STORY 2 : MARUTI LEAPS TOWARDS THE SUN
Give the story sheet of
“Maruti leaps towards the sun” to the children and then narrate the
following story.
Children, do you know that Hanuman’s real name,
as a little baby was Maruti? So let’s find out how and why He came to be
called Hanuman.
Maruti was a very energetic child, a sweet kid who
could also be
very naughty. And if you add to it the fact that He could
fly like the wind, you can imagine how difficult it must be to control
Him. One day when the little Maruti woke up, He was
really hungry. He
remembered that His mother Anjani had told Him that He could eat all kinds of
ripe fruits. And how do ripe fruits look like?
Bright orange or
yellow… So the hungry Maruti looked around in the garden… Mmmm (look
up as if at trees)… No yellow mangoes, no orange oranges…. Hey
what’s that (point towards the ceiling)? Bright orange, big, and looks
really delicious! Do you know what He had seen? He had noticed the bright
morning Sun and thought it was a
fruit! And now, the hungry kid wanted
to
eat it!
Up He flew into the sky, with His mouth
wa-atering for that first bite of the juicy fruit. Just as He was about
to eat up Lord Surya, Lord Surya cried out to Indra for help. Indra picked up
his weapon, the
vajra (thunderbolt), and came running to the rescue him
on his white elephant Airavat.
As Indra came, the whole sky began to
tremble, the clouds
rumbled (say it gruffly) and lightening
flashed across the sky. But Maruti was sacred of
nothing you see.
All that noise, the darkness had no effect on Him. Then Airavat lifted his
trunk and made the sound of a trumpet so
lo-oud that it shook the skies.
But was Maruti scared?
Oh no, He wasn’t. He was actually
enjoying all the noise and He thought it was all a very exciting game.
And then guess what Maruti did? He began to chase Airavat instead.
This made Indra
angry and he struck Maruti on the chin with his
thunderbolt. The little baby could not bear that hurt and fainted. And began to
tumble
down from the skies!
When Vayu, His godfather saw Maruti
falling from the sky, He swooped the baby in His arms, glared at Indra with
anger in his eyes (stare at the wall ahead) and decided to teach everyone a
lesson (wag your forefinger). He took Maruti into a deep cave under the earth
and sat there.
And do you know what that meant children? No
wind, no
air! Everyone was
suffocating, as there was no
air to breathe. So what did the gods do? First came Brahmaji, the father of the
whole world and Indra. They blessed Maruti by saying that He would
remain
amar forever. Surya offered to educate Him and granted Him a
portion of his own brilliance, (his own brightness). Other Gods blessed Him
that He would be as
strong as thunder and lightening which is why He is
called
Bajrang Bali. They blessed Him that He could
change His
size and become very tall or short whenever He wanted.
And so children
this is how Maruti came to be known as Hanuman. And what does Hanuman
mean? Hanuman means “the One with the broken chin.”
ACTIVITY: CRAFT
The questions asked in this section will be
followed immediately with sticking the relevant picture on the activity sheet.
The questions should keep to the sequence of the story. Make sure the child is
able to correlate between the question asked and the cut-out handed out. Ensure
that he/she places it in the correct place.
Q: Why did baby
Maruti try to eat the Sun?
A: Maruti woke up hungry and when He saw
the Sun, he thought it was an orange-colored fruit. Highlight name
‘Maruti’ and stick PCO ‘fruit’.
Q: What is
the name of the Sun god?
A: Surya is the Sun god. Highlight name
‘Surya’.
Q: Who was Indra and what was the name of his
elephant?
A: Indra was the king of devtas and of the rain, and Airvat
was His elephant. Highlight name ‘Indra’ and
‘Airavat’.
Q: When Maruti pulled Airavat’s trunk,
what did Indra do?
A: Indra hurt Maruti with a thunderbolt. Stick PCO
‘Indra strikes Maruti’ and PCO ‘thunderbolt’ and CI
‘band-aid’ on Hanuman.
Q: Why was Maruti called
Hanuman?
A: When Indra hurt Maruti with his thunderbolt, He broke His
chin. Thus Maruti was called Hanuman, which means one with the broken chin.
Highlight name ‘Hanuman’.
Q: When Maruti fell from the
sky, who caught Him?
A: When Maruti fell from the sky, Vayu held Him
in His arms. Highlight name ‘Vayu’. Stick PCO ‘Vayu holds
Maruti’.
Q:What
vardaan did Brahma and Indra give
Maruti?
A: Brahma and Indra blessed Maruti that He would become
immortal. Stick PCO ‘Indra and Brahma bless Maruti’.
VALUES
Curiosity: In this story, Maruti’s mother
Anjana had said he could eat fruits but instead of picking a fruit from a tree
he tried to reach for the sun. In this way, he learnt that the sun was not a
fruit. In the same manner you should be curious and adventurous and daring and
ask questions and always keep your eyes and ears open and learn new things from
your surroundings.
MATERIAL LIST(per child)
1 Story Sheet
2.
Picture cut-outs (a) Fruit (b) Indra strikes Maruti (c) Vayu holds Maruti (d)
Indra and Brahma bless Maruti (e) Thunder
3. Craft item (a) Band
aid
4. Recall card
ACTIVITY - Sundar Kand (Older Children)
The Sundar Kand is meant
for the older children. It is written in simple doha style which can be put to
a doha tune. It must be impressed on the children that the Sundar kand is the
—— of the —— kands of the Ramayan. It deals with the
achievements of Sri Hanuman wherein he meets Sri Ram, helps Him in His search
for His beloved wife Sita, locates Her in Lanka, acts as His ambassador in the
court of Ravan, sets Lanka afire and returns with good news to about
Sita’s whereabouts to Sri Ram. The Sunder kand is considered the most
auspicious part of the Ramayan and so is recited or sung before doing anything
important. Here is an abridged Sunder Kand for the children in 8 small
couplets. The children can be taught 3/2/2/1 couplet format after the stories
and activities in the four classes. They can be advised that whenever they have
something important to do, for example an exam, a match, or a competetion, they
should recite the Sundar Kand to be successful in whatever they do. Moreover,
during pujas for Diwali, Dusshera, Hanuman Jayanti or any other festival
connected with Sri Ram or Hanuman, the Sundar Kand can be sung along with the
rest of the family members for the happiness and welfare of all.
ACTIVITY - Maruti Rhyne (Younger Children)
For the younger
children we have the Maruti Rhyne. The children can colour the picture of
Maruti, Draw and colour the sun on the right hand top corner.
Please note
that the colours have to be organised by the instructor.
Exercise - Maruti Jigsaw Puzzle
The younger children will do the
a Jigsaw puzzle activity. The Hanuman puzzle that we send will have 6 puzzles
with 3 puzzles of 6 pieces each and 3 puzzles with 9 pieces each. If there are
6 or below 6 children in a group each child can be given a single puzzle to do.
Please take care to give the younger children the simpler 6 piece puzzle and
the older children the 9 piece puzzle. If there are more than 6 children to a
group, make two children share each puzzle. As the child/children complete
their puzzles they can be rewarded with a candy or a small bar of chocolate.
Exercise - Mark of Sri Vishnu
After completing the stories of the
first class i.e. Bajrang Bali Hanuman and Maruti leaps towards the sun and the
subsequent activity and before the children go home, the instructor will make
the sign of Vishnu (which decorated the forehead of Sri Hanuman) for all the
children. For this, the instructor must keep ready in advance a little
sandalwood paste and kumkum paste and 2 toothpicks. The HO will send the
sandalwood powder, the kumkum and the 2 toothpicks. The instructor will
dissolve the sandalwood powder and kumkum in clean water to make a paste and
keep it ready in separate bowls before beginning the class. One toothpick will
be used to make a U shape with the sandalwood paste and the other toothpick
will be used to make a line down the center of the U with the kumkum paste.
While conducting this activity, the children can be re-told the significance of
this auspicious sign.
