The Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow [Paperback]

Sanjay Patel (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 31, 2006

In The Little Book of Hindu Deities, Pixar animator Sanjay Patel brings to life Hinduism’s most important gods and goddesses in fun, full-color illustrations, each accompanied by a short, lively profile. The stories of Hindu mythology cover everything from love and jealousy to petty grievances and epic battles, with characters ranging from monsters and demons to noble warriors and divine divas. Find out why Ganesha has an elephant’s head (his father cut it off!) and why Kali, the Goddess of Time, is known as “The Black One” (she’s a bit goth).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Don't mess with Kali, cautions Patel on the opening page of this arresting, innovative, entertaining book. Who knew the Hindu pantheon could be so much fun? Patel, an animator at Pixar studios, breathes new life into old mythology, telling the exploits of various deities while drawing us in—literally—with his joyous and unexpected full-color illustrations. In the introduction, he notes that he has always been influenced by Japanese animation, and his renderings bear the mark of the wide-eyed, large-headed, simple style that he so admires. The book is awash in color, with vivid saffrons, purples, fuchsias and oranges adding a lushness to the tales he recounts. Although some of the design work is too trendy to last—to wit, the oversized green and yellow polka dots that decorate some interstitial pages—it is precisely that faddish nod to the au courant that will make the book popular with teens and 20-somethings, who are the core audience ("Next time you're angry with your parents, don't turn into a monster," Patel jokes after introducing us to Bhairava, a vengeful incarnation of Shiva). Both funny and informative, this is a fresh and breezy introduction to the Hindu gods. (Nov.)
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Review

Throw another ingredient in the American spirituality blender. Pop culture is veering into Hinduism. -- USA Today

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Plume (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452287758
• ISBN-13: 978-0452287754
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.4 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Hinduism

More About the Author

Sanjay Patel is an animator and storyboard artist for Pixar Animation Studios, where he has worked on features that include Monsters, Inc., A Bugs Life; Toy Story 2; and The Incredibles. He has also worked on The Simpsons for Fox and with legendary cartoonist John K., creator of Ren and Stimpy."

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My husband reads it to my 2 year old - both love it! March 22, 2007

By Shari DeCarlo

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The visuals are captivating and engaging. There's a good dose of humour in there as well. My 2 year old loves to look at the pictures. My husband and I want to expose our children to all the different religious beliefs, mythologies and ideas we can. This is a great way to introduce the primary Hindu Deities to a house that hasn't had much exposure to them.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute deities, annoying production August 23, 2008

By Darth Breather

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a handy compendium of Hindu deities, with the gods and goddesses made cute in a self-confessed Hello Kitty kind of way. The idea is sort of sweet, and I'd love to see Patel do other religious figures this way.

What was profoundly irritating was how difficult some of the pages were to read - white text on pastel-colored pages. The dark-colored pages were fine, but white on pink? White on yellow? What was Penguin thinking?

I hope they'll correct this in the next edition.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of humor, sweet and educational December 27, 2006

By latenac

Format:Paperback

I bought this book when it was still being self-published. My daughter loves it. It's a great guide to Hindu deities. There's wonderful subtle humor in it and the drawings are wonderful. It's been a great addition to our library to teach our daughter about world religions.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, Playful Take on Hinduism January 12, 2007

By Virginia Allain

Format:Paperback

This was described to me as "a younger, hipper take on Hinduism." You get fifty deities, demigods, avatars, mythical planets and epic characters. The art is eye-catching and happy looking. A page is devoted to each deity with a picture and easy text. It can be used to keep Asian-American kids in touch with their culture or to introduce anyone to what Hinduism is.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic illustration, Colors in the book are not as vibrant January 19, 2009

By Suhas R. Sheth

Format:Paperback

I am a Graphic designer. I was sold on your book off your website. The illustrations were original and vibrant, just like hindu culture. Only thing I was disappointed about was the quality of the paper. I really wish the book was printed on better paper. PREFERABLE GLOSSY PAPER INSTEAD OF MATT PAPER, I think this would have given the vibrancy it deserves.

Beside the paper preference I agree with all other reviews. This is a great book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Really enlightening! July 28, 2008

By Karpagam Rajan

Format:Paperback

I found this book really mind-blowing. I grew up in India.However didn't get to know much about hinduism, because Mom was an athiest. But had the basic knowledge about Hindu Gods from different sources(Family, visiting Temples, Television,Movies etc). As I grew up, had lot of basic questions, and really felt bad about it. Thought it was too late for me to ask now. I read this book and it cleared all by grey areas. thanks to Sanjay.

Also, because he has presented very crisp information in a simple way, it is just so easy to understand.

Overall, it's a very handy book and am glad now I can pass some knowledge to the next generations to come.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wah Wah Ramji! September 18, 2007

By The Patriarch

Format:Paperback

This is an entertaining and educational book concerning the Hindu Pantheon. Although it has the appearance of a children's book, this is actually aimed towards a teenage audience and regardless of your age this is just a great introduction and pictorial glossary of the Hindu gods and goddesses. Anyone that's attempted to take on the Bhagavad-Gita or heaven-forbid the entire Mahabharata without having at least a rudimentary knowledge of the Hindu Pantheon will no doubt find themselves confused.

This book isn't written for children as the language is about middle school to high school level, not to mention the many Hindi words the book introduces. The book is easily laid out as an easy resource guide that you can turn to whenever you need a refresher concerning a particular god, goddess, or avatar. Each pair of pages is an illustration of the god or subject being discussed with the description on the other.

Table of contents
10 Introduction
14 Ganesha
19 Trimurti - Hindu Trinity
27 Manifestations of Shiva
39 Mother Goddess (Mahadevi)
52 Ten Avatars of Vishnu
74 Hindu Epics
83 Demigods
102 Nine Planets
123 Animal Gods
132 Chronology of Creation

The 'Samurai Jack' style illustrations are well done and add a personality that is easy to identify with. Using this book will add a element of fun to your studies of Hindu literature or perhaps just help you to know just what the heck they are always talking about in those Bollywood movies. Whatever your purpose, the only time you will be disappointed with this book is when you turn the last page.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book but the pages are not at all the same quality of the original April 9, 2007

By modern mommy

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

i would rate this book a 4, almost perfect.

This illustrations in this book are unbelievably beautiful. I bought the original self published book that Sanjay Patel put out which was much smaller.

Here, he expands on it, with many many more pictures, pages, and expanded explanations (stories) of all the deities. I would give the book itself 5 stars, a must have!

My only problem with the book is the quality of the pages. :( It doesn't do his work justice. In the original book, "Little India', the pages were glossy and the colors leaped off the pages, like a coffe table art book or children's storybook.

In this version, the cover is glossy but the pages are matte and coarse, like a paperback novel. It really changes the look of the illustrations, they look muted.

In one way, it reinforces the idea that this is a 'story' book you are reading thru and not just about the pictures but... wow... what a loss, when I compare it to the original. I give it 3 stars for quality.

Unfortunently, I cut up the original when I was pregnant and framed them for my baby's nursery. I bought 2 of this one, to have one for reading and one for framing more prints. These are not the same quality although I'm sure any baby would still be thrilled to read it with mommy and daddy. :)

I hope he releases the other version again.