Do you know the river Ganges?

Who will not know the sacred river Ganges , otherwise called as Ganga. But do you know about ,how she descended to earth and why did she flow on earth.?

The answer lies  in our Hindu mythology.

Let us  see what it is........
There was once a king called Sagara. He  had  many  sons .
King Sagara performed the'  Ashwamedha yaga '. In those  days the kings used to  perform this yagna to prove their supremacy.They will let loose a horse.The kings of all the countries where the horse wandered were asked to submit themselves. If they did not allow the horse to wander, in their territory  then they have to face war with the yagna performing king.

King Sagara performed this yagna . His horse did not return. So his sons went in search of the horse. They found it being tied in sage Kapila's hermit. Seeing this , the princes became angry and insulted the sage ,disturbing his penance.At this the sage got angry .With his yogic  powers , he burnt  the princes to ashes.

King Sagara's last remaining son , Anshuman learnt the fate of his brothers and pleaded sage Kapila , for liberation of his brothers' souls .

For this , sage Kapila replied," The souls can be liberated  , only if these ashes are washed by the holy river Ganges. She is in the kamandal of Lord Brahma."

' When will she flow down to earth?' asked Anshuman.

" You have to do penance , to please Lord Brahma. Then he will fulfil your wish " answered the sage.   Anshuman  was not able to fulfil this penance . Not only Anshuman , but for many  generations,  this penance was not fulfilled and the souls were not liberated.

In this lineage came Bageerathan . When he became king , he also wished to  wash the sins of  his forefathers and liberate  their souls.

He started to do the penance  towards Lord Brahma. His  perseverance was such that he lived only on air  and he even  forewent his sleep . His focus was to relieve his forefathers souls. His penance continued for many, many  years.

Lord Brahma pleased with Bageerathan , readily agreed to release river Ganga but   said  that the force with which Ganga flows down will destroy the whole earth. To  save earth from destruction , Lord Brahma asked Bageerathan to seek the help of Lord Shiva .

To overcome this challenge, again Bageerathan started penance  towards Lord Shiva. Again many ,many  years passed in penance. Lord Shiva was happy with Bageerathan's perseverance. He agreed to control Ganga by spreading his matted hair . He  let her down to earth , only after controlling her  force.

Finally Ganga started to flow to earth and she followed Bageerathan. On the way  Ganga gushed, through the hermit of sage Janu,  drowning his hermit. Janu got angry and swallowed the river.

Again Bageerathan  had to face the challenge of releasing Ganga.. He, without any reservation , pleaded  sage Janu  to release Ganga. He  explained the reason for bringing Ganga down. After that, sage Janu released Ganga.

Now, Ganga continued  following  Bageerathan .She  reached sage Kapila's hermit and washed the sins of his forefathers .All  their souls reached heaven.

Bageerathan's  efforts brought fruit. At last he was satisfied .
His success goes on to prove that " there are no gains without pains."

Any ordeal, which is performed with great difficulty and full of devotion, is  called as ' Bageeratha Prayathana '.
King Bageerathan is known for his perseverance .But for his  tireless effort , we would not have got river ganges flowing  into our country making India  fertile.
Even now it is said,  all our sins will be washed away, when we bathe in this holy river.And so do many.....

images courtesy----google.

Can you see the eye ball?

Hi kids! How are you all ? Welcome to my story court..... I have a story to tell for you all....

We all know about the great epic Mahabaratha....... Mahabaratha talks about the rift between Pandava & Kaurava princes. Pandava princes were five in number and there were 100 Kaurava princes.
Both the princes learnt archery from the same guru( teacher) Dronacharya. 
Arjuna, a pandava prince excelled in archery skill. So he was envied by the kaurava princes.They even went on to say that their teacher was partial in teaching. And that is the reason why Arjuna was so good in archery skill. 
They started commenting this openly.
At this  Dronacharya  was not happy . He wanted to prove that he is impartial.
So he called upon his students ," Dear students, I have arranged a competition in archery for all of you. You can exhibit your skills tomorrow and win the competition."

The students ,kaurava  princes and the pandava princes prepared themselves for the next day's competition.
Next day all of them assembled in front of their Guru ,Dronacharya.
Dronacharya took them to  a tree, where he had kept a toy bird, amidst thick leaves.
He called upon Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava prince and showed him the bird and said," Duryodhana, look at this bird's eyes. You have to hit the bird's eyes. Now take your bow and arrow and aim at the bird . "Immediately, Duriyodhana  went on his one knee and looked at the tree .

" Before hitting the eye of the bird, tell me Duryodhana , What all do you see? "Acharya  asked.

" I see the branches, leaves, the bird, and of course it's eye ." Duryodhana replied.

" Now hit at it? " Acharya ordered.

Duroydhana let his arrow. Straight it went into the branches and fell on the ground bringing down some leaves. He failed to hit the bird's eye.
So did the other kaurava princes., and all of them saw everything along with the bird.
They saw the branches,  leaves , flowers and some also saw  bees ,buzzing around the flowers.
Now came  Arjuna's turn.
He came to the front , paid his namaskarams to his teacher, and went on his one knee with his bow and arrow.
Now Acharya asked him," what do you see?"
Prompt came the reply."I see the bird's eyes."
Acharya asked ," Don,t you see the branches?"
Arjuna replied,"No".
Again Acharya asked," Do you see the leaves? ".
"No" replied Arjuna.

" Do you see the flowers?" Acharya asked.

" No " replied again Arjuna.

Now the  Acharya asked ," Do you see the bird, Arjuna?"

For this also Arjuna's reply was a big " No ".

" What then  is visible to your eyes?" asked the Acharya.

" I can see the eye ball Acharya  " replied Arjuna politely.

" Now hit the target Arjuna" Acharya ordered.

Straight went Arjuna's arrow, and hit the eye ball of the bird and brought it down.

Acharya Drona was very happy with Arjuna's act and looked at him with pride.
He also appreciated Arjuna," iam happy Arjuna that your focus is good."

Other princes also learnt that it is Arjuna's focus, which helps him to master archery.

So ,What do we learn from the story?
We should always try to focus on our  work just like Arjuna. This will definitely help us to get good marks.

So,  what will you all do hereafter. ?
Yes. Focus in your studies to get good marks. ok?
...
Bye kids for now. 

Shall come back with another story.



image courtesy--google.

Lincoln's Letter

Abraham Lincoln's Letter To His Son's Teacher.

He will have to learn, I know, 
that all men are not just,
all men are not true.
But teach him also that 
for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish Politician, 
there is a dedicated leader...
Teach him for every enemy there is a 
friend,

Steer him away from envy,
if you can,
teach him the secret of
quiet laughter.

Let him learn early that 
the bullies are the easiest to lick... Teach him, if you can,
the wonder of books... 
But also give him quiet time 
to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun, 
and the flowers on a green hillside.

In the school teach him 
it is far honourable to fail 
than to cheat... 
Teach him to have faith 
in his own ideas, 
even if everyone tells him 
they are wrong... 
Teach him to be gentle 
with gentle people, 
and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son 
the strength not to follow the crowd 
when everyone is getting on the band wagon... 
Teach him to listen to all men... 
but teach him also to filter 
all he hears on a screen of truth, 
and take only the good 
that comes through.

Teach him if you can, 
how to laugh when he is sad...
Teach him there is no shame in tears, 
Teach him to scoff at cynics 
and to beware of too much sweetness... 
Teach him to sell his brawn 
and brain to the highest bidders 
but never to put a price-tag 
on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears 
to a howling mob 
and to stand and fight 
if he thinks he's right. 
Treat him gently, 
but do not cuddle him, 
because only the test 
of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage 
to be impatient... 
let him have the patience to be brave. 
Teach him always 
to have sublime faith in himself, 
because then he will have 
sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order,
but see what you can do... 
He is such a fine fellow, 
my son!


letter courtesy----google

Where is The Universe?

Lord Krishna in his childhood was  very mischievous. He used to eat the butter from everyone's home in Gokulam.

Every day, there will be a rush of Gopikas to meet Yasodha, the foster mother of Lord Krishna.

Yasodha , the divine mother, had the privilege of bringing up the Lord himself. Such was her good deeds in her previous birth.

Yasodha, not knowing that Krishna is Lord himself, punished Lord Krishna now and then.

What else can she do, when the Gopikas come with a heap of complaints to her abou Krishna.

Some times , she tied him to the home grinding machine, where in Krishna  moves with the grinding machine to continue with his pranks.

Occasionally, she even makes him sit inside the home .

But Krishna never failed to do his childhood pranks, such as breaking the butter pots, stealing food, eating butter , drinking curd,  etc.....

One day, when Yasodha was doing with her household chores ,Krishna's friends rushed to her.

They started screaming ,"Yasodha Ma, Yasodha Ma, Krishna  is eating mud from the ground."

" What ? Mud........" Yashoda asked worriedly.

The children promptly replied," Yes."

The worried Yasodha  concerned about his health,and ran outside to stop Krishna from eating mud .

Krishna  was gobbling mud into his mouth. As soon as he saw  Yasodha, he closed his mouth tight and looked  with fear at his mother .

Now Yasodha asked," My dear Krishna , Did you eat mud?"

Krishna without opening his mouth,moved  his head from left to right meaning a big "NO".

At this ,Yasodha asked him again, " Did you eat mud?  I won't be angry with you. Just spit out the mud. "

Krishna, having a mouth full of mud, could not answer his mother. Again he moved his head from left to right meaning "No".

At this Yasodha became angry with Krishna. She forced him to open his mouth.

What did she see?

There were no traces of mud in his mouth. What she saw was the whole universe. She saw the stars, planets, including Earth. Inside the planet Earth ,  she could see herself sitting in front of Krishna's opened mouth. She was able to see a myriad of  universes  inside Lord Krishna's mouth.

She was amazed at this divine scene and lost all her senses, causing her to fall to the ground.

Krishna himself  woke her up, by sprinkling water on her face and called her ," Ma, Ma! "

His friends were surprised to see what happened there.

As Yasodha woke up to consciousness , she did not  remember anything.

But through Yasodha,  we  get an answer to the question as to where is the universe.

It is He the Lord himself  who had created it and is controlling it. We are  safe under His watch.


image courtesy---google.

Why do squirrels have lines on their backs?

Rama  decided  to  wage  war against Ravana  to get back Sita . The Vanaras  under the leadership of Hanuman , took it as a privilege to help Lord Rama and Lakshmana.

They have to cross the Ocean to reach Lanka .The Vanara Sena ,Rama, Lakshmana  have to cross the  ocean.It was decided to build a bridge .In those days with limited materials  and without machines  , the Vanara sena  started to construct the bridge. 

The Vanaras(monkeys)  carried huge  rocks, boulders  and mud on their shoulders and threw them in the ocean  .Some of the vanaras placed these in their places  so as to make a bridge.

Every one wanted to take part in this construction .Even birds as they flew , took little stones and filled the gaps  between rocks.

Seeing all these, a little squirrel  wanted to do his little part. 
What he did was , he first dipped himself in the sea , ran to the shore , rolled in the sand, then ran to the construction site  and shrugged himself off there. A very little sand fell from his body.He was happy at this. 

He started repeating the task again and again.Dipping in the sea, rolling on the sand, shrugging his body near the construction sight .

But the vanaras  felt he was disturbing them, from finishing their task.So the vanaras  started yelling at him.

The little squirrel  did not listen.One of the vanara caught  him in his hand, shouted at him and threw him away from that place.

Straight , the squirrel fell into Lord Rama's lap, who was seeing all this.
Rama with his palm and three fingers  consoled  the squirrel ,and asked the vanaras to allow the squirrel to do whatever he could do.

Anywork howsoever little it could be should be appreciated is Rama's advice to the vanaras.
And ofcourse the advice holds good for every one of us.

As Rama consoled and patted with his fingers, the squirrel, got three lines as mark of recognition  of the very little work he did.

image courtesy--google.

HARICHANDRAN THE TRUTHFUL KING

Let me tell the story of Harichandran   who speaks the truth and only the truth.

If you want to listen to the story, you can always                                     click here.............

Once there raised an argument between sage Vasishtar and sage Viswamitrar .  Viswamitrar  asked, "Is there anybody in this world   who speaks only the truth? "

Vasishtar replied," Yes . there is King  Harichandran who rules Ayodhya. He  never utters a lie what so ever."But Viswamitrar  did not accept this. He said,"People do tell lies. And Harichandran is no exception." 

Vasishtar challenged this  and  said to Viswamitrar ," You may try  and prove your statement.If you make Harichandrar tell a lie I shall accept my defeat."

Viswamitrar readily agreed to this and started his journey to meet king Harichandran. On  seeing the sage, Harichandran came forward to welcome him and paid his  respects.And the king asked,"What can I do for you?" 

The sage asked for  thousand gold coins to complete his yagna .The king  ordered to bring thousand gold coins and gave it to the sage. Viswamitrar readily accepted this and gave it  back to the king and said,"O,king  Keep it  safe with you.I shall get it back from you after sometime ."saying this the sage left.

Days went by. Viswamitrar  was thinking over his challenge and planned to trap the king Harichandran and make him lie. One day Viswamitrar went to see the king .There he started to execute his plan.

He said to the king ,"Yesterday night I had a  dream. In the dream you gave away the kingdom to me." and then he looked at the king.Harichandran  at once said ," O, Sage! Even if it is a dream I have tokeep my word. Here it is, you can take the kingdom." And so, in the presence of learned persons he  gave away the kingdom to Viswamitrar.

Now started the whole drama.

Viswamitrar now said," Iam the king from now on. " and he asked Harichandran his queen  Chandramathi , son Logidasan  to remove all royal clothings and jewels .He gave them simple clothes and asked them   to leave the kingdom and go elsewhere.

Harichandran, his queen Chandramathi, and son Logidasan    were about to leave the palace when Viswamitrar  shouted,"Stop  Harichandran . Give me back my one thousand gold coins and then leave."

Harichandran replied," It is there in the treasury. You can take from there."
For this Viswamitra said,"The  kingdom is mine now.You have to give back .You are indebted to me now. Earn the thousand gold coins and pay me back.Or else just tell a lie that you have not given me those gold coins.And I shall give back your kingdom, wealth and all."

Harichandran refused  to lie .Instead he asked  one month  time to repay the debt. Viswamitrar agreed to that and he sent one of his disciple Nakshatreyan  to accompany Harichandran  and get back his money.

They were travelling by foot and all along they have to earn  food for themselves, and also for Nakshatreyan ,by doing menial jobs.  Nakshatreyan , on the advice of his guru always pestered for food and the money .

After some days they all reached Kasi .There Harichandran  sold his wife, Chandramathi and son Logidasan ,to a brahmin to do household chores. .He got some money.That was not enough to pay Nakshatreyan.He also  sold  himself and agreed to take charge of a burial ground to do cremation work.For this he got some money .So, with all this  money he was able to pay back Nakshatreyan, and sent him back to Ayodhya.

Days went by. Chandramathi and Logidasan were doing all the household works in the brahmin's house .One day the brahmin asked Logidasan to go and fetch some 'Darbai ' grass for Pooja.

When Logidasan went with his friends to get the grass , he was bit by a snake and he died there.

This sad  news reached  Chandramathi. Chandramathi filled with sorrow, with  permission from the brahmin, took the body of Logidasan to the cremation ground.There Chandramathi with tears in her eyes  and heart filled with sorrow tried to cremate Logidasan.

Now Harichandran stopped her. Since fate had  palyed havoc with them they  did not recognise each other. Harichandran now called," Lady, You cannot cremate the body without paying the cermation fees ."

Chandramathi replied,"I don't have any money with me.Iam a helpless women .Please allow me to cremate my son.Already I have lost my son.Please don't add woes to my worries."

Harichandran now found the gold Mangalsutra in her neck and said,"If you don't have money ,you can give the Mangalsutra which you are wearing."

Chandramathi was surprised to hear this.Her Mangalsutra is  visible only to the eyes of Harichandran. Immediately she fell at the legs of Harichandran and cried ,"Dear,Don't you recognise me.Iam Chandramathi and this is our son Logidasan," Chandramthi told the whole story of how Logidasan died. Both of them were in sorrow.

Even after knowing who she is, Harichandran asked Chandramathi  to go and bring the fees to be paid to his master.

Viswamitrar with his powers saw all  this and  feared that he may lose in the challenge with  Vasishtar.He thought and decide to give Harichandran more trouble.

When Chandramathi was returning to get the cremation fees from her master ,she came across the deadbody of the prince of Kasi .Circumstances were  made  by Viswamitra, to believe that Chandramathi killed the prince.

So, the King of  Kasi gave her a death sentence.Again , she was taken to the same cremation ground and Harichandran was asked to fulfil the death sentence. 

Now, Viswamitrar appeared before him nd said,"Harichandra ,Even now If you tell a lie that you did not owe me thousand gold coins ,you will get back the kingdom and all your happiness."

Even, at this juncture, Harichandran refused to tell a lie .And he to fulfil King's orders  beheaded  Chandramathi with a long knife.
.
Oh!What a miracle!
The knife turned into a beautiful garland,Their son Logidasan came back alive.

Viswamitrar gave back the kingdom saying".I have lost the challenge to Vasishtar.But, I made  the world, know about Harichandran  and his truthfulness."

Even though he faced many  hardships, Harichandran  did not swerve from the path of truth.And finally Truthfulness saved him from all troubles,

Truth Alone Triumphs!

Sage Narada and a cup of oil.

As we all know sage Narada  is an ardent  devotee of  Lord Vishnu . He keeps chanting "Narayana! Narayana! " all through  the day.  wherever he is  and during  all times the name   Narayana will be on his tongue.

He believed  that he is the greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu and there is no one else who keeps thinking  Narayana  as he does.He  wanted to get that confirmed  from none other than Lord Vishnu himself.

So he started his journey towards Vaikund, the abode of Lord Vishnu with the words Narayana  on his tongue.On reaching Vaikund  He  bowed before  lord Vishnu and received his blessings.

Then when Lord Vishnu asked  the purpose of his visit, Narada  replied that he needed some clarification.
Vishnu  asked  " About  what Narada? "

Narada  replied ,"  I need to know as to who is your  ardent  devotee?"
Needless  to say, Narada was expecting  his name from Lord Vishnu.

Now, Vishnu asked Narada  to go to a hamlet  and meet Thirumalai, the farmer  residing in that village.
Also He  told " I  consider   Thirumalai   as my ardent devotee."

Narada was surprised at this  and was eager to see this  devotee .And he reached the Hamlet mentioned by Vishnu  and went and knocked at the  farmer's hut.It was almost night, when Narada reached the farmer's hut.
Out came the farmer  and  welcomed sage Narada . The farmer offered Narada  food to eat  and asked him to sleep on the best bed which he could offer.
Narda was  keenly observing the farmer as to how many times the farmer is mentioning Narayana..

The farmer  before going to sleep , uttered 'Narayana!,Narayana" and went to sleep.
Next day the farmer got up early in the morning  , brushed his teeth, took bath , then he looked at the photo  of Vishnu and uttered. "Narayana" . Then he started  his daily work. Narada was watching him the whole day to take note of the number of times  the farmer utters Narayana.

The whole day during his work time, he never bothered to pray or utter Narayana. Again later in the night  before going to sleep he again prayed.

Taking note of all this Narada returned to Vaikund and asked Vishnu," The  farmer prayed only twice in a day  and still he is considered as an ardent devotee by you. Idon't understand this ."

For this Vishnu  gave Narada a cup filled with oil to the brim  and asked Narada to go around Vaikund ,without spilling even a drop of oil.Narada readily took the cup of oil and with great care he walked  around  the abode of Vishnu. He focussed only on the cup of oil.Without uttering a word he finished the given job and gave back the cup of oil to the Lord.

Now Vishnu  asked  Narada ," How many times did you utter my name when you were focussing on the cup  of oil?"
Narad said, "How is it that you expect me to  uttter your name, when I have to focus on the cup of oil?"

For this Vishnu answered ," When you have to focus on the simple cup of oil, you never prayed.
But the farmer with all his worries, duties and the hardwork , he never forgot to pray and utter my name  twice a day. Is there any devotee greater than him? "

Sage Narada was dumbfounded.He realised that Duty  is God . He  also  understood that  devotees, amidst  all work are  also  sincere  in their devotion to God.



image courtesy--google

The Thirsty Crow

It  was   a     hot    summer     afternoon  .  Every  where    
people     were    drinking    tender   coconut     ,coke,     pepsi,    water   etc......

A  crow  which  was  flying   also  felt   very   thirsty  .   He  wanted   to  drink   water   very   badly.

The  crow   searched   for   water   every   where.  He   was  not   able  to  see  the   water.

 After   searching   for    a   long    time ,  the  crow  saw  a    pot    with    water.  

The   crow   flew   to   the   pot  ,   to   quench    his   thirst.

Oh!  My   God!    The  pot    had     water     ,  but   very    little.  

The   crow    tried   to   reach   the    water ,   which    was   lying  at    the   bottom    of    the   pot.   

But,   Oh !  He  could  not.    He  looked   here   and there    not  knowing   how    to  quench    his   thirst.

Suddenly,   he   got    an    idea.

He    saw    some    stones  ,   lying     near   by.  The    smart    crow  ,  picked     the    stones ,   one   by    one    and     dropped     into    the    pot.   

As     he     dropped     the    stones   into     the     pot     water       started     to    rise     up.       After     the    crow      dropped    a  few      more     stones ,     the      water     came    up  .     

The       crow     drank     the      water     and   flew     away      happily.


What    a    smart     crow     !!!!

Are    you    smarter    than    the   crow  ?

Read      the    story     carefully     and    give    an   alternative     idea    for   the     crow   to    quench    his     thirst.  


video courtesy ---you tube by tusharm91206

The Fox Story

This      time ,     let     me     tell    you ,  a  story   about    a   fox ,   which    tried    to   eat     grapes   to  quench   his    thirst.

Once    in     the    forest    there   was    a   fox  .   You  all     know   a   fox    has    four    legs   and    a   fluffy    tail.  

We    all     know   about    the   forest   too.
Don't   we  ?    .  
The   forest    is    full    of    huge    trees   ,bushes,   little     streams,    even   little  water   falls   etc......

The      fox     from     this     forest     some    how    found      his   way   to   the   near    by   village.

He    saw     a    farmer's    vine   yard  (farm  which   contains    grape   creepers). 
 He   wanted   to  eat   the    grapes  . 
 So,  the   fox     entered   the   vine  yard    and  tried   to   eat   the   grapes.

But ,  Oh!  My  God  !    
The    grapes     were    at    a   great    height.   

The   fox     tried    to   reach    for    it.    But   could   not .  
The   fox   jumped   and   tried   to  reach    for   the   grapes   .  No.  He    could   not.   

He   jumped   and   jumped .......

Alas     !   He   could   not    reach  .   

The   fox   said   to  himself  ,"Oh!    The   grapes    are    sour."  And   he   ran   away.

Can    some   one ( both  young readers  and elders)  give   an  idea    for   the   fox   to   reach   the   grapes?

Ideas    are   welcome    as   comments..........

Rama story Final Part

After     dipping     his     tail      in     the     sea      to    put   off     

the fire ,     Hanuman      travellled    back     and      

bowed      before     Rama.    He   gave    Sita's    ring    to    

Rama     and    told     what     happened     there.

Rama,     Lakshmana,    Hanuman,     and    Sugriva,  

discussed     about     the    course     of     action     to   free 

Sita.    They      then      decided     to     wage     a     war     
 
with     the   Lanka    king     Ravana  .
 

To      cross     the     

ocean     Hanuman     

with    the   other      

Varanas     built     a   

bridge     called    

Sethu  Bandhan.    




Satellite  images     of     this   bridge     is   available   on    the   

internet.   Rama,    Lakshmana   with     the   vanaras    crossed    this    

bridge    and     reached    Lanka  .

They    fought     with     Ravana     with    all   might. Ravana's    

brother  ,   Vibishana     who     was    not   happy    with   

Ravana's      actions     took    sides    with    Rama   and helped  

Rama   in    the    war.

During   this    lengthy    battle   with   Ravana,  Lakshmana    

fainted.    To  regain  back   his   conscious,    it    was   told   that  

 the   herb    in   Sanjeevini    Hills  could   save  

Lakshmana.

Hanuman  ,   flew   to    the   

Hill    and     carried    the     

hill   to   Lanka    to    save     

Lakshmana.

After   Lakshmana     

recovered    the    fight   went   

on.   



Finally     Rama    killed    Ravana    and    took  back    Sita.

Rama   handed    over    Lanka    to   Vibeeshana    and   made    

him    the    King   of    Lanka.


By     this    time    14    long    years    are    over      and   

it    was    time   for     Rama,  Sita     and    Lakshmana      to     

return    to   Ayodhya.

As    soon     as    they    reached    Ayodhya    Bharatha   

handed   the   Kingdom   to   Rama.

On   an   auspicious    day    Pattabishekam    took    place  .

 Rama     and   Sita    were    crowned     as   King    and   Queen  .

All   lived     happily.      Hanuman      decided    to   stay    

back     with     Rama.

Hanuman  ,     being    a   Chiranjeevi(  one   who   has   no   death)    loves    to   hear   the    praises     of    Rama.

It   is    believed     that    wherever     Ramayana    is    told    or   in    a   Ramayan     discouse  ,   Hanuman  (in    an   invisible    form)   comes    there     and    sits   in   the   audience     and   hear   Ramayana.

Whoever   tells   Ramayana    and     also   who   hears    Ramayana   story    is   sure   to   get    the   blessings    of   Hanuman.

So,     we   are   all sure   to  get   His   Blessings.

image  courtesy----google,animated hindu gods website

Rama Story Part -- 4

When  Rama  and  Lakshmana    came   back  to  the   cottage   they   found   Sita   missing.

They     started    searching   for   Sita   everywhere.   But    could    not     find     her    anywhere.

They    were    disgusted     and   did  not   know   what   to   do.  

They   were  wandering    in   the   forest  searching   Sita.  Rama     kept    on   calling   " Sita ,   Sita  ".

Alas!    No  reply    came.   

As   they   were    wandering   in   search    of  Sita    they   came   across   the   wounded "  Jatayu ".

Jatayu     on      his      death      bed ,    told   Rama     about      Sita     being      kidnapped      by   Lanka  king     Ravana.

After    conveying    this     message     Jatayu     breathed    his    last.

Now   Rama    and    Lakshmana      started    towards      Lanka.    

On   their     way    in    Rishyamuka    
mountains      they      saw    Sugriva    vanara (monkey)  king    and    Hanuman(vanara) .

Rama   offered    help    to   Sugriva     to   regain    his   kingdom  back  from   Vali.

Rama    asked       Hanuman's     help    in   searchinng   Sita   .Hanuman     readily      agreed   to this.

Hanuman     saw    godliness    in   Rama     and  became     a   great    devotee    of    Rama.

 Rama    embraced     Hanuman    and     gave    him   his    ring    to  be   shown    to   Sita.


Hanuman     is    known     for    his    great    strength    and   confidence .   He    flew     over  the    ocean    crossing    many    obatacles     and reached     Lanka.

On   reaching   Lanka    he     searched     for   Sita    and    found     her  ,  sitting     sadly ,    in     Ashoka  Vana.   
 He      sat    upon    the     tree    and     started     singing   ' hymns '   in    praise     of    Rama       and   jumped   from   the    tree   in   front   of   Sita.   

 He   then   showed    the ring    given    by   Rama  .   


 Sita     was    releived    a   little.    

But   when  Hanuman   offered    to   carry   her   back     to     Rama   she    refused,   but    said   "   Let    Rama     fight     with    Ravana    and    win   .Then    let  him   take   me    back."   she   also     gave    her    ring   to   be   given   to     Ram.

Hanuman    then     on   his    way   back     ,    destroyed    many     palaces,     gardens,    uprooted     trees   properties    in    Lanka  .       

But   ultimately,  he    was    captured     by   Ravana's     soldiers    and   brought    in  front   of    Ravana.  

There   Hanuman    asked   Ravana      to    send   back    Sita    to   Rama    and    to   beg     forgiveness.   

At   this,    Ravana      was     enraged      and   ordered    that    Hanuman's    tail   be    set    on    fire.  

Hanuman's    tail   was   bundled ,   with   oil   dippped   clothes    

 

and    set   on    fire  .

Hanuman    freed    himself   and     started   jumping  ' from  one  place    to  another, from  one  building  to   another  ,  gardens  , palace '   with   fire-lit-tail  .

This   burnt     down   so  much   of   Lanka.   

After    doing ,  so   much    damage ,   he   went   and   dipped   his   tail   in  the  sea   to  put   off the   fire   and   started   his   way   back    to   see  Rama.



What    happpened    then?................

I      shall      tell     you   in     the   next     post...................................

image  courtesy--google & animated gods websites.