Pallavi Hota

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.” The King of Panchal (Drupad) had organised the swayamvar of his beautiful daughter Draupadi. The Pandavas who had heard of Draupadi’s celestial beauty, too wanted to participate in the swayamvar. So, the Pandavas, disguised as Brahmins, travelled to Ekachakra to attend the swayamvar ceremony of Draupadi. At the swayamvar assembly, the Pandavas sat next to other Brahmins, away from the royal dignitaries as they did not want to reveal their identity. No one in the assembly recognized the Pandavas. Lord Krishna was also present as an honoured guest. Arjun picked up the bow and an arrow. He looked at the reflection of the fish in the oil pan and drew the bowstring and shot the arrow. The arrow darted with a twang and pierced the eye of the fish. Duryodhana, who was also present, guessed that the winner must be Arjun, and the four other Brahmins must be the Pandava brothers he had planned to kill. The mighty Pandavas easily defeated all the princes and took Draupadi with them. When they reached their hut, the Pandavas called out to their mother, Kunti, "Look, Mother, what we have brought." Kunti replied from inside the hut, "Share it among yourselves," thinking that they had brought food. When she saw the bride and was told that she was Arjuna's wife, Kunti was very unhappy at what she had said. As a custom, the Pandavas would have to obey every word that she had said and Draupadi would have to become the wife of all five brothers. Just then Krishna came to their hut. He told Kunti that in her previous life Draupadi had worshipped Shiva to get a husband with five qualities. But Shiva had given her a boon that in her next life she would marry five men each having one quality. On hearing this Kunti felt satisfied and Draupadi became the wife of all five Pandavas.

This is a story of Pandavas, Arjun, and Draupadi.

Draupadi’s Swayamvar

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”. According to the Gospel of Luke, as Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary. Both of these householders treated the Lord with respect and hospitality. When Jesus and His disciples were at the home of Mary and Martha, who opened their doors to Him, Martha ran about preparing food and trying to serve everyone. Mary chose to sit and listen to what Jesus had to say. Martha became irritated with Mary and asked Jesus to tell Mary to come and help her. Jesus instead said “Martha, you worry and become upset about too many things. Mary has chosen to do the right thing.” Moral:Do not let the worries of the world get in the way of your relationship with Jesus.

This is a story of Mary, Martha, and Jesus Christ.

Mary and Martha

Shina Utavani

Once upon a time, there lived a poor boy named Aladdin. He lived with his mother in China. One day a rich-looking man came to their house. He said to Aladdin’s mother, “I am a merchant from Arabia and I want to take your son with me. I will pay him handsomely so that you will not be poor anymore.” Aladdin’s mother instantly agreed because they needed money. However, she did not know that the man, in reality, was a magician.The next day, Aladdin packed his things and left with the merchant. After travelling for many hours, the merchant stopped. Aladdin was surprised because it was a lonely spot and there was no one anywhere. He could not see anything for miles.The merchant took out some coloured powder from his pocket and threw it in the ground. The moment he threw the powder on the ground, there was smoke all around. Aladdin did not know what was happening. When the smoke was cleared, he saw a big opening in the ground, it was a cave. The merchant asked Aladdin to go inside the cave. The merchant said, “You will see gold inside the cave. The gold will be more than you will ever see in your life. Take as much as you want. There you will also see an old lamp. Please bring that to me.” After hearing this, Aladdin became suspicious but he decided to go inside the cave.Aladdin entered the cave and just as the merchant said he saw gold, jewellery, diamonds, and other valuables. He filled his pockets with gold and stuffed in as much as he could. Then, he looked for the lamp. He saw the lamp lying in the corner. It was old and dirty. He took the lamp and decided to go back to the cave’s opening. There, he shouted to the merchant, “I have your lamp. Can you please pull me out?” The merchant said, “Give me the lamp first.” Aladdin was afraid that if he gave the lamp, the merchant would not pull him out. So, he said, “Please pull me out first.”The merchant got angry and threw some powder at the cave. Due to which the opening of the cave was shut with a huge rock. Aladdin was scared. He wondered, “Why this lamp is so important to him?” He then took the lamp and started rubbing it. Suddenly, a strange fog filled the room and from the fog appeared a man. He said, “My master, I am the genie of the lamp. What is your wish?” Aladdin was frightened and said in a quivering voice, “Please take me to my home.”The next moment Aladdin was at his home hugging his mother. He told her everything. Aladdin called the genie and this time he was not scared. He said, “Genie, I want a palace.” At the next moment, there was a beautiful palace in front of them.As people got to know about the rich Aladdin, he became famous. He soon married the Sultan’s daughter and they were very happy. The magician got to know about Aladdin and came to Aladdin’s palace pretending to be an old man who exchanged old lamps for new. Aladdin’s wife was not aware of the magic lamp so, she gave it to the magician for exchange. The magician took the lamp and started rubbing it. Soon the genie appeared and the magician told, “Shift Aladdin’s palace away from here to a desert.”&nbsp;When Aladdin came home, he could not find his palace or his princess. He then thought this might be done by the evil magician. He took out the ring that the magician had given him and started rubbing it. Another genie appeared. Aladdin said, “Take me to my princess.” Soon, Aladdin was in Arabia with his princess. He saw his magic lamp lying on a table and before magician could react, he grabbed the lamp and rubbed it. Soon, the genie appeared and Aladdin said, “I want you to send this magician to a different place so that he can never harm anyone.” The next moment the evil magician disappeared forever.The genie carried Aladdin, the princess and the palace back to China. He stayed with Aladdin for the rest of his life.

This is a story of Aladdin, ginnie, lamp and magician.Moral(s) of the story: honesty

Aladdin and the Magic Lamp

Ravina Sewani

King Vikram was given the duty of bringing Betal to a tantric. Betal traditionally means ‘evil spirit’. Each time Vikram tried to capture Betal, it told him a story that ended with a riddle. If Vikram could not answer the question correctly, Betal agreed to remain in captivity. But, if the king knew the answer and still kept quiet, his head would burst into a thousand pieces. And if King Vikram spoke, Betal would escape and return to his tree.Once upon a time, there lived a rich Brahmin by the name of Vishnuswamin, who was performing a huge sacrificial rite. He had three sons and each was extremely particular about three specific things. The eldest was particular about food, the second about women and the third about beds.Vishsnuswamin wanted a tortoise for his sacrifice. So, he sent his three sons to get one. They did find one, but each of them refused to touch it and bring it back home, as each claimed to be as particular as the other.A fierce quarrel broke out amongst them and they approached the king and requested him to decide who among them was the most particular. The king decided to test them all. He invited the first one to a very special feast prepared very exquisitely. But the first son refused to touch the food claiming that he smelt burnt corpses in the rice. On investigation, the king found that the rice was procured from a field near a cremation ground. The king was truly impressed.He then decided to test the second son by sending an extremely beautiful woman to him. But the second son sent her away saying that she smelt like a goat. On investigation, the king found that she had been fed goat milk in her childhood. The king was impressed by the second’s son’s fine taste in women.Then he decided to test the third son, by letting him sleep in a bed with seven huge mattresses. In the middle of the night, the third son awoke with a lot of pain and a red bruise on his shoulder. It was found that there was a strand of hair in the bed below the seven mattresses.The king was extremely impressed by the sensitivity of the third son as well. He could not decide who amongst the three was best, but employed them in his court and decided to use the special skills of the young men in his own interest.Betaal then asked King Vikram, “Who among the three was the most particular? Vikram replied instantly, “The third son! The bruise on his shoulder was a definite evidence of his sensitivity, while the other two sons could have obtained information from elsewhere too.”As soon as Vikram had finished his answer, Betaal flew back to the tree.

This is a classic story from Vikram betal.

The Three Special Brahmins

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 ìThe Mahabharata.The Kauravas and the Pandavas were given an archery test by their Guru, Dronacharya. They were asked to aim at the eye of a toy bird on the branch of a tree. When the teacher asked them what they saw, with the exception of Arjun, all others claimed to see the sky, trees, the bird, the leaves, the branches, etc. Only Arjun said that he just saw the blackness of the bird's eye. Only he was permitted to shoot at the target, which he did successfully.

Arjun and the Bird's Eye Test

According to the traditional significance, Thanksgiving is mainly celebrated to thank god for the good harvest. The god is praised through various hymns and prayers. It is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States, and around the same part of the year in other places. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well. The main significance of the festival is that it is a festival of bondage between family members. The festival supports the idea of living, eating and praying together. The families come together and celebrate the oneness with delicious food. Special recipes are prepared and are rejoiced together with dance and other amusements. Elders of the family tell various stories to children. They are taught family values and respect for elders.&nbsp; The Bible's importance for Thanksgiving represents prayer, sacrifice, praise, and offering. Thanksgiving as an act of worship is a grateful expression to God.Thanksgiving is a harvest festival, but it is now celebrated in the United States together with Christmas and the New Year. Thanksgiving's popular belief in the USA emerges from the recorded 1621 celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts where the pilgrims first stayed when they first came to America. The Pilgrims and Puritans who in the 1620s and 1630s began to emigrate from England brought their religious tradition of Fasting Days and Thanksgiving Days to New England.&nbsp; When the 38 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County in 1619, it was remembered as a day of remembrance and celebration and a day of thanksgiving to God for the safe landing of their ships at the harbour. The First Thanksgiving had several days of celebration including the Pilgrim holidays at Plymouth in 1621 and 1623 and the Puritan holiday at Boston in 1631. In the American Revolution also, thanksgiving has relevance. Royal governors such as John Hancock, George Washington, and the Continental Congress issued several proclamations giving thanks to God. George Washington declared the first national thanksgiving in America on November 26, 1789 when he became the president of the United States.

This is a story of thanksgiving.Moral(s) of the story: gratitude

Thanksgiving

Yesha Desai

A new juggling clown came to the Versailles to join the local circus. The clown performed multiple tricks, earning a little money from his show.One day, there was a large show organised in the celebration of the mayor’s daughter’s birthday. Lots of people were invited and everyone was enjoying the show.That was when two little girls started passing jokes about the clown. As they were in the front seat, the clown heard them. He became anxious about his performance and wondered, “Was it not good? Was he alright? Did everyone think lowly of his skills?”While worrying about this, he dropped one of the juggling balls. The crowd booed him on the stage and the clown quickly, tearfully left the stage.The clown was very embarrassed about the way he had messed up. He kept on thinking, “What if that is all everyone thinks about ever again? What if he never gets to perform again? What if he never gets better? How will he earn his keep?”In the time he was worrying about his reputation and other people’s opinions, the ringmaster came to visit him. The clown did not notice him coming and felt further embarrassed when he realised that the ringmaster had been talking to him.He blushed and apologised for his disordered look and lack of focus. The ringmaster only sighed and sat down in front of the clown.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Mistakes happen by everyone. That is no reason to beat yourself up over it.”&nbsp;He said.The clown only sniffled, “But sir. What if no one likes me? What if no one likes my tricks?”The ringmaster looked truly confused, “And why would that happen? You are amazing and very talented. A little mistake is not a reason for people to dislike you. Is there something else that is wrong?”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The clown hesitated. He did not want his boss to feel like the clown was inept and then in turn fire him. But he quietly said, “Some people were talking about me. I could hear them. Are my tricks not good enough?”The ringmaster sighed, “Listen son, what I say now, you must remember for life. Where there is light, there is a shadow. You must not worry about the criticism and only try to make yourself better. Have a little faith in yourself.”The journey towards feeling like a good enough artist was not easy for the clown but like the ringmaster said “Where there is light, there is shadow.” And the clown tried to understand the motto and live by it.Moral:Learning and success come from mistakes and failures.

This is a story of clown and failure.Moral(s) of the story: hard work and success

The new clown in the town

Once, a beautiful girl named Cinderella used to live with her evil stepmother and two stepsisters. Her stepmother was very rude to her. She did not like Cinderella and would tell her to do every household work. The mother did not use to give any work to Cinderella’s stepsisters. Cinderella used to do every work and her stepsisters used to roam around in their expensive dresses.A letter came to their house one day which said that the king had arranged a ball in which his son, ‘The Prince’ will choose a girl as his wife, every girl in the kingdom must be aware of it. After reading the letter, everyone was excited to attend the ball. Cinderella was also excited and wanted to go to the ball. She asked for permission from her stepmother. To which her mother replied, “You can go only if you complete all the household work on time and would help your sisters to choose their dresses for the ball.” Cinderella got excited and worked as fast as she could. Unfortunately, she could not complete all the household work and stayed at home disappointed.She felt very bad and ran to the garden. She sighed, “Wishes are never fulfilled.” A voice came behind saying, “Never my dear”. Cinderella looked up and saw a little woman. The woman had a magic wand in her hand. She had a big smile on her face. The little woman was Cinderella’s fairy godmother.The Fairy wanted to help Cinderella to reach the ball. The fairy waved her wand. With that Cinderella was dressed like a princess. The fairy gave her a new dress, glass sandals, and a black horse to reach the ball. Cinderella was shocked to see this. The fairy then said that the magic will last till midnight. She told her to come back before that.With the pretty dress and black horse, Cinderella reached the palace. Everyone was shocked to see Cinderella. She looked the prettiest in the ball. She looked beautiful and different than usual. Her stepsisters were stunned and could not recognize her. When the prince saw Cinderella, he fell in love with her instantly. The prince danced with her all night. Everyone was jealous of her. The Cinderella was busy in the ball that she almost forgot what fairy had told her. While dancing when she saw the time and realized the fairy’s words, she quickly left the palace and, in all hurry, she forgot one of the glass sandals at the palace.The prince was impressed by Cinderella’s beauty and fell in love. He wanted to marry her and was curious to know where she came from. He ordered his servants to find the girl. He told them to go to every house and find the girl whose foot matched the glass sandals. The two stepsisters tried their best to insert their feet into the sandals but failed. But when Cinderella tried the sandal, her feet completely fit into it. Prince recognized Cinderella and asked to marry him. They finally got married and lived a happy life. Moral:Have courage and believe in yourself even in times of adversity.

This is a story of cinderella, prince and sandal.Moral(s) of the story: confidence and courage

Cinderella

In a small village of GeneroCity, there lived a granny. Her family visited her after a long time and they decided to go out for brunch. Her toddler granddaughter was the centre of all the attention. The little girl had never eaten a pancake before so the entire family was excited about it. They went to a fancy restaurant and ordered every kind of pancake available at the restaurant.Each of the family members took turns digging in and also feeding it to the baby, who loved them. There was a lovely environment at the table and lots of smiles. There was a gentleman sitting at a nearby table and he was eating his breakfast alone quietly, in the corner. He frequently looked over and smiled at the lovely family.&nbsp;Suddenly, the granny of the family had a great idea. She dug out a smile card and snuck up to the waitress. She explained to her that she wanted to pay that man’s bill anonymously and that instead of the bill could the waitress please give him the smile card.After the gentleman left, the waitress came over and told the granny that he had passed the smile card on and paid for another table before he left. How great!Not only that though the waitress then came back later and told them that the second table had now paid for someone else and passed the smile card on too! The granny couldn’t believe it when the waitress came back and told her that the third table had done the same thing.What was really amazing though was that by the time the family had left, half the room had ended up paying for a different table!&nbsp; Moral:One good turn begets another.

This is a story of family, grandmother and pancake.Moral(s) of the story: generosity and kindness

general places 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.