India has its own version of Mythology, Aesop's fables, Cinderella's, etc.
There was a storytelling book for younger children that had tales of all kinds, meant to teach moral lessons. There was the tale of the Magic Tabla or drum, the tale of the Unlucky coconut, the smart princess, the two theives, the lady who had the lucky bag, silence is golden, and many more. I read all these stories in my free time on the roof of our international hostel and realized that while they were adapted to fit the cultural norms of India, many of the stories were very similar to American and British tales.
The below three books are Sacred Texts which build the foundation for Hinduism faith and spirituality.
Mahabharata.
It is a historical account of how Hinduism faith came to exist. It denotes tales of Gods and Demons fighting, birth of other great kings or celestial beings and the battle of the cosmic forces. I actually got a copy of this in a condensed form to take home.
My favorite story was about the woman goddess who was from the river. She would appear every now and then to either born a celestial being that would grow up to be great, or to inflict her wrath upon the evil ways of men.
The other two books also tell of heroic tales and the principles to living. I did not get a chance to read these, but was introduced to their ideas briefly in my Contemporary India course.
Ramayana.
This text tells about India during the time period 1000 BCE and offers models in Dharma. There is a main hero to the story, Rama, who lived his whole life by the rules of Dharma and is also the reason why he is revered so much. His exemplary life as the perfect son and ideal husband has impacted the way many Indian men reflect upon their own characters.
Bhagavatam.
This is one of the most important classics in Indian history as it recounts the story of Lord Krishna. As an important source of ancient Vedic Wisdom it is easily referred to as the Hindu-Bible.
Tall Tales
The tour guides would also tell us stories of how certain temples or architectural masterpieces came to exist or what Gods they were dedicated to.
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