Tag Archives: Hinduism English Stories

Spirit of Diwali: Chandan put his hands on his ears trying to shut off the sounds. It was Diwali night. The entire city was lit up. Fire crackers were exploding everywhere. Chandan was lying on a dirty wooden bench in one corner of a dhaba in which he worked, trying to shut off the world and sleep. Diwali – the …

Birth of Lord Ganesha: Lord Ganesh is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. The story of creation of Ganesh is a very fascinating one. Long time ago when Lord Shiva, was away fighting for the gods, the lady of the house, Goddess Parvati was alone at home. On one occasion, she needed someone to guard the house when …

“How imposing and magnificent is this idol of Lord Ganpati” little Rohan asked his mother without moving his eyes from the imposing statue of Lord Ganesha. “Yes of course son. It is indeed quite splendid” his mother Kamla answered while mopping the floor. “Oh mother at least give it a glance” little Rohan insisted. Kamla turned her head and looked at the idol with …

The story of the birth of Hanuman goes thus: Vrihaspati had an attendant called Punjikasthala, who was cursed to assume the form of a female monkey – a curse that could only be nullified if she would give birth to an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Reborn as Anjana, she performed intense austerities to please Shiva, who finally granted her the …

Kishkindha was the capital of the kingdom of the monkeys ruled by King Bali. One day, a terrible fight broke out between Bali and his brother Sugriva. Sugriva was so afraid of Bali that he went away to live in a hill called Rishyamukha with his minister, Hanuman. Sugriva chose to live on Rishyamukha, because Bali was cursed regarding the hill. …

The next morning in Gokul (Uttar Pradesh, India), the word spread that Nanda had a little boy and he was named Krishna. Now Kansa knew that his would be slayer was still alive and was in Gokul, so he summoned a wicked demoness name Putana. He ordered Putana to go to Gokul and kill every baby born in the month …

King Brihadratha of Magadha (ancient Indian kingdom in southern Bihar) was married to the twin daughters of the King of Kashi. Brihadratha loved both his wives equally and had all the material joys of the world, but no son. This left him in a depressed state. The sage Chandakaushika visited his kingdom and Brihadratha served him with respect. Being pleased …

Now stories about Krishna’s deeds spread far and wide. When Kamsa heard about Krishna, he was sure that Krishna was Devaki’s eight born child, born to destroy him. He, in turn, planned to invite Krishna to Mathura (Uttar Pradesh, India) and have him killed. He summoned an old minister by the name of Akrura and sent him to Gokul with …

Bheeshmaka, the king of Vidarbha had two children, Prince Rukmi and Princess Rukmini. Bheeshmaka had heard many stories of Krishna‘s valor and secretly wished him to be his son-in-law. He knew that it might not be possible as Kamsa’s father-in-law, Jarasandha, was their overlord and he was Krishna’s sworn enemy. Vidarbha is the eastern region of the Indian state of …

Old King Ugrasena of Mathura (Uttar Pradesh, India) had two children, Prince Kamsa and Princess Devaki. While King Ugrasena was a good king, Prince Kamsa was a ruthless tyrant. Now Princess Devaki was to wed a nobleman named Vasudeva. Kamsa out of the love he bore for his sister decided to be the bride and groom’s charioteer for the day. …