Shina Utavani

Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic about the brothers, Pandavas and kauravas. It describes the battle between them in the Kurukshetra war for the throne of Hastinapura. It is an epic tale that combines war, religion, philosophy and Hindu history. Following is a story from “The Mahabharata”.In ancient India, nearly 5000 years ago, there lived a young prince of Nishada (a tribe of hunters) named Ekalavya. Even though he was a hunter by birth, he aspired to become a great archer and a brave warrior. He wanted to to learn archery from the great Guru Dronacharya. Dronacharya was the greatest teacher of the art of archery and the science of warfare in the kingdom. He was the royal teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Ekalavaya approached Dronacharya but he refused to teach him because he belonged to a lower caste.Ekalavya felt very bad but he did not give up his will to become an archer. He collected the soil on which Dronacharya walked and made an idol out of it. He believed that if he practised faithfully in front of his Guru, he would be able to master the art of archery. So, every morning he would pray in front of the idol and practise throughout the day. After years of practising, he became a skilled archer, even surpassing the best archer in the kingdom- Arjuna.One day, Dronacharya came to know about Ekalavya’s skill, he visited him to know about his Guru. Ekalavya then showed him the idol and said, “You are my Guru.” Dronacharya was worried that Ekalavya would become a better archer than Arjuna, his favourite student. Therefore, Dronacharya asked Ekalavya to pay him Guru Dakshina. Ekalavya was overjoyed with this and said, “I am blessed that you ask me for guru Dakshina. I would never refuse anything that you ask.” Dronacharya then said, “You have to give me your right thumb as Guru Dakshina.”Ekalavya looked steadily at Dronacharya. Without any further questions, he said, “I will never disobey your wish, sir.” Saying this he took out a knife and cut off his right thumb and placed it at his Guru’s feet.Later Ekalavya learned to shoot with his forefinger and middle finger and remains an example of an ideal student till today. Moral:This story teaches us to be determined and stay dedicated to our goal. It teaches us to respect our teachers.

This is a story of Dronacharya, Eklavya, educator and student.Moral(s) of the story: dedication and hard work

Ekalavya’s allegiance to his teacher

Pallavi Hota

Bible is the collection of 66 books written by different authors describing the God's action and purpose with all creations. Bible contains life stories of Jesus. The bible gives the messages God has desired for us to understand. Following is a story from “The Bible”. The day was like any other, and Jesus was teaching several people near a lake. The place was crowded, and there was no place to stand.So, Jesus asked Simon, the fisherman, to take him to the middle of the lake on his boat so he could preach from there.Once Jesus was done with the teaching, he asked Simon and his friends ñ James and John ñ to spread out their net so they could catch some fish.Simon was apprehensive because they had spent the whole of last night fishing without any success.But being the followers of Jesus, Simon and his friends did as asked. As soon as they pulled their nets back, they were shocked to see the nets full of fish!The miracle startled the three men, but Jesus said to them kindly ìYou are the chosen ones. Don't be afraid and come with me.îJesus then chose nine other men and made the twelve men his messengers ñ the apostles, to teach men more about God. Moral:Everybody who trusts God and tells others about him is an apostle.

This is a story of Bible, Apostles, Jesus Christ and Simon.

The Story Of 12 Apostles

Yesha Desai

Once upon a time, there lived a skilful archer in a city. Though he was short in height and had a hunched back, none could beat him in archery. One day he thought, “I am good enough to join the king’s army, but he would never take me in because of my short stature and hunched back. I must look for someone tall and powerful, and then I can enter the king’s army as his page.”One day, the little bowman found the kind of man he was looking for. He was a tall and powerful man and used to dig ditches to earn his living. The bowman approached him and said, “The days of your misery are over! I am the best archer of this country and worthy of being a part of the king’s royal army. But, I may get rejected because of my height and crooked back. So, I need your help. You will immediately be recruited in the army because of your physique and you can then introduce me to them as your page. I will do the work that you will be given to do and we shall divide the pay between us. This way both of us will be able to live comfortably.”The tall man gladly agreed. Together they reached the king’s palace and sent word to the king that a famous bowman was there to meet him. The king met the bowman and being impressed by his towering personality, inducted him in the royal army. The little man’s dream had come true. He was now a part of the royal army, though disguised as the page of the big man.In those days, there was a man-eater tiger on the loose in the jungle. The king sent for the big man and ordered him to kill the tiger. The big man told the little bowman what the king had said. They went to the forest together and soon, the little bowman shot the tiger dead. The king was extremely impressed by the heroic act of the big man and rewarded him with expensive gifts.Some days later, a mad buffalo let itself loose on the city roads and started killing the people with its horns. The big man was asked to go and kill the buffalo. The big man carried the little bowman on his shoulders and as always, the little bowman hit his target and killed the buffalo. The king was full of praise for the big man and gave him a big bag of money as a gift.The big man slowly started to think that he deserved all the credit and the little bowman had no right to share the prize money or any praise. He started treating the little man as his servant and spoke to him very rudely. The little bowman was very sad.A few days later, the king of the neighbouring country attacked the kingdom. The king at once sent his army. The big man was mounted on a majestic elephant and was wearing shining armour. The little bowman knew that the big man could not shoot, so he also took his bow and arrow and quietly sat behind the big man on the elephant.When the big man saw a huge enemy army in front of him, he started to shake with fear. The little bowman asked him to keep sitting quietly, but the big man was so nervous that he jumped off the elephant and ran back to the city from the battle field.The little bowman led the elephant fearlessly into the battlefield and killed many of the enemies with his unmistakable shots. All the soldiers were motivated by the little man’s act of bravery and they soon forced the enemy army to withdraw itself. The king now understood that it was the little bowman who was the real hero. He made him the chief of his army and also rewarded him with rich gifts. Moral:Bravery and kindness are always rewarded.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of elephant.Moral(s) of the story: bravery and kindness

The brave little bowman

Ravina Sewani

Once a goat was grazing on the grassy slope of a hill. It decided to taste the grass on the hills across. A narrow log served as a bridge across the stream. While crossing the bridge, it saw another goat coming from the other side. The bridge was so narrow that only one animal could cross the bridge at a time.The first goat said to the other, "Let me pass first." "You let me pass first", shouted the other goat. They started arguing and finally got into a terrible fight. They lost their balance and fell into the stream.The other grazing goats witnessed this and learnt a lesson. After few days, two other goats encountered the same problem.&nbsp;One goat said to the other, "I'll sit down and you can step over my body and pass." The other goat replied, "Thank you. Next time, I'll sit down and let you cross first."Thus both of them were able to cross the bridge safely.Moral: Wisdom is better than weapons of war.

This is a story of goat and jataka tales.Moral(s) of the story: cooperation, foolishness, understanding and wisdom

Two Silly Goats

A strong and beautiful mother dragon had just given birth to three little dragon babies ó Red, Blue and Green.Red was a beautiful and calm and strong dragon. Soon after she was born, she had set to learning about protecting her lands. She didn't usually get angry, but when times called, she roared and spit fire. Blue was brave and strong willed. She loved exploring new places and was a natural protector. Being fierce and intelligent, she was very good at breathing fire. It was little baby Green that her mother was very worried about. Green did not seem to be able to breathe fire at all. Non fire breathing dragons were considered to be a disgrace to the society but Green's mother did not want to abandon her. At first her mother along with her sisters tried a lot to teach Green how to produce fire. They tried and tried and tried. But nothing happened.&nbsp; Her mother was frustrated and Green was very sad. She felt very bad about herself as she thought that now all her friends and family would not like her. It got worse when she realised that some of her friends in school had stopped talking to her. One day, there was an accident on their school's bus. The driver was very heavily injured. Little dragons around her panicked and some accidently burned the bus up. But little intelligent Green stayed focused. She got everyone out of the bus and even called for an ambulance. Due to Green's quick thinking and quick arrival of the help, everyone was rescued and everyone was safe in the end. Green was treated as a hero because of how intelligent and thoughtful she was and was no longer treated as an outcast. Everyone realised that just because Green was not like them did not make her any less valued. She was still amazing! Green finally started loving herself enough and did not let her flaws come in between her abilities.

This is a story of dragon, fire and school.Moral(s) of the story: confidence

The dragon who could not spit fire!

The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic written by the famous sage Valmiki. It describes Lord Rama's effort to rescue Sita from the demon king Ravana. It also describes the challenges faced by Lord Rama, Laxman, and Sita when they were exiled from the kingdom for 14 years. Following is a story from ìThe Ramayana.It is said that when Ravana abducted Mother Sita, Lord Ram was roaming around looking for her. He was crying, shouting and moaning as he was so sad. Of course, the Lord was playing a role on earth as a human, so he had to display human emotions.Lord Shiva and Mother Sati came across this scene. Lord Shiva bowed down to his Lord Rama. Mother Sati asked why he was bowing down? Lord Shiva answered because he is the Supreme Lord.Mother Sati said that he is crying like humans, how can he be God? I want to test him. Lord Shiva agreed but asked Mother Sati to stay within her principles. Mother Sati changed herself into the form of Mother Sita and appeared in front of Lord Ram, trying to confuse and fool him. Lord Ram knew she was Mother Sati and greeted her and asked her where Lord Shiva was? She was ashamed and closed her eyes. But even as her eyes were closed, Lord Rama gave her darshan along with Mother Sita.

Mother Sati Tested Lord Ram

The Ramayan is an ancient Sanskrit epic written by the famous sage Valmiki. It describes Lord Rama's effort to rescue Sita from the demon king Ravana. It also describes the challenges faced by Lord Rama, Laxman, and Sita when they were exiled from the kingdom for 14 years. Following is a story from ìThe Ramayana.When Ram Rajya was established, everything was going right and so all devtas felt that it was time for Vishnu to return back to his abode. They approached Yamaraja. Yamaraja tried many times but was not able to reach Ram and take away his life because Hanuman guarded Ram's life. Rama understood the problem Yamaraja was facing and decided to trick Hanuman. Rama dropped his ring. The ring fell into a crack in the floor. Ram then asked Hanuman to go and fetch the ring.Hanuman could change his large body into as small as a fly. So he jumped into the crack. He followed the crack until he reached patal loka. When he reached patal loka he was greeted by the king of snakes. The king of snakes knew the secret of life and death. He asked Hanuman what he was looking for. Hanuman replied, ìI am Hanuman and I am looking for Ram's ring. The king said, ìCome with me, I will give you the ring.î He took Hanuman to a room full of Ram's rings. And asked him to take any one. Hanuman was surprised and asked him how there can be so many rings? The king replied, ìEach ring represents one kal chakra. In every chakra, there is a treta yuga in which there is a Rama and Hanuman. Every time when Ram will drop his ring, a monkey will come to patal loka searching for his ring. By the time the monkey returns back to earth, Rama will be gone.î Hanuman then understood the kal-chakra and he let go of his dear God.

This is a story of hanuman and Ram.

Hanuman in search of Rama's ring

Makar Sankranti is celebrated every year on the 14th of January. Makar means Capricorn and Sankranti means transition. Makar Sankranti indicates the entry of the sun into the zodiac sign ‘Capricorn'. Makar Sankranti is the only Indian festival that has been observed according to solar cycles (cycles of sun), while most other festivals are set by the lunar cycle (cycles of moon). It is the festival of harvest. It happens on the equinox on which the length of day and night is equal. The equinox marks the end of the winter season and the beginning of spring- the season of harvest. It is celebrated in many parts of India with some regional variations. It is known by different names and celebrated with different customs in various parts of India. In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated as ‘Pongal' which means ‘boiling over’ or ‘spill-over’. Just as harvested crop spills over in the collecting pot, it is hoped that prosperity will also spill over. The cow is well regarded in this festival because of its importance in agriculture. It is a four-day festival in Tamil Nadu, each day having its own significance. In West Bengal, it is known as ‘Poush Sankranti’ named after the Bengali month in which it falls. In Assam, it is known as ‘Magh Bihu' which is celebrated for almost a week. People of Assam make different varieties of rice such as shunga ritha, Tilpitha and some other sweets of coconut called large or laskara. In Punjab, Lohri is celebrated a day before Makar Sankranti which marks the end of the winter season and is a traditional welcome of longer days and sun’s journey to the northern hemisphere. In Gujarat, it is called ‘Uttarayan', where people enjoy the festival by flying kites in the sky and eating delicious food items. The festival lasts for two days, the next day i.e. 15th January is known as ‘VasiUttarayan'. ‘Undhiyu' and ‘chikkis' are the special festival recipes made on this day. The whole sky is filled with colourful kites and you’ll hear loud music and people dancing with full energy and enthusiasm on the terraces. The beauty of this festival is that though it is named differently in various regions, it has a common goal of celebrating the season of harvest and people worship the sun’s transition.&nbsp;

This is a story of Uttrayan and kite.

Makar Sankranti

Once upon a time, in the Himalayan mountains, there lived an old saint and his young disciple. The saint was frequently in deep meditation and during his meditation he would have visions of the future which always came true.One day, the saint had a very disturbing vision. He saw that his little disciple was going to die thirty days later. The saint called his disciple and said, “My child, I am going to give you a holiday for thirty days so that you can go home to see your family. However, you must remember to come back here before the end of the thirtieth day.”Delighted at the prospect of meeting his family again, the young disciple went down the mountains without realising that his guru was sad and was actually reluctant to let him go. After a long walk, the young boy stopped at a stream to drink water. There he saw an ant cave, which was a home to countless ants. He observed their activities with great interest and, just as he was about to leave, he saw the water level of the stream gradually rising because of the rains. Very soon, the water would enter the ant cave and drown all the ants.He quickly took off his shirt and put some hard soil in it to make a protective wall along the cave. He managed to stop the water from entering the cave and saved the life of countless ants. Twenty-nine days passed by quickly. The old saint was strolling in the mountain sadly when he saw his little disciple running back to ashram cheerfully.Convinced that these were the last few hours he would ever have with his favourite disciple, he showered him with lots of love and affection and dreaded the break of dawn.The morning sun rose, the whole day passed by and young boy continued to go about his chores as cheerfully as he had done in the past. That day-the thirtieth-too passed uneventfully, and so did the next few days! It was the first time that his vision of the saint had not come true. Obviously, he was elated, but also curious. He knew that there had to be a reason for this ‘vision’ to have failed.Happily, he asked the disciple to narrate the events that had taken place while he was away from the ashram. When he heard about the incident with the ants, it became clear to the saint that because the compassionate young boy had saved the life of countless ants his lifespan had increased. The young disciple, thereafter, lived a long and happy life full of compassion. Moral:Showing compassion to others comes back to us in ways we could never imagine.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

This is a story of saint and disciple.Moral(s) of the story: compassion and discipline

aesop fables stories

Kids moral stories help in improving their imagination & relate to real-world life. Here are age-specific bedtime stories for children by renowned storytellers.