| Author | Devdutt Pattanaik |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Hindu mythology, symbolism |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Penguin Books (Penguin India / Penguin UK) |
Publication date | 2006 |
| Publication place | India |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 212 |
| ISBN | 9780143423324 |
Myth = Mithya: Decoding Hindu Mythology (often shortened to Myth = Mithya) is a non-fiction book by Indian mythologist and author Devdutt Pattanaik. The book offers a compact handbook of Hindu mythology, decoding stories, symbols and rituals and exploring the distinction Pattanaik draws between myth (as cultural/subjective truth) and mithyā (context-dependent or illusory truth). [1] It is one of the best sellers of Devdutt Pattanaik. [2]
Devdutt Pattanaik — a physician-turned-mythologist and prolific author on Indian myth and culture — published Myth = Mithya as part of his body of work intended to make Hindu myths accessible to general readers and to read myths as cultural frames rather than literal histories. The book has appeared in multiple editions (India/UK) since its first publication in the 2000s. [3]
The book is has three parts- each covering Brahma-Saraswati, Vishnu-Lakshmi and Shiva-Shakti respectively. [4]
The book is structured as a concise handbook that:
Myth = Mithya has been widely cited in mainstream Indian media and described as a concise, accessible introduction to Hindu mythology. Early reviews noted the book's pocket-sized, handbook approach and praised Pattanaik's ability to explain complex and contradictory material in a compact, readable form. [6]
India Today highlighted Pattanaik's framing of mithyā as “truth seen from a frame of reference” and noted the book's aim of helping readers understand myth as a mode of meaning rather than literal history. [4]
While primarily aimed at general readers, Myth = Mithya has been cited in student work and in survey articles that discuss contemporary popular interpretations of Hindu myth. Scholars and pedagogues sometimes reference Pattanaik's distinctions (such as the sat/mithyā contrast) when discussing how modern readers interpret mythological content in cultural studies and comparative religion contexts. [7]
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