Top 10 Short Indian Mythological Stories With Morals For Kids

1. Abhimanyu and The Chakravyuha

Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra. Arjuna was a great warrior and knew all the tricks and tactics of war. When Subhadra was pregnant, one night Arjuna narrated the way to enter the Chakravyuh. Chakravyuh is a type of labyrinth of armed soldiers to trap the opponent, which is very difficult to get out of. The enemy can enter into the circle of Chakravyuh easily but to get out of it, it needs some special tactic. When Arjuna was telling the way to enter the Chakravyuh, Subhadra was awake and listened to the way.

As Abhimanyu was inside his mother’s womb, he also heard and remembered the process. But when Arjuna was telling the process of getting out of it, Subhadra fell asleep and Abhimanyu missed that part. During the actual war of Kurukshetra, Abhimanyu entered the Chakravyuh as he knew the way but while trying to break the chakravyuh, he was unable. But still, he fought the enemy only with the wheel of his chariot bravely but could not come out.

Moral – You should not lose hope and should fight till the end. It may happen that the situation is not in your favor, but you should face the situation bravely.

2. Prahlada’s Faith in Lord Vishnu

Prahlada was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. He was the son of King Hiranyakashipu and queen Kayadhu. King Hiranyakashipu was a bad king and never believed in God. He blieved that he was God himself. He hated Lord Vishnu as his demon brother Hiranyaksha was killed by Vishnu. But his own son Prahlada believed in God Vishnu and prayed to him all day and night despite getting repeated threats from his father. Hiranyakashipu tried to kill Prahlada several times but by the grace of God Vishnu, Prahlada remained unharmed.

One day, after a terrible debate, Hiranyakashipu asked Prahlada to call Vishnu whether he really exists or not. Prahlada replied that God is everywhere. Pointing towards a pillar, Hiranyakashipu asked Prahlada if Lord Vishnu was there in that pillar to which Prahlada answered in the affirmative. Hearing this, Hiranyakashipu raised his sword and tried to kill Prahlada. At this point,  Lord Vishnu appeared through that pillar in the form of Narasimha. Narasimha is the half man-half lion avatar of Lord Vishnu and then he killed the demon Hiranyakashipu.

Moral – Trust what you believe. Many people around you can try to discourage you and break your belief. But you must keep trust in yourself and your thoughts.

3. Shravan Kumar’s Faith Towards His Parents

Shravan Kumar was a poor boy who lived in a village. His parents were old and blind. One day they expressed their wish to go on a pilgrimage. But since they were disabled, Shravan Kumar thought that there was no way he can send them alone. Shravan Kumar then decided to carry them on his shoulders. He made two big baskets and tied them on both ends of a bamboo. He made his parents sit on the baskets and carried them to the pilgrim place.

One day when they were resting under a tree in a forest, Shravan Kumar went to the river to bring some water for his thirsty parents. There King Dasarath, father of Lord Rama, went for hunting. Listening to the sound of water, he accidentally killed Shravan Kumar. Even during his last breath, Shravan Kumar requested king Dasarath to quench his parents’ thirst first and then tell them the accident.

Moral – You must take care of your parents when they enter their old days.

4. Arjuna Wins Guru Dronacharya With Dedication

Dronacharya was the Guru of weapons for the Pancha Pandavas. Like every day, the Pandavas were practicing archery with Guru Dronacharya. The Guru placed a wooden bird on a branch of a tree and asked them to hit the eye of the bird. But before that, he asked every brother what they could see. Somebody said tree, someone replied sky, and so on. But when it was Arjuna’s turn, Guruji asked the same question to him as well. But Arjun’s reply was different. He stated that he could only see the eye of the bird and then shoot the arrow and it hits the eye of the bird. Guru Dronacharya was pleased.

Moral – If you want to be successful, you must focus on the target.

5. Ekalavya’s Devotion to His Teacher

There was a young prince, named Eklavya. He belonged to the hunter tribe community of Nishada. As he wanted to become a great archer, he went to Guru Dronacharya who was the weapon Guru of the Pandavas and Kauravas. But when Guru Dronacharya came to know that Eklavya was from a backward caste, he refused to teach him. Eklavya was hurt but never lost hope. He made an idol of Guru Drnacharya with the soil on which Guru was standing and started practicing archery. With his devotion and practice, he became a great archer and soon Guru came to know about him.

Dronacharya visited him to know about his guru but after seeing his own idol, Dronacharya was surprised. After seeing his skill and performance, Dronacharya was scared that Eklavya may become a better archer than Arjuna, his best student. Dronacharya asked for Eklavya’s right thumb as Guru Dakshina (a tribute to Guru). Without uttering a single word, Eklavya shopped his right thumb and gave it away to Dronacharya.

Moral – Focus and practice can make you perfect. And always respect your Guru or teachers.

6. Ved Vyas and Ganesha

Sage Ved Vyas thought to recite Mahabharata and approached Lod Ganesha to write the same while he narrated. But there was a condition. The writer must write the whole Mahabharata in one go, there should not be any stoppage. Lord Ganesha agreed and started writing while Sage Ved Vyas was narrating. While writing the Mahabharata, suddenly the quil with which Lord Ganesha was writing broke. But as per sage Ved Vyas’s condition, he could not stop writing. Then, Siddhidata Ganesha gave a quick thought and broke one of his tusks and again started writing and completed it. This shows his presence of mind.

Moral – There is always a way to handle a problem. Don’t panic and think with a calm mind. 

7. Story of Vibhishana

Vibhishana was the younger brother of demon king Ravana, the king of Lanka. He was a great devotee of Lord Rama. Since he was staying in the Lanka palace,  he was constantly surrounded by people or demons who were against Lord Rama and hated him. But Vibhishana was always trying to bring Ravana to the right path. Ravana called him a coward, weak, and docile but that never triggered Vibhishana to change his path. Vibhishana always walked on the correct path and during the War between Lord Rama and Demon Ravana, he took the side of truth and supported Lord Rama. Eventually, Rama defeated Ravana and Vibhishana became the king of Lanka.

Moral – Always stick to the path of truth and you will be rewarded.

8. Krishna’s Coin

One day a poor priest found a bag full of gold coins while he was begging. Not finding the actual owner, he decided to keep it with him. When he was coming back to his home, he saw a beggar, felt pity for him, but did not give any coin to him. After some time he saw a shimmering diamond on the path and while he went to pick the same, a thief took his bag and ran away. And he also found that the shimmering diamond was a piece of glass.

Lord Krishna then passed by and gave a metal coin to the priest. Knowing about the less value of the coin, the priest gave it to a fisherman and took a fish in a pot. He felt pity for the fish and kept the earthen pot aside. The next day he found two diamonds, which the fish swallowed in the river, were shimmering in the water of the pot. He was very happy and thanked Lord Krishna for his gesture.

Moral – Help the needy people. God always helps people who help the needy.

[Read : Top 10 Best Lord Krishna Stories With Morals For Kids]

9. Ganesha and Kubera

We all know that many times wealth brings pride. Sometimes it takes over the sense of the person so much that he forgets his basics and shows off to others, even trying to embarrass other people. Lord Kubera, the lord of wealth, one day went to Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati to invite them to dinner. The actual intention was to show off his wealth. The divine couple understood the fact and sent their son Lord Ganesha to attend the dinner. Looking at small a, Kubera ignored him and took him to his lavish palace.

Lord Ganesha started his dinner and in the blink of an eye, devoured all the foods on the dinner table. The cook then brought more food and all were consumed instantly by Lord Ganesha. In a very short time, all the food at Kubera’s Palace, Alkapuri, was finished but Lord Ganesha was still hungry. He started eating all the utensils,  vessels, and  dishes available in the venue but nothing could fulfill his hunger. Then he planned to eat the host. Kubera understood his mistake and ran to Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati. Then Lord Shiva handed a cup of rice to Kubera which immediately fulfilled the hunger of Lord Ganesha. Lord Kubera realized his flaw and sought forgiveness.

Moral – If you have enough of things, don’t be proud of them. Rather you should think about how you can help others.

10. Story of Bhairavnath and Vaishnodevi

Sage Bhairavnath accumulated so much knowledge that he became arrogant. Goddess Durga was born as a girl child Vaishno in the same village of Bhairavnath. With her growth, Bhairavnath observed some special power in the girl and started following her. One day he followed her to a cave with a bad intention. This made Vaishno very angry and she turned into Goddess Kali and went to kill Bhairavnath. Completely surprised by the situation, Bhairavnath asked for forgiveness. The Goddess considered his honest plea and accepted his apology. Later Goddess granted a boon that if anybody wants to complete the Vaishnodevi Yatra, they must also visit the Bhairavnath temple.

Moral – It’s never too late to apologize and turn into a good human being.

11. The Devotion of Surdas

Surdas, a 14th century poet, went to a Guru to learn spirituality. The Guru realized Surdas had anger issues which prevented him from learning. He decided to help Surdas control his anger first. 

The Guru asked Surdas to chant God’s name for a whole month, while doing his regular activities and have a bath at the end of the month, and come back to him. Surdas completed the task and on his way to the ashram, encountered a careless sweeper who dirtied his clothes. Surdas shouted at the sweeper angrily. On seeing this, the Guru sent Surdas back stating that he was not ready, and asked him to repeat the task for another month. At the end of the second month, the incident with the sweeper repeated and Surdas responded in anger yet again. The Guru sent Surdas back to repeat the task for another month. At the end of the third month, when the sweeper dirtied Surdas’s clothes again, Surdas thanked the sweeper by saying it was he who had helped him bring his anger under control. The Guru who was watching this, welcomed Surdas into the ashram as he was finally ready to learn. 

Moral – Anger is not the solution to our problems. When you learn to control your anger, your mind is open to learning many new things.

12. The Integrity of Rama

Ramayana is a famous Indian epic about Lord Rama, the king of Ayodhya. When Rama was a prince about to be crowned the king of Ayodhya, his stepmother Kaikeyi conspired and banished him to the forest for 14 years. Despite everyone’s request to come back, Rama completed his 14 years of exile without any bitterness or grudges against his stepmother and half-brother Bharath. 

Moral – Life is full of challenges. Accept each of them with an open heart and fulfill them with integrity and you will always be happy and respected.

13. Vibhishana’s Devotion

Vibhishana – the younger brother of Ravana, the demon king of Lanka was a devotee of Lord Rama. He was against Ravana’s decision to abduct and keep Sita against her will, in Lanka. Vibhishana tried advising and warning him to return Sita to Rama and avoid a war, but Ravana did not listen.

Vibhishana left Lanka and joined Rama as he could not sacrifice his principles. He asked his wife to be safe and asked his daughter to take good care of Sita until he came back. He shared all his knowledge about Lanka with Rama and helped him win the war against Ravana. He was instrumental in helping Rama get Sita back safely. 

Moral – No matter where you are born or who your family is, you can always choose and stand by the right principles and lead your life to victory.

If you can inculcate good habits and behavior into your child through good mythological stories, there is nothing better than it. What do you say? Let us know in the comment box.

FAQ’s

1. Who Was Eklavya?

Eklavya was the prince of Nishada Rajya. It was a kingdom of hunter tribes. He was very dedicated to his work and wanted to become a great archer.

2. What Was The Moral of The Story of Bhairavnath And Vaishnodevi?

The story tells us that one should apologize for their wrong doing immediately whenever they understand their mistake.

3. Who Was Kubera?

Kubera was the wealthiest God and is known as the God of Wealth. He is also a semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu culture.

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