Of course, Krishna’s story may have been transmitted in its entirety orally for thousands of years before being put down in writing. Krishna’s story comes to us in fragments via Sanskrit literature, first in the Mahabharata (that speaks of Krishna’s adulthood amongst the Pandavas), then in the Harivamsa (that speaks of his pastoral foster family), then in the Vishnu Purana (that refers to him as Vishnu’s avatar), then the now popular Shrimad Bhagavata Purana (that refers to the dance with milkmaids at night) and the Geet Govind of Jayadeva (that introduces us elaborately to Radha). Story in fragments Krishna as Arjun’s charioteer (Illustration: Devdutt Pattanaik ) The story of Krishna from start to finish is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, with anecdotes from here, there and everywhere (Photo Imaging: Parth Garg)ġ. What you will read below is not an excerpt from the book, but eight things that Devdutt himself learned about one of Hinduism’s most popular gods. In his new book, Shyam, mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik finally puts together the whole story of Krishna. The story of Krishna from start to finish is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, with anecdotes from here, there and everywhere. So you think you know him – but actually no one does. He’s also a god, you learn as you grow older. He’s also very romantic and plays the flute with divine grace. He’s a butter thief, a mischief-maker, an exuberant imp with the literal ability to move mountains. We’ve all grown up listening to stories of Lord Krishna.