A decoding of Hindu mythology. Hindus have one God. They also have 330 million gods: Male Gods, Female Gods, Personal Gods, Family Gods, Household Gods, Village Gods, Gods of space and time, Gods for specific castes and particular professions, Gods who reside in trees - in animals - in minerals - in geometrical patterns and in man-made objects.Then there are a whole host of demons.But no Devil.In this groundbreaking book Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik - one of India's most popular mythologists - seeks an answer to these apparent paradoxes and unravels an inherited truth about life and death - nature and culture - perfection and possibility. He retells sacred Hindu stories and decodes Hindu symbols and rituals - using a unique style of commentary - illustrations and diagrams.We discover why the villainous Kauravas went to heaven and the virtuous Pandavas (all except Yudhishtira) were sent to hell - why Rama despite abandoning the innocent Sita remains the model king - why the blood-drinking Kali is another form of the milk-giving Gauri - and why Shiva wrenched off the fifth head of Brahma.Constructed over generations - Hindu myths serve as windows to the soul - and provide an understanding of the world around us. The aim is not to outgrow myth - but to be enriched and empowered by its ancient - potent and still relevant language.