Book Review: Shyaam – An Illustrated Retelling of the Bhagavata by Devdutt Pattanaik

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Book Review
  • Post last modified:September 6, 2018
  • Reading time:4 mins read

 

Within Infinite myths is an eternal Truth.

Author: Devdutt Pattanaik
Publisher: Penguin India
Rating: 5/5

Review:Vidhya Thakkar- Indian blogger, Mumbai blogger, book blogger, Book blogger Mumbai, Book blogger India, lifestyle blogger, product reviewer

Devdutt Pattanaik is a king when it comes to Mythology books. Shyaam – An Illustrated Retelling of the Bhagavata is one of his wonderful creation. From Cover to Illustrations each and everything is amazing. The Narration of the story is Lucid and Gripping.

This book is about Glimpse of Krishna’s existence, also about the birth of Kansa, and other stories. What I loved the most about the book is It is well researched and detailed. It tells about Krishna’s teachings, observations and his life.  There are some uniques stories that I found in this book.

The author has also added notes and other information which builds the interests of the reader. The author gives information about Various avatars of Lord Vishnu, about transformations with communities. The illustrations that the book has are beautiful. Each illustration tells a story making it easy for the reader to understand.

The book is a bit heavy read but the author has written it interestingly. The writing style of the author is enticing. The language of the book is simple and smooth. What is Love? It’s the best Chapter of the story. The book gives the message of Humanity, Love, Karma, Trust and Believe. The blurb of the book itself  interests the reader to pick the book

I loved reading this book. If you love reading Mythology, Do not skip this book.

You can get your copy here.

Also Read: GITA: THE BATTLE OF THE WORLDS

Summary:

n the forest of insecurities, is it possible to discover humanity through pleasure? 
Can we stop seeing each other as predator, prey, rival or mate, and rediscover ourselves as lovers?
Does the divine reside in sensual delight, in emotional intimacy and in aesthetic experience?

Yes, yes, yes.
That is the promise of the Bhagavata.
The Bhagavata is the story of Krishna, known as Shyam to those who find beauty, wisdom and love in his dark complexion. It is the third great Hindu epic after the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. However, this narration was composed in fragments over thousands of years, first as the Harivamsa, then as the Bhagavata Purana, and finally as the passionate songs of poet-sages in various regional languages.

This book seamlessly weaves the story from Krishna’s birth to his death, or rather from his descent to the butter-smeared world of happy women to his ascent from the blood-soaked world of angry men.

Participating in the #Thursdayythoughts challenge by Vidhya Thakkar

Also Read :

Book Review of Dare Dreamers

Abstract a piece of my mind by shruti shetty

The Love Letter by Rachel Hauck

https://kanwarpals52gmail.wordpress.com/2018/09/08/happiness-is-all-we-want/

This Post Has 9 Comments

  1. Gunjan Upadhyay

    DevDutt is my favourite Author when it comes to mythological reading, he gives a great logical justification to all our doubts. and this book is in my TBR list, will catch up soon now:)

  2. richa mina

    i haven’t read the book yet. but i like the summary so adding it to my list. Thanks for sharing the review

  3. Samarpita Sharma

    I love reading his books and the way he retells them for young children is delightful. I’d loved this book as well!

  4. Sindhu Vinod Narayan

    Definitely on my tbr. Great review.
    #sindhureads #myfriendalexa

  5. Mayura Amarkant

    Definitely on my must-read list. Devdutt Pattanaik is an amazing new-age thinker. I enjoy watching his shows on Epic TV and reading his insightful articles in newspapers. Glad you brought this book to light will surely pick it up. #MyFriendAlexa #MayuraReads

  6. Amrita

    What a wonderful summary.Big fan of the Gita.Will check this out definitely.The author is outstanding

    1. vidhya thakkar

      You will love it

  7. Arjun Gupta

    I was just planning on getting this book. As soon as I finish the current one I’m buying this. Thank you!

  8. Suchita Agarwal

    Love Devdutt Patnaik. Especially how he gives you alternate versions of the same story. Almost feels like you’re reading a research paper.

Leave a Reply to Samarpita Sharma Cancel reply