Devdutt Pattanaik (born 11 December 1970) is an Indian author, illustrator and speaker who writes about mythology, especially the stories, symbols and rituals of Hinduism, and what they mean for modern life. Trained as a doctor, he worked in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry for fifteen years before becoming a full-time writer. He has written more than fifty books, including Myth = Mithya, Jaya, Sita and My Gita, and draws the line illustrations in them himself.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Devdutt Pattanaik |
| Born | 11 December 1970, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Age | 55 |
| Occupation | Author, illustrator, speaker |
| Education | Grant Medical College, Mumbai (M.B.B.S.); University of Mumbai (diploma in comparative mythology) |
| Subjects | Mythology, religion, management |
| Known for | Jaya, Myth = Mithya, Business Sutra, the TV show Devlok |
Early Life
Pattanaik was born in Mumbai to a family from Odisha and grew up in the suburb of Chembur. He studied medicine at Grant Medical College and then chose not to practise, joining the pharmaceutical industry instead. Alongside his job he took a diploma in comparative mythology at the University of Mumbai and began writing on the subject.
Career
He worked for companies including Sanofi Aventis and Apollo Group and later as a consultant at Ernst & Young. His first book, Shiva: An Introduction, appeared in 1997, followed by similar introductions to Vishnu, Devi and Hanuman. Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology (2006) set out his basic idea: that myths are not falsehoods but the stories through which a culture explains its truths.
He joined the Future Group retail company with the unusual title of “Chief Belief Officer”, using stories from mythology to explain leadership and management, ideas later collected in Business Sutra (2013). His best-known books retell the epics in short chapters with his own drawings: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata (2010), Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana (2013) and My Gita (2015). Shikhandi and Other Tales They Don’t Tell You (2014) collected stories about gender and sexuality in Hindu lore. He has also written for children and on Greek, Abrahamic and other mythologies.
Pattanaik presented Business Sutra on CNBC-TV18 and Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik on the Epic channel, and he was a story consultant for the television series Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev. He writes newspaper columns and gives talks, including a widely viewed TED talk in 2009 on East and West and “the myths that mystify”.
Views
He argues that Indian thought accepts many truths at once, where Western thought looks for a single one. His work has been praised for making difficult ideas accessible, and criticised by some scholars for errors in Sanskrit and by some traditional and nationalist readers for his interpretations. He is openly gay and has spoken about how Hindu stories make room for diversity.
Selected Books
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Devdutt Pattanaik born?
Devdutt Pattanaik was born on 11 December 1970 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and is 55 years old.
What is Devdutt Pattanaik known for?
Known for: Jaya, Myth = Mithya, Business Sutra, the TV show Devlok.
Featured image: Devdutt Pattanaik, October 2018. Photo by Devdutt.pattanaik, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
