Pranathi Venkatayogi is an IT professional with a deep passion for Bhakti and Sanskrit. She graduated from Purdue University with a Masters in Computer Science and worked at Microsoft for 10 years as a Software Engineer. Currently, she is an Independent Software Consultant with Cyracom.

Her Bhakti journey began in 2004 in Seattle, U.S.A, leading to a profound interest in studying and applying its principles. In 2007, She received harināma dīkṣā (initiation) from H.H Indradyumna Swami and received her spiritual name Śyāmalā dāsī.

She holds Bhakti-Shastri and Bhakti-Vaibhava degrees from ISKCON, demonstrating proficiency in the Bhagavad-Gita and the first six cantos of the Srimad Bhagavatam. She is currently pursuing a Bhakti-Vedanta degree, focusing on cantos 7-12 of the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Pranathi introduced her twin boys to Sanskrit at the age five. They moved from the States to India in 2021, for the boys’ systematic Sanskrit education. Currently located in Sringeri, Karnataka, Pranathi and her husband homeschool their boys under the tutelage of professors from Central Sanskrit University.

Pursuing her passion for Sanskrit, she completed the 2-year Master of Arts in Sanskrit program at KKSU, India in May, 2025.