THE WISE WOMAN'S STONE   A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day, she met another traveler who was hungry, so the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to giv... Read more

  Who Are Donkeys? One fine day, Akbar, accompanied by his two sons and his clever Minister Birbal, went to the river to take a bath. They asked Birbal to hold their clothes while they were bathing and took off their clothes and stepped into the river. Birbal stood at the bank of the rive... Read more

  Honest Birbal One fine day, Emperor Akbar was discussing the brinjal with Birbal. He told him what a delicious and nutritious vegetable it was. Much to Akbar's surprise, Birbal thoroughly agreed with him and even sang two songs in praise of the humble brinjal. After a couple of days, the ... Read more

  Akbar's Dream One night, Emperor Akbar dreamt that he had lost all his teeth, except one. The next morning he invited all the astrologers of his kingdom to interpret this dream. After a long discussion, the astrologers prophesized that all his relatives would die before him. Akbar was v... Read more

  Tit-Bits Emperor Akbar's court was famous for its witty question and answer sessions. On one of these occasions, the Emperor asked Birbal if there was anything that the sun and the moon could not see. Birbal's reply was 'darkness'. Akbar was pleased. Next, he asked what was the differen... Read more

  The Cock And The Hen   Since Birbal always outwitted Akbar, Akbar thought of a plan to make Birbal look like a fool. He gave one egg to each of his ministers before Birbal reached the court one morning. So when Birbal arrived, the king narrated a dream he had had the previous night ... Read more

  Why is the Camel's Neck Crooked?   As you all know, Emperor Akbar was very impressed with Birbals wisdom and greatly enjoyed his quick wit. One fine morning when Akbar was especially pleased with Birbal, as a gesture of appreciation, he promised to reward him with many valuable and b... Read more

  The Birth of Ganesh Indian Mythological sources stress the need for recitation of the name of Lord Ganesh before starting any work. The relevance of this becomes clear as the story of Lord Ganesh unfolds in the following pagaraphs.   Lord Ganesh is the virtual son of Lord Shiva and... Read more

Ganesh and Ravana the Demon One day, the devil Ravana undertook very difficult tapas . As a consequence, Shiva appeared to him. Ravana requested a favor. He wanted that his kingdom and himself could never be damaged or destroyed. As a present, Shiva gave him a Shiva Lingam , the symbol of Shiva; he... Read more

The Wisdom of Ganesh Shiva et Parvati used to play with two sons, Ganesh and Kartikeya. The gods had given them a marvelous fruit. Each boy wanted to get it for him alone. Their parents explained them that the nectar of the Supreme Knowledge and of Immortality was hidden in that fruit. To get th... Read more