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.” Ganga had drowned her seven sons in the river Ganges, but took away her eighth son with her to heaven. The secret behind her drowning her seven sons was that once the saint Vashishtha got offended with eight gods known as Vasus (Deities of directions). He cursed them to be born as human beings on earth and undergo the mental torture of being a human. Hearing this, seven of the Vasus implored the saint to be excused but the eighth one, who was the most mischievous. ” Many years later, when Shantanu visited the river Ganga, Goddess Ganga emerged out of the river with a young boy. She said, "Oh King ! Here is your eighth son, Devavrata. He has mastered the art of wielding arms, and has unparalleled skills, equalling those of Sage Parshuram. Rishi Vasishtha has imparted the knowledge of the Vedas and the Vedanta, arts and sciences to him. This is your child, the finest archer and master statesman. King Shantanu was getting old and so he decided to step down from his throne. He was lonely and always missed his wife Ganga. One day while he was taking a stroll on the bank of the river Ganga, he was attracted towards a charming maiden, Satyavati. She was the daughter of the chief of the fishermen tribe. She was blessed with a son Vyas, earlier. Shantanu did not know anything about Satyavati’s past. He was charmed by her beauty. He went to her father, the fisherman chief, and asked for Satyavati's hand in marriage. The chief agreed to the proposal but laid down a condition. He told the king that the son born to Satyavati should be the successor to the King and not Devavrata. Shantanu was shocked to hear the condition and returned home disappointed and unhappy. Devavrata later discovered the cause of his father's unhappiness and went to Satyavati's father and requested him to allow his father, king Shantanu to marry Satyavati. In return he promised to give up his right to the throne for Satyavati's son.Satyavati's father thought for a while and said, "We believe in a noble prince, but what about your children? What if they covet the throne?" Hearing this, Devavrata took the grave vow that he will never marry in his life, for he would remain celibate. From then on he was known as Bhishma, the firm. Bhishma respectfully brought Satyavati to Shantanu's palace. Shantanu was elated to see Satyavati but was shocked when he heard about Bhishma's vow. He blessed Bhishma with the power to choose his time of death.

This is a story of BHishma and Shantanu

Devavrata becomes Bhishma

Ravina Sewani

One day, a hungry jackal was looking for food in an old battlefield. Suddenly he heard a strange noise coming from a distance. He wondered what could be the source of that frightening noise. At first he decided to run away from there and save his life. Maybe it was a monster who was making such a loud noise. The jackal started running but then he suddenly stopped. He thought that it was unwise to run away without investigating the incident. He gathered courage and slowly walked towards the sound. When he reached very close to the sound, he hid behind a rock and peeped. The jackal saw a big drum lying near a tree. Due to a strong wind, the branches of the tree were rubbing against the drum and making that noise.The jackal had a hearty laugh at himself. He was happy to solve the mystery of the noise. He tore open the drum, thinking that perhaps there was some food inside it but was extremely disappointed to find nothing. Though the jackal did not find anything to eat inside the drum, he was happy with himself for being brave and not running away like a coward. Moral:Be brave and you shall overcome all your obstacles.

This is a classic story from panchtantra.This is a story of jackal.Moral(s) of the story: bravery

The jackal and the drum

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.After the end of the Mahabharata war, the Pandavs heard the sound of laughter. When they went near the source of sound, they could see Barbarika's head. Barbarika was none other than the grandson of Bhima and Hidimba. When he was a child, he was taught by his grandmother Hidimba that one would be liberated even if he is killed by Krishna.This lesson was engraved in his mind deeply and to fulfill this mission, he performed harsh actions for many years and obtained powerful weapons from various demi-gods. When the Mahabharat war was about to begin Barbarika decided to take the side of Kauravas. When Krishna did not approve of this, he told Krishna that he would kill the Pandavas at once and was about to shoot a weapon at them. Immediately he was beheaded by Lordís Sudarshan chakra and his wish of being killed by Krishna was fulfilled by the Lord.Then Barbarika offered prayers to the Lord and requested Krishna to allow him to watch the Lord in Mahabharat war. The Lord granted him spiritual vision. After watching all the pastimes of the Lord, Barbarika was laughing in ecstasy recollecting the same. When the Pandavas heard this from Barbarika, they were eager to know who fought more bravely in the war. Barbarika replied ñ ìIn reality, NO ONE FOUGHT. Everywhere it was only sudarshan chakra which was moving around actively causing Bhismadev, Dronacharya, Karna, Jayadrath and all the warriors to fall down.

Barbarika watching Mahabharata war

Once upon a time there was a little boy who became very ill. He had to spend all day in bed, unable to move. Because other children weren't allowed to come near him, he suffered greatly, and spent his days feeling sad and blue.There wasn't much he could do except look out of the window. Time passed, and his feeling of despair just grew. Until one day he saw a strange shape in the window. It was a penguin eating a sausage sandwich. The penguin squeezed in through the open window, said "good afternoon" to the boy, turned around, and left again.Of course, the boy was very surprised. He was still trying to work out what had happened, when outside his window he saw a monkey in a nappy, busy blowing up a balloon. At first the boy asked himself what that could possibly be, but after a while, as more and more crazy-looking characters appeared out the window, he burst out laughing and found it hard to stop.Anyone wanting to stop laughing would never be helped by seeing a pig playing a tambourine, an elephant jumping on a trampoline, or a dog wearing a pair of glasses and talking about nothing except politics. The little boy didn't tell anyone about this because who would have believed him? Even so, those strange characters ended up putting joy back in his heart, and in his body. Before long, his health had improved so much that he was able to go back to school again.There he got to talk to his friends, and tell them all the strange things he had seen. While he was talking to his best friend he saw something sticking out of his friend's school bag. The boy asked his friend what it was, and he was so insistent that finally his friend had to show him what was in the bag:There, inside, were all the fancy-dress suits and disguises that his best friend had been using to try to cheer the little boy up!And from that day on, the little boy always did his best to make sure that no one felt sad and alone.Moral: True friends never give up on us even though everyone else has.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Morals of this story are friendship, caring and kindness.

A sick boy and his friend

There was a heavy flood in a river. After three days the flood subsided. Among many other things, a copper pot and an earthen pot were floating side by side in the river.The copper pot saw the earthen pot and said, “My friend, you are made of soft mud, and are weak. Come closer to me, if you wish. I will protect you from harm.”“Thanks for your good feelings for me," said the earthen pot. "But I dare not come closer to you. You are so strong and sturdy. I am so weak and fragile. By chance, if we crash into each other, I will shatter into a thousand tiny bits. If you are really my well-wisher, please keep away from me."Saying so, the earthen pot smoothly floated away from the copper pot. Moral:Keep over-powerful neighbours at some distance.

This is a classic story from Vikas books.Moral(s) of the story: ego and wisdom

The two pots

Shina Utavani

One upon a time, there were two beautiful princesses. They both were kidnapped by a vicious king when they were young. The princesses were taken to a lake where they were abandoned on a small island. The princesses had to live there forever under the guidance of a terrifying lake monster.After some time, the wicked king and his court of wizards and fortune-tellers were overthrown. And everybody knew that a brave prince was destined to release the princesses from their imprisonment.When princesses came to know about the news, their lives were finally filled with hope. Out of the two princesses, the youngest one was more beautiful and pretty than the elder one. She had a hope that one day prince will come to rescue her. So, she patiently waited for him, making small decorations from the flowers and singing songs. However, the older princess did not enjoy having to wait. She thought that she had to do something to help the prince rescue her. She thought that the prince should at least know where she was.The elder princess started working to help the prince. She started making signals, building towers, digging tunnels and a thousand other things. However, the lake monster always tried his best to ruin her plans.As time passed, the elder sister felt insecure and uncomfortable. She knew that the prince would choose her younger sister because she was more beautiful. So, she thought there was no point in waiting for the prince instead she started making plans to escape from the island not worrying about the prince.Every morning she would prepare a different escape plan, but the monster would always do something to ruin her plan. She attempted every day to plan an escape but the monster used to ruin it every time. It became like a game of cat and mouse between the princess and the monster. The princess tried to plan a new escape every day which used to be more original and creative. And the monster used a different creative way to destroy those plans. They put so much effort and imagination in their plans that at the end of each day the princess and the monster would spend hours chatting like friends. They used to discuss how they had planned their strategy. At night they both would say Goodbye and the monster would go back to the watery depths.One day the monster said to the princess that he will allow her to go the next day. He said that she was a clever and brave girl. She did not deserve to remain imprisoned like that. But the next morning the princess did not try to escape. She sat beside the lake, waiting for the monster to appear. When the monster came, he asked, “Why have not you gone?” The princess replied, “I did not want to leave you alone. You are indeed scary, but you are clever too. You deserve something better than guarding the princesses. Why don’t you come with me?” The monster sadly replied, “I cannot. I can’t leave the island; I’m attached to it by a long chain. You will have to leave on your own.”The princess went to the monster and hugged him tightly. She hugged him so tightly that the monster broke into a thousand pieces. And from those pieces appeared a slim, smiling young man, with the same expression and intelligence as he had as the lake monster.So, it was the Prince that had been with them all along. The princesses did not know that for the prince to rescue them, first, they would have to rescue him. This was only possible because of the spirit and the positive attitude of the older sister.The prince at the end decided to marry the older princess, leaving the younger princess to her songs, beauty, and her sweetness. Moral:You don’t achieve things by waiting for them to happen; instead you must work hard to achieve them. The story teaches us the importance of taking initiative with a positive attitude to achieve what we want.

This is a story of lake, monster, prince and princess.Moral(s) of the story: hard work, smartness

The Lake Princesses 

An ambitious Mother Rat wanted to marry her beautiful daughter to the most powerful man. After thinking hard, she decided that the Sun God would be the most suitable match for Miss Rat.She went to the Sun God and said, “Sir, will you please marry my charming daughter and make her your wife?”The Sun God said, “Thank you, Madam, for considering me a suitable match for your daughter. But I am not the most powerful. The Rain God is more powerful than I am. He can overshadow me with his clouds.”So the Mother Rat went to the Rain God and said, “Sir, will you please marry my charming daughter and make her your wife?”The Rain God said, “Thank you, Madam, for considering me a suitable match for your daughter. But I am not the most powerful. The Wind God is more powerful than I am. He can blow my clouds far away.”So the Mother Rat went to the Wind God and said, “Sir, will you please marry my charming daughter and make her your wife?”The Wind God said, “Thank you, Madam, for considering me a suitable match for your daughter. But I am not the most powerful. The Mountain God is more powerful than I am. He stands in my way and stops me. I blow with all my might but I cannot remove him from my way.”So the Mother Rat went to the Mountain God and said, “Sir, will you please marry my charming daughter and make her your wife?”The Mountain God said, “Thank you, Madam, for considering me a suitable match for your daughter. But I am not the most powerful. The King of Rats is more powerful than I am. He and his fellowmen nibble at my sides and make burrows and tunnels inside my rocky body.”So the Mother Rat went to the King of Rats and said, “Sir, will you please marry my charming daughter and make her your wife?”The King of Rats said, “Yes, I will.” And so Miss Rat was married to the King of Rats with great pomp and splendor.

This is a classic story from Vikas books.This is a story of mountain, rain, sun and wind.

Miss Rat Marries the King of Rats

Yesha Desai

Once upon a time a deer, a woodpecker and a turtle lived in a forest near a lake. The three were very close friends, and lived together happily. One day a hunter came to that forest and was delighted to see the footprints of the deer near the edge of the lake. He decided to catch the deer, and set a massive leather trap near the lake. Late in the night, when the deer visited the lake to quench his thirst, he was caught in the hunter’s trap. He cried out for help. At once the woodpecker flew down from her tree-top, and the turtle came out of the water to see what had happened to their dear friend.The woodpecker told the turtle to gnaw the leather trap with his teeth and set the deer free, while she flew away to find the hunter and keep him engaged. Soon, the woodpecker was able to locate the hunter’s house. As soon as the hunter came out of the front door, the woodpecker flew as fast as she could and struck the hunter in his face by flapping her wings.The hunter was taken aback by the unexpected attack of a bird and rushed back into his house. His face was badly hurt, but he wanted to find out whether the deer was caught in his trap or not. So, this time, he left the house from the backdoor, hoping that the bird would not see him. The woodpecker was a clever bird. She was already waiting for the hunter to come out of his backdoor. As soon as the hunter came out, she again attacked him, flapping her wings in his face. The hunter once again scuttled back inside the house and lied down on his cot for a while. It was getting difficult for him to wait any longer. So, he mustered up courage and decided to kill the bird if she attacked him again. He came out once again with a knife and dared the bird to come and attack him once more. This time the woodpecker flew back as fast as she could fly to her friends. She yelled at the top of her voice, “Beware my friends! Here comes the hunter!”By this time the turtle had gnawed away most of the leather trap. The deer broke this last piece of the trap with all his might and ran into the woods. The woodpecker flew up to her nest in the tree-top. But the turtle, who had become very weak after gnawing the trap all night long, was unable to get away. The hunter picked the turtle, put him in a bag and tied it to a tree. The deer saw his friend being captured and in order to save the turtle’s life, he slowed down a bit and let the hunter see him.The hunter seized his knife and started chasing the deer. The deer, keeping just out of his reach, led the hunter into the forest. The hunter was not familiar with the forest and got lost in the woods. The deer then took another way and reached the lake once again. Using his sharp horns, he tore open the bag in which the hunter had captured the turtle.The turtle was alive and very happy to see his friend once again. The woodpecker also flew down to meet them. The deer then thanked both of his friends for saving his life and asked them to hide in the forest till the time the hunter did not go away for good. The woodpecker flew away to safety, the turtle hid in the lake and the deer vanished in the thick forest.The hunter finally found his way out of the woods. He was very sad at losing the deer but was content that at least he had the turtle. When he reached the lake, he found that the turtle had also escaped. He cursed his stars, swore never to come back to that place again for hunting and left for his home. The three friends lived together for the rest of their lives. Moral:It is important that we help our friends and stand with them when they are in need so we can thrive.

This is a classic story from Jataka tales.This is a story of deer, tortoise and woodpecker.Moral(s) of the story: friendship and helpfulness

The woodpecker, turtle and the deer

This incident took place on April 13, 1919, at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab, popularly known as the Amritsar Massacre. It marks one of the twentieth century's biggest horrific political crimes committed by the British It is named after the famous Jallianwala Bagh, a public garden covering an area of 7 acres, with walls on all sides.On April 13, 1919, at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, thousands of people were assembled. For the Sikhs, this day marks the start of New Year and is often observed in Punjab as a Baisakhi festival. Colonel Reginald Dyer announced on Baisakhi's morning the implementation of a curfew throughout Amritsar and a ban on all processions.Dyer provided confidential information about the conference at Jallianwala Bagh at around 12:40 p.m., which could contribute to riots and protests. By midday, thousands of people, including devotees at Harmandir Sahib gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh.Jallianwala Bagh was lined with up to 10 inches of walls in all directions. It has small doors, most of which have been secured. The place was filled with devotees, vendors, farmers, and merchants who visited Amritsar to celebrate the festival. Sensing the number of people present there and the secret meeting that was going to take place at 4:30 PM, General Dyer arrived there with armed troops.Under Dyer's instructions, there was ruthlessly shooting on the mass. At the moment of the shooting, there were about 25,000 people present there. Several tried to escape while others preferred to leap into the well-built isolation around Jallianwala Bagh's property.Until now, the number of deaths caused by the shooting had been a controversial issue. While the British's official inquiry recorded 379 deaths Congress estimated the death toll to be around 1,000. About 120 dead bodies have also been recovered from the well.Keeping in mind the significance of this place in the history of India, a trust was founded in 1920 to build a memorial site at Jallianwala Bagh. Today, Jallianwala Bagh is a public garden built in memory of the innocent people who died in the massacre.

This is a story of General Dyer and Jallianwala Bagh.

guru ram das stories

Stories help in improving a child's imagination. Here are a few interesting ones for you to narrate to your child.