Inspirational Indian Mythological Stories

The Puranas are filled with mythical stories that tell us about ancient traditions, heroes’ lives, and life values. Indian mythology is full of inspiring and motivating stories that would leave us speechless. Listed below are a handful of them:

1. Righteousness of Dharmraaj Yudhishthir

After he ended his earthly life, Dharmaraj Yudhishthir stood in front of Yamaraj, the god of death and the god of the afterlife. Dharmaraja Yudhishthira, whose unshakable justice is legendary, is offered a free choice between heaven and hell.

He asked to visit both the places before it

Firstly, he was taken to heaven, where he met Duryodhana and all his comrades with whom he fought in the Mahabharata War.

Amazed, he asked,

Yudhishthir:

“Duryodhan and his companions in heaven?”

Yamraj:

“In the end, they died on the battlefield, fighting for a cause.”

Yudhishthir:

“Can you tell me where my family is? Arjuna, Bhim, Nakul, and others What happened to Sahdev and Draupadi?

Yamraaj:

“In due course, they will suffer in hell…”

Then he walked through the gores and horrors of hell and visited his family in hell.

Yudhishthir:

“What a shame and contempt for this sacred justice. My legal brother and my godly wife were sent to hell.”

Yamaraj:

“ You’re right. We have our justifications. Accept or walk away.”

Yudhishthir

“If this is the case, then my position belongs to them, and my happiness is only with them. Let me go to hell!”

Then Dharmraaj chose to go to hell with his family instead of heaven without them.

Later on in the story, however, turns out that it was an illusion and the final test of his moral beliefs.

This story allows us to understand the glue that holds the Indian culture together, and what values ​​it can survive and prosper for so long.

2. Arjun’s concentration in Archery

Arjuna was the best disciple of his famous Guru Drona. Almost all of us who are familiar with the history of Mahabharata know this fact, but the unwavering focus of this famous Arjuna as a disciple is indeed encouraging.

Guru Dronacharya decided to put all of his followers’ archery talents to the test after Arjuna wowed him with the correct response and his ability to hit the target without missing (Prince Kuru). He once hung a bird-shaped target from a tree and allowed his students to shoot at it. But first, they had to answer his inquiries. Duryodhana took his stance first. Dronacharya inquired, “What can you see?” “I can see the bird, the leaves, the tree…” was the response. Dronacharya told him to put down the bow and return to his place. Yudhishtra was next, but the replies were the same. Others mentioned seeing the teacher, their cousins, and others standing around. The princes began mumbling to one another as they were all sent back to their respective locations without being allowed to shoot. Dronacharya’s son, Ashwatthama, couldn’t understand what his father wanted. Arjuna was the only one left at the end. Arjuna was summoned by Dronacharya to take a stand. As Arjuna pulled his bow, positioned the arrow, and drew the string, his teacher inquired, “What do you see?” Arjuna replied, “The bird’s eye”, inquired, “Can you see the tree?” The answer was, “No, merely the eye of the bird” then he proceeded through a list of things including a tree, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, his brothers, cousins, and even the teacher. Arjuna's response to everything was the same: "No, I can only see the eye of the bird”. After Dronacharya gave him the order to shoot, Arjuna discharged the arrow. It flew directly for the target, sending the bird crashing to the ground. “When you want to achieve something, you must focus on it,” the boy said to the others. Remove all other distractions and focus solely on your goal.

This is an all-too-common narrative, yet it contains an unfailing formula for success. Success comes from a complete focus on the goal. Who doesn’t wish to achieve prosperity and fame in life? Swami Vivekananda has repeatedly advised students to acquire sincerity and attention to achieve anything they desire. This short narrative, in my opinion, is extremely inspirational since we can all learn from it.

3.The Courage of Abhimanyu

Arjuna and Subhadra had a son named Abhimanyu. Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers, chose to tell Subhadra about the Chakravyuh battle strategy while she was pregnant with Abhimanyu.

Arjuna taught Subhadra how to enter and destroy the Chakravyuh, a labyrinth created by armed troops to trap the adversary. From inside Subhadra’s womb, Abhimanyu heard and remembered the entire operation.

Subhadra, on the other hand, had fallen asleep by the time Arjuna told her about coming out of the Chakravyuh. As a result, Abhimanyu only learned how to enter the labyrinth but not how to exit it. Later in life, when young Abhimanyu participated in the Mahabharata’s great Kurukshetra War, he faced the enemy’s Chakravyuh formation. He was able to get into the formation but not out.

Abhimanyu spun a chariot wheel around, attacking opponents unarmed. He was not easily defeated and battled bravely till his last breath.

The story of Abhimanyu encourages us to remain steadfast even when the odds are stacked against us. No matter how difficult things become, one must never give up.