Devdutt Pattanaik


Devdutt Pattanaik is a mythologist, writer, illustrator, and speaker known for explaining the relevance of Indian [mythology (disambiguation)|Indian] and World mythology in modern times, especially in management, leadership, and culture.
A medical doctor by qualification, with a 15-year career in the healthcare and pharma industries, he has written over 50 books and 1,500 newspaper columns on these topics. His popular books including Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata, Business Sutra, and Escape the Bakasura Trap: Let Contentment Fuel Your Growth.
His TV shows include Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik and Business Sutra. He consults organisations and media on art, cultural heritage, storytelling and Indian Knowledge Systems.
WWW Official Site𝕏 devduttmythFB devduttmyth

Early life and education

Devdutt Pattanaik is the most widely recognised mythologist in South Asia. He was born and raised in Mumbai. His mother is Sabitri Pattanaik & father is Prafulla Kumar Pattanaik. He spent his childhood and student life in Chembur, Mumbai. He studied in Our Lady of Perpetual Succour High School in Chembur. Devdutt graduated in medicine from Grant Medical College, Mumbai, and subsequently obtained a diploma in Comparative Mythology from Mumbai University.

Career

Devdutt worked in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry for 14 years and spent his spare time writing articles and books on mythology, which eventually became his full-time profession. His first book Shiva: An Introduction was published in 1997. Devdutt illustrates his own books.
He was a speaker at the first TED conference in India held in November 2009.
Devdutt has consulted Star TV network on mythological television series like Mahabharata, ''Siya Ke Ram and Vighnaharta Sri Ganesha; these serials have challenged conventional views of the narratives and opened up new avenues of interpretation. In the latter serial he added the narrative of Lord Jagannatha & Puri since he is an Oriya.
He has also been the story consultant at Indian television network Star TV, where Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev is based on his work.
In 2015, Devdutt presented the Hindi television series Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik on the "EPIC ON" channel. In the show, he attempts to demystify and decode the folklore and traditions that accompanies Indian mythology. In December 2016, he made "his debut on the Forbes India Celeb 100 list, on the 93rd spot."
Devdutt worked on Audible Originals (India)'s audiobook titled Suno Mahabharat Devdutt Pattanaik ke Saath and Revisiting Mahabharata with Devdutt Pattanaik''. In his show he talks about the details of the war in the Mahabharata, how it affected the world, and what happened to India after the death of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He also communicates the Vedic tenets which describes karma and dharma.

Art

Columnist Koral Dasgupta mentions, "Pattanaik’s art follows a particular style and is dependent on expertly sketched lines but the focus is never the perfection of hands and limbs and props. The pursuit is clearly that of beauty and depiction; not the grammatical detailing of a photograph!"

Views

Myth and Mythology

Devdutt opines that "no society can exist without myth as it creates notions of right and wrong, good and bad, heaven and hell, rights and duties". To him, mythology "tells people how they should see the world... Different people will have their own mythology, reframing old ones or creating new ones." His desire is "to get Saraswati out of the closet. Saraswati belongs everywhere, she has to flow everywhere" and his body of work is aimed "to make knowledge accessible."
In Shiva to Shankara: Giving Form to the Formless, Devdutt explores the layers of meanings embedded in Shiva's linga and the transformation of Shiva, the hermit, into Shankara, the householder by the Goddess. Culture: 50 Insights from Mythology contextualises mythology and proposes that myths are alive, dynamic, shaped by perception and the times one lives in.
Western mythology, according to him, propagates the idea that the world is in need of changing, either by Greek heroes, or by Abrahamic prophets and kings, or by scientists, activists and capitalists. "Indic mythology presents the idea that the world is constantly changing, human intervention notwithstanding. There are no heroes or villains, no oppressor or oppressed, no saviour or martyr, just different ways of looking at reality...I do not claim objectivity; I am comfortable with subjectivity and well aware of my Indian gaze," he says.

Business

In his book, Business Sutra: An Indian Approach to Management, "the central theme … is that when individual beliefs come into conflict with corporate beliefs, problems surface in organisations. Conversely, when institutional beliefs and individual beliefs are congruent, harmony is the resultant corporate climate. It is when people are seen as mere resources meant to be managed through compensation and so-called motivation; it is when they are treated like switches in a circuit board; it is then that disharmony descends causing disruption".

Politics

Devdutt is wary of the influence of "white saviours" on liberals as well as religious radicals. He has been rather contemptuous of the hyper-nationalism of a section of American Hindus who are clueless about Indian realities. He also frowns on secularists and atheists who deny their own missionary zeal and mythic structure, and see themselves as "rational".
Devdutt says, "Unlike fiction or history, mythology is a pluralistic truth with many interpretations, all of which needs to be respected." He further states, “For politicians, dates are important. For human beings and devotees, God is everywhere, every time.”

Sexuality

Devdutt has been frank about the LGBTQ revolution in India. Pattnaik realised that he was gay in 10th standard and came out to his parents when he was 30. After the 2018 decriminalization of homosexuality in India, Devdutt came out as gay in a televised interview. He has written about the presence, and at several instances, the celebration, of the queer within the Indian mythos. Elucidating that karmic faiths can be used to affirm the dignity of queer people, he speaks of how when one discovers love and appreciation for the world as it is, not the way one wants it to be, one develops wisdom.

Reception

In 2014, Devdutt was listed in the top category of bestselling Indian authors. His book Devlok, based on the television programme of the same name, was one of the year's bestsellers in 2016. Forbes India had ranked Devdutt among the 100 celebrities of India in 2016.
Fiction author Ashwin Sanghi has said that Devdutt attempts to "explain mythology in simple words". Psychologist Urmi Chanda-Vaz, who calls Devdutt "India's most beloved mythology explicator", praised his book My Gita. Academic Shiv Visvanathan has praised Devdutt by saying that he has made myth-reading "an open, playful, almost domestic game, like Chinese Checkers or Scrabble".
Neil Gaiman praised Devdutt Pattanaik for his 2016 book Olympus: An Indian Retelling of the Greek Myth. "I read a fantastic Indian writer recently where he told Greek myth but from an Indian perspective... He makes it so easy to understand but what is lovely is that he does from a very proud Indian connect."

Publications

Mythology

  1. Shiva: An Introduction. Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd., 1997...
  2. Vishnu: An Introduction. Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd., 1999...
  3. Devi, The Mother-Goddess: An Introduction. Vakils, Feffer, and Simons Ltd., 2000...
  4. The Goddess in India: The Five Faces of the Eternal Feminine. Inner Traditions/ Bear & Company, 2000.. Translations: Hindi.
  5. Hanuman: An Introduction. Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd., 2001...
  6. The Man Who Was A Woman and Other Queer Tales from Hindu Lore. Harrington Park Press, 2002..
  7. Hindu India. Brijbasi Art Press, 2003..
  8. Indian Mythology: Tales, Symbols, and Rituals from the Heart of the Subcontinent. Inner Traditions/ Bear & Company, 2003..
  9. Lakshmi, The Goddess of Wealth and Fortune: An Introduction. Vakils, Feffer, and Simons Ltd., 2003...
  10. Myth=Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology. Penguin Books India, 2006.. Translations: Hindi, Marathi, Turkish.
  11. Shiva to Shankara: Decoding the Phallic Symbol. Indus Source, India. 2006.. Translations: Czech, Hindi.
  12. The Book of Ram. Penguin Books India, 2009.. - Part of a book series on mythological figures published by Penguin.
  13. 7 Secrets from Hindu Calendar Art. Westland Ltd., 2009.. Translations: Gujarati, Hindi.
  14. Hanuman's Ramayan. Tulika Publishers, 2010...
  15. Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata. Penguin Books India, 2010.. Translations: Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil.
  16. 7 Secrets of Shiva. Westland Ltd., 2011.. Translations: Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Russian, Telugu.
  17. 7 Secrets of Vishnu. Westland Ltd., 2011.. Translations: Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Russian.
  18. 99 Thoughts on Ganesha: Stories, Symbols and Rituals of India's Beloved Elephant-headed Deity. Jaico Publishing House, 2011.. Translations: Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu.
  19. Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana. Penguin Books India, 2013. Translations: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil.
  20. Shikhandi: And Other Tales They Don't Tell You. Zubaan Books & Penguin Books India, 2014.. Translations: Hindi, Marathi.
  21. 7 Secrets of the Goddess. Westland Ltd., 2014.. Translations: Hindi, Italian, Marathi, Russian.
  22. My Gita. Rupa Publications India, 2015.. Translations: Hindi, Marathi.
  23. Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik. Penguin Random House India, 2016..
  24. Olympus – An Indian Retelling of Greek Mythology. Penguin Random House India, 2016. .
  25. Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik – Publisher: Penguin Random House, 2017 Translations: Hindi
  26. Shiva to Shankara: Giving Form to the Formless. HarperCollins India, Indus Source 2017.. – Based on Older Book / Reprint
  27. My Hanuman Chalisa. Rupa Publications, 2017. .
  28. Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik – Publisher: Penguin Random House, 2017.
  29. Shyam: An Illustrated Retelling of the Bhagavata. Penguin, 2018 .
  30. Ramayana Versus Mahabharata: My Playful Comparison. Rupa Publications India, 2018 .
  31. Hindu Trinity: 21 Life-enhancing Secrets Revealed Through Stories and Art. Westland India 2019.. – Based on Older Books / Reprint
  32. Wisdom of the Gods for You and Me: My Gita and My Hanuman Chalisa. Rupa Publications India 2019.. – Based on Older Books / Reprint
  33. Faith: 40 Insights into Hinduism – Publisher: HarperCollins, 2019.
  34. Pilgrim Nation: The Making of Bharatvarsh - Aleph Book Company, 2020.
  35. Dharma Artha Kama Moksha: 40 Insights into Happiness - HarperCollins, India, 2021.
  36. Marriage: 100 Stories Around India's Favourite Ritual - Rupa Publications India, 2021.
  37. Adi Purana: Entire Veda as a Single Story - Westland, 2021 - quick read
  38. Hope: Wisdom to Survive in a Hopeless World - Juggernaut, 2021.
  39. Eden: An Indian Exploration of Jewish, Christian and Islamic Lore - Penguin Random House, 2021.
  40. The Stories We Tell: Mythology to Make Sense of Modern Lives - Aleph Book Company, 2022.
  41. Dharm Aur Samlaingikta/धर्म और समलैंगिकता - Penguin India, 2022.
  42. Garuda Purana and Other Hindu Ideas On Death, Rebirth and Immortality - Westland Books, 2022.
  43. Tales From the Land of Jagannatha - Odia Media Private Limited, 2023.
  44. Bahubali : 63 Insights into Jainism - Harper Collins, India, 2023.
  45. Tirthankar: Jain Dharm Par 63 Vichar - HarperHindi, India, 2023.
  46. Sati Savitri: And Other Feminist Stories They Don't Tell You - Penguin, 2024.
  47. Ahimsa : 100 Reflections on the Harappan Civilization - Harper Collins, India, 2024.
  48. Escape the Bakasura Trap : Let Contentment Fuel Your Growth - Juggernaut, 2025.

Management

  1. Business Sutra: A Very Indian Approach to Management. Aleph Book Company, 2013.. Translations: French, German, Hindi, Italian, Marathi, Tamil.
  2. The Success Sutra: An Indian Approach to Wealth. Aleph Book Company, 2015.. – Based on Older Book
  3. The Leadership Sutra: An Indian Approach to Power. Aleph Book Company, 2016.. – Based on Older Book
  4. The Talent Sutra: An Indian Approach to Learning. Aleph Book Company, 2016, – Based on Older Book
  5. Culture: 50 Insights from Mythology. HarperCollins India, Indus Source 2017..
  6. Leader: 50 Insights from Mythology. HarperCollins India, Indus Source 2017..
  7. How to Become Rich: 12 Lessons I Learnt from Vedic and Puranic Stories – Publisher: Rupa Publications India, 2019.

Fiction

  1. The Pregnant King. Penguin Books India, 2008.. Translations: Hindi, Marathi
  2. Is He Fresh?: Aka Kaula Hai?. Penguin UK, 2015.

Children's books

  1. Fun in Devlok: An Identity Card for Krishna. Puffin India, 2011..
  2. Fun in Devlok: Gauri and the Talking Cow. Puffin India, 2011..
  3. Fun in Devlok: Indra Finds Happiness. Puffin India, 2011..
  4. Fun in Devlok: Kama vs Yama. Puffin India, 2011..
  5. Fun in Devlok: Saraswati's Secret River. Puffin India, 2011..
  6. Fun in Devlok: Shiva Plays Dumb Charades. Puffin India, 2011..
  7. Fun in Devlok Omnibus. Puffin India, 2014.. – Reprint
  8. Pashu: Animal Tales from Hindu Mythology. Penguin Books India, 2014.. Translations: Hindi.
  9. The Girl Who Chose: A New Way of Narrating the Ramayana. Puffin Books, 2016. .
  10. The Jaya Colouring Book. Penguin Random House India, 2016.. – Based on Older Book
  11. The Sita Colouring Book. Penguin Random House India, 2016.. – Based on Older Book
  12. The Boys Who Fought: The Mahabharata for Children. Puffin, 2017 .
  13. Vahana: Gods and Their Favourite Animals - Rupa Publications India, 2020.
  14. Shyam: Our Little Krishna - Puffin, 2021. - Based on Older Book
  15. Greek Gods, Monsters and Heroes: Read and Colour - Puffin, 2023. - Based on Older Book
  16. ABC of Hinduism for Kids - Aleph Book Company, 2024.
  17. Gana-Bajana - Puffin, 2024.

Textbook

  1. Indian Culture, Art and Heritage For Civil Services Exam – Publisher: Pearson India, 2021 .

Foreword/Contribution

  1. Close, Too Close: The Tranquebar Book of Queer Erotica. Westland, 2012.
  2. Celebrating Public Spaces of India. Mapin Publishing, 2016..
  3. The Illustrated Mahabharata: The Definitive Guide to India’s Greatest Epic. DK Publishing, 2017.
  4. I Am Divine. So Are You: How Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism Affirm the Dignity of Queer Identities and Sexualities. HarperCollins, 2017.
  5. Padmavat: An Epic Love Story. Rupa Publications, 2018.. -Illustrator
  6. Behold, I Make All Things New: How Judaism, Christianity and Islam affirm the dignity of queer identities and sexualities. HarperCollins, 2019.
  7. Kabir, Kabir: The life and work of the early modern poet-philosopher. Westland, 2021. -Illustrator
  8. Urban Sadhu Yoga™ Chant Book: A Collection of Chants, Kirtans, Prayers, Sutras, Shlokas, Shastras, Devotional Songs, and Inspirational Texts for the Modern Yoga Practitioner. -Illustrator

Co-authored

  1. Yoga Mythology: 64 Asanas and Their Stories – Publisher: HarperCollins, 2019.
  2. Aranyaka: Book of the Forest – Publisher: Westland, 2019.