Devdutt Pattanaik

The crown could go

The crown could go to a person with the most talent. But how could ‘most talent’ be determined? So Indian society settled on age. Devdutt Pattanaik

I write on sacred

I write on sacred stories, symbols and rituals of all cultures – European, American and Chinese – but my audiences, typically, like me to focus on India. Devdutt Pattanaik

Medical training taught me the art of breaking down the complex maze of stories, symbols and rituals into clear systems. You could say that it helped me figure out the anatomy and physiology of mythology and its relevance in a society more incisively. How is it that no society can, or does, exist without them? … Read more

I have been doodling

I have been doodling since childhood. I have a passion for illustrating but cannot paint or colour for that matter. I illustrate what I am trying to communicate through my writing. My images are like drawings in a science text book. Devdutt Pattanaik

In Greek mythology, the

In Greek mythology, the hero wants to be great, but the very concept does not exist in the Indian vocabulary. Yet it has become the global template. And it’s a template that won’t fit in India. Devdutt Pattanaik

Mythology is a vast

Mythology is a vast body of knowledge that has not been tapped. Devdutt Pattanaik

Neither death nor wisdom

Neither death nor wisdom has a full stop. There are only commas-no destinations, only waiting rooms. Devdutt Pattanaik

Mythology is a subjective

Mythology is a subjective truth. Every culture imagines life a certain way. Devdutt Pattanaik

There is no such

There is no such thing as an objective interpretation. Devdutt Pattanaik

Nobody knows why we’re

Nobody knows why we’re alive; so we all create stories based on our imagination of the world; and as a community, we believe in the same story. In India, every person believes his/ her own mythosphere to be real. Indian thought is obsessed with subjectivity; Greek thought with objectivity. Devdutt Pattanaik