From Mind to Super Mind

Devdutt Pattanaik has written over 25 books and more than 500 articles about the relevance of mythology to modern times. After 15 years in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, he decided to devote his life to decoding the beliefs of all cultures. Pattanaik is extremely knowledgeable and has an exceptional insight. He also excels at simplifying mythological stories into engaging reads for young readers. Pattanaik is the author of Pashu and the popular Fun in Devlok series.
Yuvanashva said, “I’m not sure if I’m a man.” I have created life as men. But I also created life within me, just as women do. What does this make me? Is a body like mine going to fetter me or liberate me? One of many hundreds of characters in the Mahabharata is Yuvanashva. He’s a childless king who accidentally drinks magic potion to make his queens pregnant. This causes him to give birth to a son. His story is told in this extraordinary novel. This is his story. It also tells the story of his mother Shilavati who is unable to be king since she is a female; of young Somvat who gives up his genitals in order to become a wife; Shikhandi, a girl raised as a son and who becomes a father with a borrowed penis. Of Arjuna who is castrated by a Nymph and forced to disguise herself as a woman by being made to look like a woman by Shikhanda, Adi-na teacher of teachers and was worshipped by some as an enchantress and as a hermite by others. Devdutt Pattanaik builds on Hinduism’s rich and complex mythology, but drives it with a modern sensibility. He creates a lush, fecund fiction that blurs the lines between fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters and husbands. The fluidity of Yuvanashva’s story draws the reader into her struggle to be fair for all, including those here and those there.