Shyam: An Illustrated Retelling of the Bhagavata

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.

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.

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.

It's a good book to know about the Krishna story along with references about the history and what different authors say about that event. Illustrations are eye catching. But the book looks like a summary of the bigger book and doesn't give hold of the events. In the end u r left with longing to know deeper into it.

Great job by the author to simplify and put both Bhagavad puran and Mahabharata into one book. But highly dissapointed by extremely poor editorial work from such a reputed publishing house. There are many editorial mistakes in the book especially in the second half of the Kindle version of the book. Some errors completely change the meaning of what the author has tried to convey. For example in kama Gita, kama Deva says it's best to destroy craving with dharma as it will lead to craving dharma, instead the printed words are to destroy Dharma. There are many such horrible editorial mistakes. I was surprised to see such poor editorial work from such a reputed publishing house.

I liked the sort of biography interspersed with events and interpretations. Finished reading in two long evenings. Mr Pattnaik unique way of writing comes across really well. Sita and Jaya are the other two, written and printed in this format, which I recommend.

Interesting book, as expected from devdutt. However, the commentary in the boxes are too many and distracted me from the flow of the story. I had enjoyed Jaya and business sutra more.

This book is about glimpses of Krishna’s existence, also about the birth of Kansa, and other stories. What I loved the most about Devdutt’s books is, they are well researched and detailed. It tells about Krishna’s teachings, observations, and his life. The prologue and epilogue are also very interesting and unique as always. Get ready to learn!

Loved the book. Read Bhagvatam by Sh Menon. But also like Devdutt's Retelling of the Bhagvata !! He is a great writer. Love his style of writing !! Enjoying the read !!!

Big fan of mythological books, so this one was in my wishlist for quiet long. Bfull books, good illustration s. Amazon's seller send in a wonderful safe packaging.

For children only ...Not for adults or devotees...Stories in briefFocused only on 10th canto

My son is seven years old and he is an avid reader. I bought this book for him he has read it cover to cover twice. Book is well written but I'd recommend it for kids above 9years of age.

A to Z, the book is tooo good. The story of lord Krishna is depicted in a delightful manner in this book. The cover book is also well developed. It is a good book for all ages

Good book but needs time to understand the sequence and intricate plots. This author jumps sequence. Love his jumping around on pilots.