
Covers a lot of stories in Indian myths, but I felt I would have liked not just the gist of the stories, but more details would have been better. This was more like a list of the stories associated with the Gods... Because of the content it felt longer than the supposed 200+ pages.
I picked this up with a great deal of skepticism after hearing rave reviews from friends who've read it - I tend to treat anything that's in the extreme with skepticism. However, hands down, I have to say this book deserves every single accolade that's been heaped on it. Pattanaik picks up threads slender as gossamer and weaves them expertly into a cohesive explanation of much of the paradox that is the world of the Hindu pantheon. Gods emerge and are categorized, the universe comes into being and is explained in a cycle of creation, preservation and destruction, the balance between knowing and unknowing is maintained through the union of the masculine and the feminine - and you realize, that somewhere, there is indeed a method to the madness and chaos that is the Hindu 'Bramhand'.
The arcane is explored and rendered commonplace, the esoteric made mundane through explanation and you begin the appreciate the richness of the fabric that is the Hindu belief in how the world was created , those that preserve it and the destruction that is the inevitable beginning of another cycle of renewal. This book would also make for an excellent bedtime read for kids, a great way to inculcate knowledge of and pride in the Hindu culture. I loved that much of the book infact does not read like a fairytale, giving implausible explanations or hiding behind conjectures too fantastic to be true. Instead, a strain of logic follows through every fantastical myth and the jigsaw puzzle becomes clearer and luminous with every piece that fits.
Recommended if you like reading about myths and legends, are a fan of or wish to know more about the Hindu culture or just general want to pick up something you can read on and off. Do not be in a hurry to finish this one - savor each story as a dessert after dinner, absorb the fantasy and the reality and return the next day, eagerly anticipating the flavor of another sweet delight!
P.S. - I hate waxing eloquent and am not given to expressing platitudes in a flowery language but something about this book just made me want to write what I've written.
The arcane is explored and rendered commonplace, the esoteric made mundane through explanation and you begin the appreciate the richness of the fabric that is the Hindu belief in how the world was created , those that preserve it and the destruction that is the inevitable beginning of another cycle of renewal. This book would also make for an excellent bedtime read for kids, a great way to inculcate knowledge of and pride in the Hindu culture. I loved that much of the book infact does not read like a fairytale, giving implausible explanations or hiding behind conjectures too fantastic to be true. Instead, a strain of logic follows through every fantastical myth and the jigsaw puzzle becomes clearer and luminous with every piece that fits.
Recommended if you like reading about myths and legends, are a fan of or wish to know more about the Hindu culture or just general want to pick up something you can read on and off. Do not be in a hurry to finish this one - savor each story as a dessert after dinner, absorb the fantasy and the reality and return the next day, eagerly anticipating the flavor of another sweet delight!
P.S. - I hate waxing eloquent and am not given to expressing platitudes in a flowery language but something about this book just made me want to write what I've written.
informative
reflective
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
informative
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
"That is what it is. Not this, Not that;
This too and That too.
That is who we are.
Tat Tvam Asi ( Sanskrit Sentence)"
Mithya by Devdutt Patnaik does its best in bringing together an analysis of the Hindu traditions, celebrations at different parts of the country, innumerous gods/goddesses and the inferences that are to be drawn out of our vast mythology. At general level, it concentrates well on explaining essence of great traditions, balance of godliness and human traits along with the cyclic nature of Hindu Dharma.
However, most of our shrutis and smrutis are also shaped by several local factors and this book falls short in covering local/regional/village level contributors in different versions for the same mythological story. Despite this, essence of mithya in decoding the true "ideal state" of tolerant, secular, unrestricted Hindu way of life has been aptly covered and justified. :)
This too and That too.
That is who we are.
Tat Tvam Asi ( Sanskrit Sentence)"
Mithya by Devdutt Patnaik does its best in bringing together an analysis of the Hindu traditions, celebrations at different parts of the country, innumerous gods/goddesses and the inferences that are to be drawn out of our vast mythology. At general level, it concentrates well on explaining essence of great traditions, balance of godliness and human traits along with the cyclic nature of Hindu Dharma.
However, most of our shrutis and smrutis are also shaped by several local factors and this book falls short in covering local/regional/village level contributors in different versions for the same mythological story. Despite this, essence of mithya in decoding the true "ideal state" of tolerant, secular, unrestricted Hindu way of life has been aptly covered and justified. :)
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Because I was reading the Hindu religious literature since I was 6 years old, I bought this book only to reinforce my Atheism.
It's title myth=mythya made me buy it, thinking, after all someone to reveal the BS that lies behind those snake-around-the-neck and flying monkey stories.
But to my utter suprise I was pulled into Hindu symbolism and suddenly all of it started to clear. I was not just looking but 'seeing', the deeper meanings behind these 33 million Gods and gods with Goddesses and goddesses, mind you!
Recommended.
It's title myth=mythya made me buy it, thinking, after all someone to reveal the BS that lies behind those snake-around-the-neck and flying monkey stories.
But to my utter suprise I was pulled into Hindu symbolism and suddenly all of it started to clear. I was not just looking but 'seeing', the deeper meanings behind these 33 million Gods and gods with Goddesses and goddesses, mind you!
Recommended.