Scan barcode
greyhound5717's review against another edition
4.0
I was introduced to Devdutt Pattnaik through another of his books, Jaya, which is a very good retelling of the Mahabharata. I bought Jaya for my wife, in honor of our then yet to be born daughter, whom we had decided to name Jaya.
Anyways.. I liked Devdutt's line drawings which reminded me of the books I ready through my childhood and adolescence back in India. I went looking for more books by Devdutt and found this.
I recommend this book to those who follow, or have followed Hinduism but were always curious about the rituals and meanings of various myths and how they seem to conflict a lot of times. I could never get a clear answers from my family to the questions I had, conflicts I could see... What is the place for women in hinduism? Should one pursue wealth or knowledge and for what purpose? Why do we seek the divine in a phallic symbol and yet cannot speak freely about sex?... Hinduism left me a lot more questions than answers. Not that there we no answers; I could not get to them.
This book has been a step in the that direction for me and I know I have ways to go. But atleast it helped me with dealing with the iconography that I could not bear to blindly equate to godliness. Now I feel I have a few more tools to deal with that aspect of Hinduism.
I consider myself a Hindu-agnostic (or a Hindu-Atheist on many days) so I tend to have a questioning view of our rituals. This book certainly helped me become a stronger agnostic/atheist but with fewer unanswered questions.
I liked the line drawings like I did in his previous book.
Anyways.. I liked Devdutt's line drawings which reminded me of the books I ready through my childhood and adolescence back in India. I went looking for more books by Devdutt and found this.
I recommend this book to those who follow, or have followed Hinduism but were always curious about the rituals and meanings of various myths and how they seem to conflict a lot of times. I could never get a clear answers from my family to the questions I had, conflicts I could see... What is the place for women in hinduism? Should one pursue wealth or knowledge and for what purpose? Why do we seek the divine in a phallic symbol and yet cannot speak freely about sex?... Hinduism left me a lot more questions than answers. Not that there we no answers; I could not get to them.
This book has been a step in the that direction for me and I know I have ways to go. But atleast it helped me with dealing with the iconography that I could not bear to blindly equate to godliness. Now I feel I have a few more tools to deal with that aspect of Hinduism.
I consider myself a Hindu-agnostic (or a Hindu-Atheist on many days) so I tend to have a questioning view of our rituals. This book certainly helped me become a stronger agnostic/atheist but with fewer unanswered questions.
I liked the line drawings like I did in his previous book.
amith_hiremath's review against another edition
3.0
Book Review: Myth = Mithya, written by Devdutt Pattanaik, is a book that explores Hindu mythology. It is more of an introduction to Hindu Mythology rather than delving deep into it. Since most of our knowledge today is influenced by the western notion of theism and their perception of religion, the book introduces us to the looking glass through which we can explore Hindu mythology in our capacity. The language and writing style is simple and easily understandable. The author uses many short tales and anecdotes to explain the workings of the world according to Hindu scriptures. I related to the concepts of objective truths and subjective truths. Objective truths are universal truths, while subjective truths are truths that hold in a defined frame of reference or scope. The writer explains the symbolism behind the gods and our mythologies in relevant bits and pieces. In case you already come from a basic understanding of Ramayana and Mahabharata, the stories feel slightly redundant. Some stories feel repetitive when you look at this book in isolation. The writer uses various diagrams and tables that help explain different concepts in Hinduism in an organized manner. This book lays a solid foundation if you are someone who wants to study and understand Hindu Mythology to enhance your understanding and quality of life. I grew up watching Ramayana and Mahabharata through tv serials. In my current phase of life(the early 30-year-old’s club), I was suffering the same problems in an infinite loop. I felt that something was lacking in my fundamental understanding of life. Studying mythology was an attempt to solidify my foundation as an individual to at least encounter different and new problems in my life. This book is a fine start to that journey. I am rating it 3.5 out of 5 as an introductory book to Hindu Mythology.
vishals's review against another edition
3.0
You might know most of the stories that appear in the book, however its the author's perspective on the story that makes it quite interesting.
Wouldn't recommend that you read it in one shot.
Leave it on the coffee table and read a few pages when you have some leisure time (sipping coffee preferably), that way you can contextualize things for yourself.
Wouldn't recommend that you read it in one shot.
Leave it on the coffee table and read a few pages when you have some leisure time (sipping coffee preferably), that way you can contextualize things for yourself.
drogon's review against another edition
Just donot wate your time ... really bad boo and bad interpreting of our scriptures and God
picky_nikki's review against another edition
Interesting read but as someone who grew up listening to indian mythology some of the stories in this book were repetitive. I admir the fact that maps, figures and various charts were illustrated for a better reading experience but it's hard to be engrossed in the book when the story just jumps to a new one as soon as you get into it. I would have loved it more if there were more detailed explanations of the more lesser known stories.
ravi_meka's review against another edition
4.0
Good to get a reminder of all these myths which I have heard before, but not in a structured way like this.