Slokas for Children (Sanskrit Recital)

Bhishma and Drona - Mahabaratha

He not only imparted his knowledge of archery to his students but also instilled in them values of valor and honour. Drona’s story is one that inspired and continues to inspire us all. It shows us just what we can achieve once we put our mind – and heart to it.
Ignorance of Drona
This story traces Drona’s humble beginnings to his elevated status as the guru of the Pandavas and Kauravas. Drona had vowed to take revenge against Drupada, his childhood friend and he asked the Pandavas, as Gurudakshina, to wage war against him. This was the beginning of another epic and exciting war.
Drona and Abhimanyu
This is story unravels the causes behind the untimely death of Abhimanyu, the beloved son of Arjuna, during the great battle of the Mahabharata. Drona’s legendary loyalty to Duryodhana’s is put to the test in this tale and he proves his allegiance even at the cost of going against the rules of warfare that he holds in such high regard.
Drona’s Commitment
This story unveils Duryodhana’s plan to capture Yudhstra and how Drona unwittingly gets caught up in this plan. As Drona is undefeatable, Krishna has to resort to unfair means to defeat him and it is only his love for his son that leads to Drona’s unfortunate death.
Bhishma was the son of King Shantanu and the holy river Ganga. Besides being well versed in the Vedas and science, he was also a skilled archer and a great warrior. Bhisma is immortalized in the Mahabharata because of his steadfast determination and dedication to duty and he remains, to this Day, A worthy example for us all to follow.
Bhisma’s Vow
The story behind why Devavrata was renamed Bhisma is unraveled here. Bhisma’s great devotion to his father and the sacrifices he makes for the sake of his father’s happiness are also highlighted in this story.

Karna and Arjuna - Mahabaratha

Arjuna’s Aim
In this legendary story. Arjuna proves his prowess in archery when Guru Drona decides to test the skills of his students.
Gurudakshina
This is the tale of the Gurudakshina that the Pandavas and Kauravas give to their teacher, Guru Drona. On the request of their Guru, they separately wage war against Draupada, the king of Panchala.
Swayamvara of Draupati
This is the story of how Draupati came to be the wife of all five pandava brothers. Once again, Arjuna proves his Amazing skills at archery.
Arjuna and the Hunter
his story recounts how Arjuna persuades Lord Shiva to give him his pasupata Astra, or divine weapon, which he needs in order to battle with the Kauravas.

Tales of Hanuman

THE BIRTH OF HANUMAN
This is the tale of Hanuman’s birth and a few interesting anecdotes from his childhood. As a child, Hanuman was mischievous and naughty but as he grew older, he began to look for ways to channel his powers.
HANUMAN IN SEARCH OF SITA
This is story of the various obstacles Hanuman encounters on his mission to find Sita and how he overcomes them with valour, strength and presence of mind.
HANUMAN MEETS SITA IN LANKA
This is the legendary tale of Hanuman’s encounter with Sita in the gardens of Lanka. After countless days of fruitless searching. Hanuman finally met Sita and, in a bid to prove Lord Ram’s power, he set the entire city of Lanka on fire with his mighty tail.
HANUMAN MEETS RAM
In this story, we see the circumstances that led to Hanuman’s first encounter with Lord Ram. As soon as he met him, he pledged undying devotion to him and his cause of finding Sita.
HANUMAN BRINGS SANJIVANI
This is the tale behind one of the most enduring images of Hanuman, that of him flying through the air with a mountain in one hand and the sun under his arm.
SELFLESS SERVICE
This is yet another story of Hanuman’s willingness to go to any extent to serve Lord Ram. Even Sita had to eventually acknowledge that Hanuman was Ram’s greatest devotee and follower, above all others.

Moral Stories - Jataka Tales

KING SUBUDDHI, THE GREART
This is story of an extremely kind hearted and gentle king, named king Subuddhi. He not only preached but also practiced non-violence in every form. How his beliefs and good deeds won him back his kingdom form the crux of this story.
PRINCE FIVE-WEAPONS AND STICKY HAIR
This tale teaches us a valuable lesson that it is not the external weapons we posses or the armory we have that will help us in any crisis the only weapons we need are within us. They are our presence of mind and strength of character. In this story, a young prince uses these qualities to outwit a ferocious demon named Sticky Hair.
THE CLEVER MONKEY
This is the well-loved tale of the clever monkey who used his wits to narrowly escape his death at the hands of the wily crocodile. This tale teaches us how we can get out of tricky situations by keeping our wits about us. It also emphasizes the importance of being a good loser.
THE ROYAL ELEPHANT
This is the story of friendship not just between men but between a king and his favourite subject and elephant. This touching tale reveals the importance of the values of friendship and loyalty and proves how they transcend all boundaries.
A PRICE OF MONKEY
This is the story of monkey king who didn’t want to relinquish his throne at any cost and the lengths he went to, to remain ruler. But when one of his heirs evades his evil plans of making him unfit to rule, we see how the king’s son is cunning and metal agility help him win the crown.
SMART BUSINESS
In this fable, we see how a poor young boy named Seethu earns great riches for himself and prospers in life simply by being extremely shrewd and cunning in all hi business dealings. He starts with just an investment of a dead rat and goes on to earn a great fortune.

Ekalavya & Bhima - Short Stories

Ekalavya

Ekalavya’s story emphasizes an important lesson for today’s generation of children – that of respecting one’s elders. This is a story about a young man’s loyalty to his guru and his deep and abiding respect and affection for him Ekalavya was a normal boy from a hunter’s family who had a tremendous interest in archery. He learnt archery on his own and proved his prowess to who he considered to be his guru.  When his guru asked for the ultimate sacrifice from an archer, he willingly made it. Such was his commitment, which we should all follow as an apt example of a truly devoted student

Nala Damayanti & Yudishtra

brothers back to life he asked for his step brother Nakula’s life. Even at the state of utmost humiliation and suffering, he believed in Dharma and remained patient and calm and it was these traits that always helped him emerge successful in his adventures. This story depicts interesting and unexplored facts about this great personality.

Nala Damayanti

Raman of Tenali

RAMAN OF TENALI
This story clearly demonstrates Tenali Raman’s intelligence and ready wit, which amused the almighty Goddess Kali. His wit only earns him Kali’s blessings but her boons as well.
OUTWITTED THIEVES
In this story, Tenali Raman outwits a band of thieves and makes them work for him. When the King hears this amusing tale, he gifts Tenali with a bag of gold for diverting his careladen mind for a few moments.
MATCHLESS WIT
Raman though not educated was a highly intellectual being. In this story, he tackles and defeats pandits and learned persons with his knowledge.
RAMAN AND HIS HORSE
Raman who was very dear to the king had a jealous enemy by the name of Rajaguru. In this story Raman teaches Rajguru a lesson when he tries to spoil his name.
RAMAN IN DELHI
Tenali managed to garner a name for himself in the south. When he was invited to match wits with the Emperor Akbar’s courtier Birbal, he readily accepted the challenge and went to Delhi. In this story, he outwits Birbal and makes him reward him three times over.
GOLDEN MANGOES
In this story, Raman not only teaches Rajguru and the court pandits a lesson but also outwits the King who readily agreed to Rajguru’s word without thinking.
TENALIRAMA AND A WRESTLER
This is the story of how Tenali, with his wit and intelligence, saves the honor of Vijayanagar form a mere wrestler.
CAT THAT HATES THE MILK
Once again, in this story, Tenali teaches Krishnadevaraya a lesson when he heeds his minister’s words without thinking..

Shakuntala-Draupadi

Shakuntala

This is the poignant love story of King Dusyanta and the beautiful Shakuntala. Shakuntala and Dusyanta meet in the forest, fell in love and got married but soon the kind had to return to his kingdom. Dusyanta left Shakuntala, who was pregnant at the time, with his ring as a symbol of his love. Immersed in thoughts of her husband, Shakuntala committed the grave misdeed of ignoring a visiting sage. The enraged sage cursed her, saying that her beloved would forget her until she produced a token of recognition shakuntala then went to dusyanta’s court. But sadly, he didn’t recognize her and as she had lost the ring during her journey, she could not even prove her story. Much later, upon finding the missing ring in the belly of a fish, Dusyanta remembered his lostlove and waseventually reunited with her through his son bharata who he met in the forest