STORY 3 : HANUMAN’S LOVE FOR SRI RAM
Give the story sheet of
“Hanuman’s love for Sri Ram” to the children and then narrate
the following story.
Children, today’s story is about
Sitaji’s
sindoor and Hanuman. Some of your mothers put sindoor on
the parting of the hair or a
sindoor bindi on the forehead, isn’t
it? But do you
know what the red powder means and why some married women
put it everyday? Well, Hanuman didn’t know it in the beginning either, and
today we are going to find out how He came to understand its importance.
One day, Hanuman noticed that Sitaji wore a red powder in the parting of
Her hair. Curious, Hanuman enquired, what it was that She was wearing. “
Dear Hanuman, it is sindoor that I am wearing”, said Sitaji. “What is
sindoor and why was it so important?” asked Hanuman.
Sindoor makes
Lord Ram happy and would give Him a long and happy life, explain Sitaji.
Hanuman scratched His chin and thought and thought. He realised that
Sitaji also did it because she loved Ram and showed it by putting
sindoor in Her hair. “I love Ramji too,” though Hanuman,
“And I’m going to prove it!” So guess what
He did? Well
if Sita ji can put
sindoor in Her
hair to show Her love, He
decided to cover Himself with it to show
His love! He took the sindoor
powder and smeared his
whole body with it. And He felt very happy and
smiled a
biiig smile. When He entered Sita’s room, He was
completely red, His face, the nose, dhoti, everything was completely
red. It looked as though He had taken a bath in the red powder!
Sita
looked at Him in surprise and asked Him why he had covered himself in
sindoor. With a shy smile Hanuman said, “ Sitaji,
you are a
Devi, a goddess. By putting a little
sindoor in your hair, you can make
Lord Ram happy and His life longer. But I am only His servant, His
dasa,
so I will have to do more than that. And that is why I had to cover my whole
body with
sindoor.” So children, now you know why the idol of
Hanuman is all red. This also shows the great love Hanuman had for Lord Ram and
how much He thought about the welfare of Lord Ram, His master.
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 questions asked and the cut-out handed out.
Ensure that he/she places it in the correct place.
Q: What was
Sita putting in her hair?
A: Sita was putting
sindoor in her
hair. Highlight name ‘Sita’, stick PCO ‘Sita with
sindoor’.
Q: Why did Sita put
sindoor in her
hair?
A: Sita put
sindoor in her hair to make Lord Ram happy
and to pray for a long life for Him. Ask children to color Sita’s hair
parting red with pen.
Q: When Hanuman heard that
sindoor
would give long life to Lord Ram and make him happy, what did Hanuman
do?
A: When Hanuman heard that sindoor would give happiness and long
life to Lord Ram, Hanuman covered Himself completely with
sindoor
including His clothes and His whole body. Paste CI ‘
sindoor
paste’ on Hanuman.
Q: So how is Hanuman worshipped with
temples on Tuesdays?
A: Hanuman is worshipped with
sindoor.
Stick PCO ‘Hanuman covered with
sindoor’
VALUES
Show your love: Hanuman was completely devoted to
Lord Ram and loved Him immensely. We should also love God with devotion and
sincerity, like Hanuman. We also learn that when we love somebody we should
also show our love to that person, for example, when we love our parents,
siblings and friends, we must express our love and affection for them by doing
small things for them, or by telling them now and then, that we care or
sometimes simply by just giving them a hug or a kiss to make them feel special
and important in your life. It doesn’t take much time or effort to do
this, but it goes a long way to make the person you love, feel really special.
MATERIAL LIST(per child)
1 Story Sheet
2.
Picture cut-outs (a) Sita with
sindoor (b) Hanuman covered with
sindoor 3. Craft item (a) Red pen to colour Sita’s hair
parting (b)
Sindoor to be smeared on Hanuman
4. Recall
card
