Customer Reviews

Shiva - An Introduction

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Shiva, an Introduction, is truly a product of divine inspiration. Dr. Pattanaik writes lucidly and simply. He takes us through all the layers of Hinduism - the Puranic stories, the philosophy, the symbolism, the worship rituals, famous devotees and pilgrimage centers. His narration is complemented by a wonderful variety of illustrations. Pictures of South Indian bronzes, Pahari paintings, modern calendar prints, and much more, all attest to the enduring love with which Hindus have protrayed Shiva over the centuries. Dr. Pattanaik ends his narrative with the 108 names of Lord Shiva. To find out the meanings of the names, the stories behind them and enjoy Shiva in all his aspects, read this book!

The book is delightfully written and as much fun as it is informative to read. The book radiates with the author's love and care to present nuggets of information from the scriptures related to many different aspects of Shiva and to support the stories with lots of beautiful black and white and color prints from different parts of India. The book is a genuine treasure.

I guess many stories/ tales may have been passed on within the families itself for thousands of years but since this has stopped in modern India, we are left with no choice but to fall back on books to understand religion in a clearer manner. For someone who has absolutely no idea about Shiva and have no clue about the history and stories behind Shiva, this books provides an excellent start. The language is extremely simple, easy to understand and the excellent use of photographs at proper places gives a very good perspective of Shiva. Once you complete the book, you can either thirst for more (and thereby become a more serious student) or you can decide to give up religion totally (and taking the modern view deriding these stories as myths). To be in such a position however, you need to therefore start with this book. Since Devadutt has written other books on other Gods also (Vishnu, Durga, etc.) it would have been good if all these books were consolidated into a single book.

This is one of the most original books on Shiva Ive had the opportunity to own. Its full of art, calendar prints, photos---for that alone it is worth its price. The text is a very good Intro to Shiva and Shaivitism...doesnt go too deep into it, but the traditional, newer, and oral tales are very interesting and from what Ive read in the past, pretty accurate. Its like having an art book and a text book on Siva in one. I highly recommend this treasury of knowledge and history. JAI SHIVA!

I was disappointed with this book, which seemed to be superficial, poorly written, poorly printed, and poorly illustrated. i found it especially annoying that many of the pictures seem to be low quality internet images. i still enjoyed reading it because it was about Shiva. but since i am reviewing this book, i would say do not buy it. you could find everything in this book on the internet, and the book itself is a waste of paper and money.