Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist
Understanding Sacred stories, myths, rituals and their relevance in modern timesDr. Devdutt Pattanaik
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Index / 2007
Both sides now
30 Nov, 2007, 0510 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN (Corporate Dossier) When he wants to know the profits of the organisation, the CEO turns to his Chief Finance Officer (CFO). But when it comes to understanding opportunities in the market, the leader turns to the Head of Marketing and Sales (HMS). The CFO knows where investments have [...]
Lifetime experience
In the great epics of India, Ramayan and Mahabharata, war ends not with celebration of victory but with transmission of knowledge.
The mythic in the festival of lights
November 9, Indian Express (Editorial page)
Diwali is without doubt India’s answer to America’s Christmas, where the religious aspect takes a backseat and secular shopping comes to the fore.
It all began as a post-monsoon harvest festival. But what distinguishes it from other harvest festivals like Pongal (Tamil Nadu) or Bihu (Assam) is that it is [...]
Invoking the goddess
2 Nov, 2007, 0501 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN
According to the Puranas, when Brahma creates the world, the Goddess appears as Saraswati, embodiment of knowledge, serene and aloof, dressed in white, holding a lute and a book, riding a heron. When Vishnu sustains the world, the Goddess appears as Lakshmi, stunning and alluring, dressed in red, [...]
Marketing Maya
26 Oct, 2007, 0530 hrs IST,
Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN
One day, Drona summoned two of his students, Yudhishtira and Duryodhana. “Spend a day in Hastinapur and find me a really bad man,” he told the always-nice Yudhishtira. Then turning to the ever-angry Duryodhan, he said, “Spend a day in Hastinapur and find me a really [...]
Land of Yama
First City, New Delhi, Novemeber 2003
Yama, is the Hindu god of the dead. The story goes that he was the first man on earth. His twin sister Yami was the first woman. According to the Rig Veda, she approached him to make a child. He refused this incestuous union on moral grounds. So he died [...]
Law of Fishes
Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 12 Oct 2007
Vishnu Purana begins with the story of Matsya avatar, the fish incarnation of Vishnu.
A tiny fish approaches Manu, the first leader of mankind, on the riverbank and begs him to save him from the big fish. Manu, in his compassion, scoops the tiny fish out of the river [...]
Doorkeepers of Vaikuntha
5 Oct, 2007, 1206 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN
If vishnu is the CEO, then his office is Vaikuntha, the ultimate paradise, a place where his every word is law and every wish a command. What cannot be resolved elsewhere can only be resolved in Vaikuntha. Naturally everybody wants to go to Vaikuntha. Outsiders, from vendors to [...]
Kurukshetra Counsel
28 Sep, 2007, 0510 hrs IST,Devdutt Pattanaik, TNN
Of the 18 days of the Kurukshetra battle described in the Mahabharta, nine days were indecisive. The Kauravas , with 11 armies, outnumbered the seven armies of the Pandavas. For the Pandavas, it was critical that Bhisma, the old but very able commander of the Kaurava forces, be [...]