Bala Kanda

Verses:
mithilāpurajanamōhaka rāma ।
vidēhamānasarañjaka rāma ।
tryambakakārmukhabhañjaka rāma ।
sītārpitavaramālika rāma ।
kṛtavaivāhikakautuka rāma । 20 ।

Story:
After crossing the river, Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, and Sage Viśvāmitra reached the grand city of Mithilā, ruled by King Janaka. The people of Mithilā had heard stories of the two handsome princes. When they saw Rāma, their hearts were filled with joy and wonder, for His beauty and grace were beyond words. This is why He was called Mithilāpurajanamōhaka Rāma—the one who enchanted the people of Mithilā.
King Janaka, who was also known as the Videha king, welcomed them warmly. The king, who was wise and noble, felt his heart rejoice just by looking at Rāma. Thus, Rāma became known as Vidēhamānasarañjaka Rāma—the one who delighted the mind of King Videha (Janaka).
At that time, King Janaka had announced a great challenge: whoever could lift and string the mighty bow of Lord Śiva—so heavy that no warrior could even move it—would win the hand of his daughter Sītā. Many kings and princes had tried and failed. Then, Rāma stepped forward. With ease, He lifted the bow, bent it, and as He strung it, the bow broke into two with a thunderous sound that shook the earth. From then on, He was remembered as Tryambakakārmukhabhañjaka Rāma—the breaker of Lord Śiva’s bow.
Princess Sītā, overjoyed, came forward with shy devotion. With her trembling hands, she placed the wedding garland around Rāma’s neck, choosing Him as her husband. For this moment of love, Rāma is called Sītārpitavaramālika Rāma—the one who received the garland from Sītā.
Soon, the grand wedding took place in Mithilā. The city was decorated with lights, flowers, and music. People sang and danced, the devas showered flowers from the heavens, and joy filled every heart. Thus, Rāma was also known as Kṛtavaivāhikakautuka Rāma—the Lord of auspicious marriage celebrations.
And so, in Mithilā, the divine couple Rāma and Sītā were united, beginning a journey together that would inspire the world for ages to come.

Class 1 (Age 5yrs & below)

Teachers: Srikala, Sneha, Aruna

We began our recent class with opening prayers and a review of the first 10 verses of the Nama Ramayanam taught in previous sessions. The children then learned the below next 5 verses and discussed their meaning and story of Devi Ahalya.

Verses:
kauśikamakhasaṃrakṣaka rāma ।
śrīmadahalyōddhāraka rāma ।
gautamamunisampūjita rāma ।
suramunivaragaṇasaṃstuta rāma ।
nāvikadhāvikamṛdupada rāma ।15|

We shared with them a simple moral — that wrong actions and choices can lead to unfortunate consequences, as seen with Indra and Devi Ahalya in the story, and that like Lord Rama, who freed Devi Ahalya from her curse, we should strive to be kind and compassionate.

We also highlighted Rama’s qualities that everyone should try to cultivate — being fearless, courageous, helpful, obedient, kind, compassionate, and humble. To keep things engaging, we wrapped up with some activities- exercises, coloring, and puzzles.

Quick note to the Parents: Because our little kids’ class is younger, we’re moving at a slower pace than the older groups, taking extra time to help with pronunciation and answer their questions.

A humble request: please spend a few minutes with your child at home asking them to recall and share what they learned in Gurukulam. Encourage them to remember the characters, recite the verses, and practice daily — even just a few minutes makes a big difference. Thank you for your continued support, involvement, and for bringing your children to the Gurukulam.

Class 2(Age 6-9yrs)

Teachers: Srilatha, Kavitha

We started the class by asking the kids who could recite all 15 slokas of the Namaramayana that they had learned in the previous classes. Roshith recited all 15 slokas with proper pronunciation, which earned him additional points introduced in the first class. We then reviewed the homework given in the previous session, and the kids who answered the questions correctly received points. Next, we learned the last six slokas of Bala Kanda which completes Balakanda (1st khanda). The kids also enacted the story by playing the roles of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Janaka, and Vishwamitra in class. Next week, we will revise the Hanuman Chalisa, followed by Ayodhya Kanda (the 2nd Kanda) in the following week.

Kids who won points this week by answering the questions that was asked in the class:

• Roshith - 40
• Anika -30
• Abhirami -10
• AryaSri - 10
• Chetna - 5
• Advitha - 5
• Nandan - 4

Class 3 (Age-10yrs & above)

Teachers: Veena, Radhika

Hari Om!

We started the class with OM chanting and opening prayers. Revised the first 15 verses of Nama Ramayanam and then moved on to the next 5 new verses (15-19). We discussed the meaning of each line and practiced a few times. The verse introduced us as to how Rama, Lakshmana, and Vishwamithra went to the city of Mithila and attended the Swayamvara in the city of Mithila and what happened there. Briefly talked about Shiva Dhanush significance, Sita’s swayamvara, Rama’s Triumph etc..

For activity, we played a dart board game. To add the moral to the stories we were discussing, we asked each kid to identify a weakness or a quality that they want to get rid in them and then think that bad quality as one the demon in the Ashram and you (the child) is rama and trying to hit the demon, in our case eradicate our bad quality with the dart. To name a few kids shared that they want to remove anger, not to be mean, remove distractions and focus, not to be rude etc..

The kids enjoyed the game, we will continue in the next class for those who did not get the chance.

Please play the Nama Ramayanam audio every day and assist your kids with practice.

Quiz:

• Sita’s sister's name and who did they get married to.

We would like to introduce Ramayana Story Writing to the older kids and so the goal is to have each kid pick a verse or 2 lines in the verse from the Nama Ramayana, draw a picture, write a story and depict it in their words and add a moral to it. We will provide the template to the kids so they can fit the content in the needed format. We will inform this in the next class and assist kids with it as well.