Shyam: An Illustrated Retelling of the Bhagavata

Nicely written, engaging. Charmingly quirky illustrations. Good notrs. Very informative.

This authors lacks knowledge about Veda, Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Sanatan Dharma. His books have tons of mistakes. Anyone with sound knowledge about "Veda, Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Sanatan Dharma" can easily challenge and defeat this non-sense author. His "Fake" ideas are forced and with no doubt are biased and paid as well.

Please be aware if came to learn about Hinduism. This author is Hinduphobic marxist.

If one makes a list of top ten inventions that changed the fate of us humans, Gutenberg’s printing press is sure to find a place on that list. In an age where books were very few in numbers and access to information was the privilege of rich and mighty, Gutenberg’s press pushed the gates wide open, flooding the world with information. Even the most esoteric, restricted texts were made available to anyone with the intent and interest to read them.Authors like Devdutt Pattanaik make an equal impact in the world of Hindu religious literature. While the great epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata have already been made accessible to all by various authors, there is still a vast portion of Hindu literature that is beyond the access and understanding of lesser mortals that can’t relish these works in their original Sanskrit form. Authors like Devdutt present such texts in beautifully simplified forms, in their own inimitable style, so that even the uninitiated can partake in the bliss of divine texts. This book ‘Shyam’ is one more such feather in his glorious cap.Krishna – the very name fills one’s heart with bliss and piety. One of the most loved gods of the Hindu pantheon, Krishna is favorite across cultures, sects and ages. For children, he is a naughty playmate. For elderly women, he is a child that stirs up the motherly emotions in them. For women, he is the ultimate beloved. For men, well, can there be a better role-model?! For the elderly, he is God Incarnate, capable of liberating them from endless cycles of birth and death.Bhagavatha captures the glory of his life in its whole magnitude. In ‘Shyam’, Pattanaik presents that glory in short and sweet tales that make reading an experience of pleasure. The little nuggets of information the author provides all long, right from mentioning the places of pilgrimage to explaining the great philosophy behind the events in Krishna’ life add to that pleasantness. If you love Krishna and can never have enough of reading about his life, then this book is for you. You can also gift this to your children to initiate them to the ways of Krishna. Bliss to read, pride to own.

Title : ShyamAuthor : Devdutt PattanaikGenre : MythologyPublisher : PenguinPages : 269Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5Shyam ! Krishna ! He of the dark skin, curly hair, who wears a peacock feather, dolphin shaped earrings, yellow robe and a garland of forest flowers. He, who is to all of us what a dark rain bearing cloud is to the dry parched earth. Him !.This book gives us a better and deeper understanding of Krishna’s life from his birth to death. .It talks about —1) His beautiful childhood spent in Vrindavan amongst milkmaids and his beloved Radha.2)The transformation that He went through, from being a cowherd to a refined Yadav Nobleman by instilling the skills, statecraft, spirituality and aesthetics from his teacher, Sandipani.3) His marriage with Rukmini and other seven princesses which in turn helped him establish powerful marital alliances with the kingdoms around Dwaravati.4) The epic war : Mahabharata, where he sides with the Pandavas in order to uphold righteousness.5)The effect of the curse of Gandhari which led to the destruction of the Yadava clan and which made Krishna helpless and lonely during his last breath.I recommend this book to everyone because it gives us a profound understanding of life and different ways to tackle difficulties. If you are an ardent believer of Lord Krishna, you cannot miss to read this one.

For people who haven't already read and listen the bhagvata katha it's awesome. for others like me, who have heard and read about Krishna already, it gets a tad boring. though what interests me are the small grey boxes with trivia and insights, some I don't agree with but with most I do. Anyhow it gives a fresh perspective and context to already popular stories you know. Also, I love the illustrations.

The book made Bhagavata stories accessible to everyone.Getting the essence of Bhagavata Purana, Harivamsham or associated texts reading those books is impossible for common readers due to the difficulty of texts and commentaries even if translated versions available in Market. Awesome structuring of Shyam presents Krishna's life divided into small easy-readable stories along with annotation - thus makes the impossible possible.The author's illustrations always add an extra dimension to his books - we saw the simple yet bold lines doing wonders once again.The cover page colour and lines of dedication deserve special mention. These bring out the meaning of Shyam. I would tell reading Shyam gives feel good experience irrespective of couple of editorial mistakes.

The pages of the book are slightly yellow why I don't know. But as I got it at discount I can tolerate it. Why do sellers do not check product quality before shipping I don't understand. We as customers demand brand new product and not shabby, old, yellow book. That's why one star from rating is deducted.