Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist
Understanding Sacred stories, myths, rituals and their relevance in modern timesDr. Devdutt Pattanaik
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Browse Myth Theory
Painting the town blue
A parable is not a myth….parables are prescriptive…they have a moral ending…here is one
Gods of the little tradition
Every village has its own mythology that is different from the one imposed by the mainstream, often urban, culture.
My interview with Wendy Doniger
Not the ‘media-edited’ one that was published in Sunday Midday, 25 Oct 2009
Truth behind the power of myths
16 Sep 2007, 0104 hrs IST,Atul Sethi,TNN
(written in response to the Ram-Sethu or Adam's bridge controversy)
Myths, they say, never die. They only sleep. American poet Stanley Kunitz put it aptly, when he said, "Myths lie sleeping, at the bottom of our mind, waiting for our call. We have a need for them, since they [...]
Lost Civilizations with Flying Saucers
Are there references to flying saucers in mythology?
From Oedipus To Yayati
First published in First City, Delhi, May 2006
There are things in this world that we would rather not talk about, but they demand expression. In such cases myth become a safety valve of culture, expressing unacceptable ideas in an acceptable manner. Stories allow the imagination to flirt with what is forbidden in reality. Take the [...]
Frames of Reference
First Published in First City, New Delhi, May 2005
Everybody sees the world through a frame of reference. No one, but the gods, have the full picture. At least that is what the following tale from Hindu mythology seeks to communicate:
All the gods of the Hindu pantheon once went to Mount Kailas to pay their respects to [...]