Myth = Mithya : Decoding Hindu Mythology (English, Paperack, Devdutt Pattanaik)

Hinduism can be a puzzle or even an enigma to the uninitiated there are so many different beliefs, so many rituals and so many myths and legends, it can be hard to follow myth = mithya: a handbook of hindu mythology is an attempt by the author to shed light on this seeming tangle, to show the deeper meanings of the different stories he explains about the hindu trinity and their divine consorts he also goes into the puzzle of why hindus believe in one supreme reality and yet claim the existence of 330 million gods the book explains concepts like the pitr, jiva, and about the devas and the asuras he explains the significance of various rituals he discusses how the warrior-like kali and the benign gauri are different forms of the same goddess he also compares the roles and the powers of the trinity, brahma, vishnu and shiva he goes into the idea behind the various avatars or incarnations of the preserver, vishnu he examines why the rama and krishna avatars have assumed such significance myth = mithya: a handbook of hindu mythology also compares the two major epics, the ramayana and the mahabharata it analyzes why the two avatars in the epics, rama and krishna, were so different it shows that the age that these epics were set in demanded different perspectives to handle similar situations this book is not a continuous narrative, it does not read like a novel instead, it is a source of reference for those who want to gain a deeper understanding of the stories and rituals and symbols that permeate the hindu faith the book is not aimed just at those who are non-hindus even those who have been brought up in the hindu faith can gain some deeper insights into their customs and beliefs through this book myth = mithya: a handbook of hindu mythology also includes illustrations which are drawn by the author