Bala Kanda

Verses:
śrīmaddaśarathanandana rāma ।
kausalyāsukhavardhana rāma ।
viśvāmitrapriyadhana rāma ।
ghōratāṭakāghātaka rāma ।
mārīchādinipātaka rāma । 10 ।

Story:
In the beautiful city of Ayodhyā, there once lived a wise and noble king named Daśaratha. The joy of his life was his son, Śrīmaddaśarathanandana Rāma—Prince Rāma, the beloved child of King Daśaratha. Everyone in the kingdom adored Rāma, for He was gentle, kind, and full of wisdom even as a little boy.
His mother, Queen Kausalyā, loved Him dearly. Whenever He smiled, her heart blossomed with happiness. That is why He was also called Kausalyāsukhavardhana Rāma—the one who increased His mother Kausalyā’s joy every single day.
As Rāma grew up, a great sage named Viśvāmitra came to the palace. He asked King Daśaratha, “Please send Rāma with me. I need His help to protect my sacred prayers from demons.” Though the king was worried at first, young Rāma was eager to serve. Thus, He became Viśvāmitrapriyadhana Rāma—the precious helper and beloved treasure of sage Viśvāmitra.
Together, Rāma and His brother Lakṣmaṇa went with the sage. Soon, they entered a dark forest where a terrible demoness named Tāṭakā was causing great fear. With courage in His heart, Rāma aimed His bow and defeated her. From then on, He was praised as Ghōratāṭakāghātaka Rāma—the mighty slayer of the fierce Tāṭakā.
But that was not the end. More dangerous demons came, like the tricky Mārīca, who tried to stop Viśvāmitra’s prayers. Rāma, swift and strong, struck them down too. So He became known as Mārīchādinipātaka Rāma—the destroyer of Mārīca and other wicked ones.
And thus, even as a young prince, Rāma showed that He was not only a loving son but also a fearless protector, always ready to keep the world safe and fill it with peace.

Class 1 (Age 5yrs)

Teachers: Srikala, Sneha, Aruna

Hari Om!

We began the session with our opening prayers.

To welcome new students and refresh everyone’s memory, we reviewed the previously learned verses and their meanings/stories. This also gave us a chance to see how much the children retained from the last session.

We then introduced the next three verses of the Nama Ramayanam, discussed their meanings, and practiced them alongside the ones from the previous week.

Verses:
chaṇḍakiraṇakulamaṇḍana rāma ।
śrīmaddaśarathanandana rāma ।
kausalyāsukhavardhana rāma ।7|

The children also learned what the Nama Ramayanam is, how each verse ends with the word "Rama", and how many verses it contains.

The class ended with closing prayer.

We also included some warm-up exercise to energize the children and keep them active for the rest of the classes—and the day ahead!

We’re taking a gentle and gradual approach with our youngest batch, understanding that each child has their own pace and temperament. At this age, some may find it challenging to pronounce certain words, and that’s completely okay.

Our goal with these little ones is to introduce them to the Ramayana, its characters, and the values it teaches—in the simplest and most engaging way possible. We aim to help them begin reciting the verses with guidance, without pressure.

Class 2 (Age - 6 and 7yrs)

Teachers: Srilatha, Kavitha

In the second class we reviewed what we learnt in first class and also reviewed homework that was given and one girl came up with the answers. Introduced a point system to kids for doing homework and also for active participation in the class. Learned second week’s slokas and their meaning.

Class 3 (Age - 8yrs & above)

Teachers: Veena, Radhika

Hari Om!

Welcome back to the new semester. It was great to see everyone (some familiar faces and some new ones!)

We started the class with OM chanting and opening prayers. We revised the first five verses of Nama Ramayanam and then moved on to the next 5 verses. We discussed the meaning of each line and tried to sing in tune. We then shared the story of Rama’s birth, how he & his brothers learnt all skills. We discussed how Rama & Lakshmana went to forest with Vishwamitra while still young and protected the sages from Tataka and Maricha who were causing trouble and obstacles to their yagynas.

It was heart warming to see kids answer to pop quizzes and some of them did the homework from previous class.

We did have a brief yoga session in the middle of the class and I’m sure the kids enjoyed a little bit of stretching!

The homework is to review the 10 verses if possible during this long weekend and memorize!