In the forest of insecurities, is it possible to discover humanity through pleasure?
Can we stop seeing each other as predator, prey, rival or mate, and rediscover ourselves as lovers?
Does the divine reside in sensual delight, in emotional intimacy and in aesthetic experience?

Yes, yes, yes.
That is the promise of the Bhagavata.
The Bhagavata is the story of Krishna, known as Shyam to those who find beauty, wisdom and love in his dark complexion. It is the third great Hindu epic after the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. However, this narration was composed in fragments over thousands of years, first as the Harivamsa, then as the Bhagavata Purana, and finally as the passionate songs of poet-sages in various regional languages.

This book seamlessly weaves the story from Krishna's birth to his death, or rather from his descent to the butter-smeared world of happy women to his ascent from the blood-soaked world of angry men.

Devdutt Pattanaik is a doctor who shifted his focus to Indian mythology and their influence on the people of the country. He has written many books based on Indian epics and Puranas.

Devdutt Pattanaik has written other books based on Hindu epics and other related works. Some of his other books are:

Devi, the Mother-Goddess: an introduction
Shiva: an introduction
Vishnu: an introduction
The Goddess in India: the five faces of the eternal feminine
Hanuman: an introduction
The Man Who Was A Woman and other queer tales of Hindu lore
Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and fortune: an introduction

His Writing Style
Devdutt Pattanaik's style is simple and elegant, and he adds value by creating his own line drawing illustrations ? an unusual combination. He is not strictly traditional in his retelling, yet he remains true to the original spirit of the stories. He also explores the influence of the epics on Indian thought and their continued relevance to life, even today, thousands of years after the stories were written.

His Personal Life
Devdutt Pattanaik grew up in Mumbai and graduated with a degree in medicine from the Grant Medical College. He later studied Comparative Mythology at Mumbai University.

After working in the Healthcare industry for 14 years, he turned his attention to the wisdom and insights contained in the ancient Hindu texts. He started to write books and columns on the subject and has also delivered many lectures on Indian mythology.