BharatiyaStories

  Story of Nriga (Bhagavatha purana) This was the time when Krishna and Balarama were young men and enjoying their time. Although Dwaraka a small kingdom was very rich in natural resources and wealth. Naturally the princes of this kingdom, Balarama and Krishna were treated with great affection and respect. Once the princes along with their friends had gone into the forest for a day of fun. In the heart of a lush forest near Vrindavan, young Krishna and his friends are gathered under the shade of tall trees for a joyful picnic. Mats made of woven grass are spread out, holding simple clay plates filled with fruits, sweets, and butter. The boys are laughing, some playing the flute, others feeding birds or reclining on the grass. Suddenly, their play is interrupted by a strange sound. A curious boy peers into an old dry well nearby and gasps. One by one, the boys—including Krishna, easily recognized by his peacock feather crow...

  Vikram and Betaal – Story 1 We saw how King Vikramaditya (Vikram) went to the cremation ground at the instruction of a sage to get a dead body and found a ghost. It agreed to come on the condition that the king should not talk till he reached his destination. The ghost then started telling him a story. Here goes.   The three special brahmins Once upon a time there lived a brahmin called Vishnuswamin. He had three sons. In the olden days, it was very common for sons who were part of the Vedic varnas to stay with their father and help him in his duties. The main duties of the people of Vedic varna was to chant the Vedas, perform yagnas (fire sacrifices) for the sake of the world and also to teach the scriptures to students who come to the Vedic school. Let us come back to our story. Vishnuswamin was once doing a yagna. For the purpose of that particular yagna he needed a tortoise. (Funny, isn’t it?) Vishnuswamin sent his three sons to go to the seashore and get him a tor...

  Vikramaditya – the Journey Begins Betaal Pachisi wrote a set of beautiful stories 2500 years ago in Sanskrit. These stories cover a whole lot of issues and are famously known as the Vikram and Betaal stories. The hero of the stories as the name indicates is King Vikramaditya also known as Vikram. Let us start with the first story of how Vikram meets Betaal. Betaal means a ghost. Once upon a time there was a strong and powerful king called Vikramaditya. He ruled over a province near the river Godavari. He was a fair and intelligent king. Once a sage visited the king and gave him a fruit and asked him to keep it safely. The king in turn gave it to his finance minister who kept it in the treasury with the gold and silver. After that regularly the sage came to the court and kept giving the king fruits. All these fruits were in turn kept in the treasury. This went on for some time. One day, the king gave the fruit to a monkey sitting on the wall. The monkey smashed it and inside...

  Fight among the senses Chandogya Upanishad Many a time we take things that God has given us for granted. We do not appreciate its value. It could something as simple as our organs, our health or our skin. The beauty of creation is the specific role each of these play in our day to day life. Not caring for one doesn’t affect only that part. For example, over eating does not affect only our stomach. It has a bearing on our heart. There is a cute story in the Upanishads to teach us the importance   In Sanatana dharma, we consider the five karmendiryas (organs of action) and five gnanendriyas (organs of perception) as a blessing from the divine. The organs of action are hands, legs, speech (vocal chord), the reproductive organs and the anus. The five organs of perception are eyes, ears, mouth, nose and skin. All these ten are important for the productive life of a human being.   Once there was a ego tussle between the five gnanendriyas as to who was more important...

  Raikva – The Cart Puller Story from Chandogya Upanisha Charity as an act of good is given as a requirement in most religions. In Santana Dharma, like all the teachings charity is inter woven with every ceremony, yagna and puja – be it a Navarathri, shrardh or a charity or a dhaan is being given during a ceremony the priest any religious ceremonies. One of the important aspects if you notice while asks the person performing the ritual to say “Na Mama” which means “Not mine”. This means that we leave all the linkage to the material thing – be it clothes or precious metals or grains – that we give away. But what about the ego while we do the charity? A nice story depicts the learning on this aspect. Once upon a time, there was very dharmic and popular king ruling a part of the Bharatavarsha called Janashruthi. Janashruthi was not only a kind and dharmic ruler but was charitable and loved to give away his wealth and belongings to the poor. While he was doing all this with a g...