Introduction to Ramayana

Discuss the setting and key characters.

॥ bālakāṇḍaḥ ॥

Verses:
śuddhabrahmaparātpara rāma ।
kālātmakaparamēśvara rāma ।
śēṣatalpasukhanidrita rāma ।
brahmādyamaraprārthita rāma ।
chaṇḍakiraṇakulamaṇḍana rāma । 5|

Story:
A long, long time ago—before even the sun, moon, and stars were born—there lived the most powerful and kind Lord. His name was Śuddhabrahmaparātpara Rāma. This means Rāma is greater than everything in the whole universe, even greater than the sky, the oceans, and the shining heavens!
He was also called Kālātmakaparamēśvara Rāma, the Lord of Time. Imagine someone who can see yesterday, today, and tomorrow all at once! That is Rāma—He takes care of every moment for all living beings.
When the world was quiet and peaceful, Rāma rested happily on the giant snake-bed of Śeṣa in the cosmic ocean. This form is known as Śēṣatalpasukhanidrita Rāma. While He rested, He was actually dreaming the whole universe into being—trees, rivers, mountains, animals, and people.
But then, trouble came. The demons grew strong and caused suffering everywhere. The gods, led by Brahmā, prayed together: “Please, Lord, help us! Come down and save the world!” They prayed to Brahmādyamaraprārthita Rāma—Rāma who listens when even the gods beg for help.
And so, He was born as a shining prince in Ayodhyā. Since His family belonged to the Sun’s royal line, He was called Chaṇḍakiraṇakulamaṇḍana Rāma—the bright jewel of the Solar Dynasty. Just like the sun makes the whole world glow, Rāma brought happiness to everyone with His love, courage, and kindness.
From the highest heavens to our little world, wherever we remember Him, Rāma is always there—smiling, protecting, and guiding us.

Class 1 (Age 5yrs)

Teachers: Srikala, Sneha, Aruna

Hari Om!

We began our first Dharma class with a warm welcome and some lighthearted conversations to connect with the children and understand their attention spans, interests, and familiarity with the Ramayana and its characters.

The session began with opening prayers, followed by a few simple yoga warm-up exercises to help the kids settle in.

We then introduced the first four verses of the Nama Ramayanam, explaining their meanings through short, age-appropriate stories.

Verses:
śuddhabrahmaparātpara rāma ।
kālātmakaparamēśvara rāma ।
śēṣatalpasukhanidrita rāma ।
brahmādyamaraprārthita rāma ।4|

The children practiced repeating the verses to learn and build comfort with pronunciation.

Class 2 (Age - 6 and 7yrs)

Teachers: Srilatha, Kavitha

On the first day of the semester we started with introductions then discussed what they learnt in last semester and what they will be learning this semester. Taught what is the story of Ramayana and who are the main characters in Ramayana.

Learned first weeks slokas of Namaramayana.

Homework: Who is Bharatha’s wife and Shathrughna’s wife?

Class 3 (Age -8yrs & above)

Teachers: Hyma, Radhika

The first day of the semester began with good attendance and enthusiastic kids.

We had a visiting guest from Shirdi, who blessed each kid with tilak and vibhuti. This was indeed a pleasant, divine blessing at the start of the semester, followed by a group stretching session and the kids were ushered to the respective class.

Informed the kids about what we will be learning during this semester. Occasionally, for the older class we will have a guest speaker from outside to talk about our Sanatana Dharma and related topics. We will inform ahead when this happens. The goal for this semester is to teach around 54 verses of Nama Ramayananam. We are making sure each kid pronounces it well and repeat. We went over the trail of Ramayana, important characters and events that occurred. Not surprised, many kids know it so well and it was great to see them share with the rest.

As per the lesson plan, we went over the first 6 lines of Namaramayana, meaning and related story. Please check above.

Homework: who wrote Nama Ramayana. Please have casual discussion on what was taught and how they think the class was.

Gita: We revised Chapter 12 - Bhakti Yoga.

Long weekend and memorize!