STORY 5 : BRIDGE OF ARROWS
Give the story sheet of “Bridge
of arrows” to the children and then narrate the following story.
Children, today I will tell you the story about Arjun’s meeting with
Hanuman. Remember how Arjun had prayed to Lord Shiv and got the Pashupata arrow
from Him? Today we will see what happened when Arjun met Hanuman at
Rameshwaram. Rameshwaram is the place where Lord Ram had built the bridge to
cross over to Lanka.
Arjun you know was a little
too proud of
his skill in archery. When he met Hanuman at Rameshwaram, he smiled and said,
“I don’t know
why Ramji had to ask monkeys to build a bridge
for Him. He could’ve
easily built a bridge of arrows. If I were
there at that time,
I could have built that bridge in no time.”
When Hanuman heard this, he started to laugh and told Arjun, “
Come
on Arjun. A bridge of arrows would have collapsed if even
one monkey
walked over it, leave alone the entire vanar sena. Now Arjun, who was the
greatest archer of all times (tell children an archer is one who shoots with a
bow and arrow) said he did not agree with Hanuman and he took it up as a
challenge.
It was decided that Arjun would build a bridge with his
arrows and Hanuman would walk on it to test its strength. So Arjun built a
bridge with his arrows. But no sooner had Hanuman set
one foot on it, it
shattered into pieces! Just then, Lord Krishna reached Rameshwaram and He asked
Arjun to build another bridge of arrows but
this time, he should chant
Lord Ram’s name while shooting every arrow. Arjun took out an arrow,
chanted, “Jai Sri Ram’ and shot the arrow into the sea. Soon the
bridge was made.
Krishna then told Hanuman to walk over the bridge.
Hanuman took the first step, the second step, but this time, the bridge was
strong and didn’t break! Hanuman decided to check it further.
Remember children, Hanuman had been given the boon that He could change His
size? So He increased His size and walked on it. The bridge
still did
not break. Then Hanuman started jumping up and down on it, danced a little too!
But no harm was done to the bridge. Sri Lord Krishna and Hanuman looked at each
other and smiled.
Arjun thus learnt the lesson that whether the bridge
was made of stone or arrows did not really matter. It was the power of
Ram’s name that held the bridge together and made it strong.
And
children, there is another connection between Arjun and Hanuman. Before the
Battle of Kurukshetra started, Arjun prayed to Hanuman and said, “You
represent strength, intelligence, wisdom and discipline. And I need all of that
to win this battle.” And how do you think Hanuman helped him with that? He
allowed Arjun to use His image as the insignia for the Pandav army.
Hanuman’s powerful image on the Pandav flag fluttering atop Arjun’s
chariot provided inspiration to one and all.
ACTIVITY: CRAFT
The questions asked in this section will be
followed immediately with sticking the relevant item 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: Who did Arjun meet in
Rameshwaram?
A: Arjun met Hanuman at Rameshwaram where Lord Ram had
built a stone bridge with the help of the vanar sena. Highlight names
‘Arjun’ and ‘Hanuman’.
Q: What did Arjun feel
about Lord Ram’s stone bridge?
A: Arjun believed that a bridge
of stones made with the help of the vanar sena was not really required. He
could have made a stronger bridge with arrows if he was there. Paste CI
‘arrows’.
Q: When Arjun’s arrow-bridge collapsed
under Hanuman’s weight, what did Krishna tell Arjun?
A: Lord
Krishna told Arjun to build another bridge and chant Lord Ram’s name while
shooting every arrow. This bridge did not collapse under Hanuman’s weight.
Stick PCO ‘dialogue box - Ram’. Highlight name ‘Krishna’
and paste PCO ‘Krishna’ and PCO ‘Hanuman’
VALUES
Power of God’s name: In this story we have
learnt the shakti or power of chanting God’s name. Arjuna was proud of
himself and thought that if he had built a bridge of arrows it would have been
a stronger bridge than a bridge of stones. But he at last understood that what
actually held the bridge together was the power of Rama’s name. So
children, whenever you do anything important, whether it be just before you
give your exams or even just before leaving the house to go somewhere, chant
Lord Rama’s name and make Ram naam a part of your lives. You all must have
heard of the line – “ Ram se bada Ram ka naam” . What does it
mean? It means that the power of the name of Ram is in fact more powerful than
Ram himself. Things that Lord Ram himself could not do, Hanuman could, just by
taking his name and having faith in Him. You remember how by taking Ram’s
name he could fly over the sea even though Lord Ram could not. Also remember
while building the bridge, the stones which had Ram’s name carved on them
could float on the sea whereas the ones that did not carry his name sank to the
bottom of the sea. But children it is not just enough to say Ram’s name,
you must chant his name with faith just like Hanuman chanted His name whenever
he had to do something difficult... like flying across the sea.
MATERIAL LIST(per child)
1 Story Sheet
2.
Picture cut-outs (a) Krishna (b) Hanuman (c) Chariot (e) Dialogue box - Ram
3. Craft item (a) Arrows 6 pcs per child
4. Recall
card
Activity: One too Many
Hold up the picture of the Sun and ask
the children to tell you what it is. Most of them will come up with a unanimous
answer - The Sun. Now ask them to give you different names for the
Sun -
Sun, Suraj, Surya, Dhoop, Pau, ………Explain to the children
that no matter what we call the Sun -
Surya, Suraj….. the Sun
remains the same - it does not change. Why? Because there is only One Sun.
Similarly, no matter by what name we call God - Ram, Krishna, Jesus, Wahe-Guru,
Allah, Buddha, Mahavir……..we end up referring to the same God,
because God remains the same, He does not change. Why? Because, like the Sun,
there is only One God. Like the Sun which has many names, God too has many
names. Like calling the Sun by different names does not change the Sun,
likewise calling God by different names does not change God. Like there is Only
one Sun with different names, there is only One God with different
names
To further explain this concept, ask the children, one at a time,
what their name is. Now ask them what is their pet name. Then ask them what
their bothers/sisters call them, what grandparents call them, what their
didis/bhaiyas (servants) call them and what their friends call them. All
the relations described above call the child differently by different names,
for example if the child's name is Priyal, her parents call her Priya,
brothers/sisters call her
didi, grandparents call her beti, her maids
call her Baby, and friends call her Pri for short. But does calling Priyal with
so many different names change her? No. No matter what she is called, she
remains the same, because there is only One Priyal. Just like there is only One
Priyal with different names, like one Sun with different names, there is only
One God who has many different names.
Now distribute the Activity sheets
among the older children, and ask them to make a list of all the different
names that are used to refer to the same God - Ram, Krishna, Ganesh, Shiva,
Jesus, Wahe-Guru, Allah, Buddha, Mahavir……... Please encourage the
children to come up with names of God used in different religions to bring home
the point that there is only One God with different names and that different
religions are just different paths to reach the Same One God (if one had to
reach school, there can be so many different roads that lead to it). The three
children who give the most varied list will be rewarded.
This activity
can be done orally with the younger children where each child can give a
different name for God.
