Folktales In English

Many years ago, Vana, the King of demons, pleased Shiva with his devotion. For his great tapasya, he won a boon that he would remain invincible to all, both on the heaven and the earth. Vana had a beautiful daughter named Usha. Her great friend and constant companion was Chitralekha, the daughter of one of Vana’s ministers. As Usha grew …

Indra, the King of heaven, had Nandan Kanan, the most wonderful garden you can imagine! It had all the beautiful and sweet-scented flowers that grow on earth and many more that were out of the world. The pride of the garden was the Parijat, a tree that bore delicate white flowers with the most exquisite fragrance. Its aroma filled up …

Every god is believed to have his own celestial vehicle. The strong and majestic bird Garuda carried around Vishnu on his back. He was very proud of this honor because it was he who carried the Lord of the Universe, Vishnu, when he went around conquering the world. As the days went by, Garuda was filled with pride. He terrified …

Once upon a time there was a king named Uttanapada. He had two queens, Suniti and Suruchi. Suniti was sweet and good-natured and never hurt anyone in her life. Suruchi, on the other hand, was mean, spiteful and jealous. But of course, she was too clever to show her real self to the king, who thought her to be as good …

Sage Narada holds an important place in Indian mythology. He is a great scholar of arts and the Veena-playing musician for gods. A wanderer who roams freely across both heaven and earth, he is often seen as the messenger of Vishnu. The word ‘nara’ means ‘knowledge’, and ‘da’ is ‘one who gives’. So, Narada means a person who passes on …

Long, long ago, there lived a sage named Ayodh Dhaumya. He was a great scholar, and many students from distant lands came to stay in his gurukul and learn from him. Those days there were no schools or colleges. The students lived with the guru in his ashram and learned from him. The well-read munis lived a very simple life …

How Ganesha came to have Elephant Head: When the Gods lived on the earth, Lord Shiva – Mahadeva, the Lord of All, lived on the highest peak of the Himalayas. With him lived his wife, Goddess Parvati. They had no child. For thousands of years they lived there, looking down upon the entire world, which lay at their feet. But …

Surdas and Sweeper: There once lived a seeker of God called Surdas. He was eager to study and understand Spirituality (knowledge about God). He approached a Guru and requested that the Guru teach him spiritual practice, so that he could get close to God. Surdas and Sweeper: Guru Shishya Story The Guru was well aware of Surdas’ defect of anger. …

Amazing adventures of Hanuman Page [1]: Once upon a time, long ago, there lived in India a monkey-boy called Hanuman. His father was Vayu, the god of the winds, and his mother was a monkey princess. Although he was only little, Hanuman had magic powers. He was also naughty. This is the story of some exciting adventures, which began in …

Bhima and Hanuman: The Pandavas and the Kauravas lived in peace for some time. But the Kauravas were still jealous of the Pandavas and wanted to grab the whole kingdom. They invited the Pandavas to a game of dice and the Pandavas accepted the invitation. Sakuni cheated the Pandavas by using a loaded dice. The Kauravas won the game. The …