Two Short stories for Kids from Indian Mythology
The Story of Lord Ayyappa:
When Goddess Durga destroyed the demon Mahishasura, his sister, Mahishishi set out to avenge her brother. She carried the boon that only a child born to Vishnu and Shiva would destroy her. Mahishishi thought that she was invincible and started creating a lot of issues for all beings.
Meanwhile, Lord Vishnu had taken the form of Mohini. His union with Lord Shiva, created a child . This child was to be known as Lord Ayyapa. Shiva and Mohini placed their child on the banks of river Pampa. The childless king Rajashekara chanced upon this child and thought of it as a divine blessing.
He raised Ayyappa as his own son. Soon, King Rajasheka’s queen gave birth to a son. The son’s name was Raja Raja. Both Ayyappa and Raja Raja grew up as brothers. They learnt divine scriptures and learnt to be warriors.
As time passed, Ayyappa grew to be a strong young lad. The queen felt a bit jealous that her biological son may not get a chance to become the king. She came up with a plan to destroy Ayyappa. She feigned a headache and made the royal doctor say that only tigeress’s milk would cure the head ache.
Ayyappa was a brave boy and he took the challenge upon himself to get the milk. On the way he chanced upon the demon Mahishi and slew her on the banks of the river Azhutha. His life’s destiny fulfilled, he set out deeper in the forest and overpowered a tigress for her milk. He returned home astride the tigeress
This astounded all the villagers and the king himself. The King said he would punish the queen. Lord Ayyappa gracefully asked the king to spare the queen.
The people built a temple for Lord Ayyappa atop a hill.
Parenting Takeaway
- Stories from our mythology teach us many values. Ask your child what she or he has learnt from this story.
- You could point towards a conversation on egos. How Mahishashi thought she was invincible and yet she had to meet an end.
- You could also talk about how Lord Ayyappa forgave his mother. It is an important life lesson to teach a child, the value of forgiving.
A lesson in Humility: A short story from Mahabharat
Bhima, the second Pandava, was a strong prince. In fact he was yet to come across any person who was as strong as him. This made him a bit proud may be even a bit egoistic about his physical strength.
One day, he was walking along the forest to look for the lotus that Draupadi had asked him to bring.. A large monkey’s tail was barring his way. He told the monkey,”Oh, Monkey! Move your tail out of my way, I am the mighty prince Bhima. Move out of the way, before I harm you.”
The monkey smirked and said, “ Move it yourself Bhima.” This irked Bhima. He immediately tried to kick the tail, but it wouldn’t move. Bhima was a bit shocked and started focusing all his strength and energy into moving the tail. But try as he might, the tail just wouldn’t move.
Completely exhausted, Bhima said, “Oh, strong monkey! Who are you and what is the secret to your strength? “ The monkey let out a laugh and turned into Hanuman, his true form.
Hanuman was also the son of Lord Vayu, but he was form another era. This made him an older brother to Bhima. He took the form of an ordinary monkey to teach Bhima about the importance of humility as a value
Moral of the Story:
There is a thin line between being confident and being vain. This might also be subjective and depend on cultural backgrounds. But it is a good idea to talk about these subjects to kids
We have a set of posters on Mahabharata characters. Do take a look.
