Short Gita Stories to Read Aloud — Scripts & Activity Ideas

What are the things that kids like the most? Candies, toys, cartoons and …. And stories, right? Yes, all kids, in spite of their age, location and cultural background, like to read, or listen to stories. Stories not only entertain but also serve the purpose of instilling moral values and teaching life skills to kids and that too in a fun way.  So, stories can be used as a tool in teaching even and in various ways. When kids are narrated stories, they learn something from them with a better retention as they listen to them with utmost focus. But, when we ask them to role play a story it serves as icing on cake because now, the kids are not listening to a story. Instead, they become a part of story themselves and now the plot, the moral, everything becomes integral part of their psyche. It also helps them to boost their morale, improve their personality and enhance their confidence and interpersonal skills. Stories for roleplay can be chosen from any kids’ friendly book like Aesop’s Fables, Panchatantra, Hitopadesha, Ramayan or Bhagavad Gita etc. Among these Bhagavad Gita is a literal marvel as the stories there make kids efficient to fight at every front of life, moral, spiritual, intellectual, financial and menta. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, presenting you with a brief idea about what Bhagavad Gita is: in the battle of Kurukshetra when both Pandava’s and Kaurava’s armies were  all set to fight, with all the greatest warriors at their assigned places, Prince Arjuna became hesitant to fight against his own elders, Gurus and other relatives. Then, Lord Krishna taught him many life lessons which encouraged him to follow his Dharma and fulfil his Karma. These preachings of Lord Krishna to Prince Arjuna are a part of the epic poem Mahabharata and are collectively known as Shrimad Bhagavad Gita.  So, here follows some stories from Bhagavad Gita which are presented for Gita storytelling and also for Gita story roleplay. These Bhagavad Gita stories are perfect for storytelling as they are presented in a simple way which is easy to comprehend and to memorise.

The first story is about Arjuna’s Confusion — “Why Should I Fight?”

In the battlefield of Kurukshetra, when the Pandava Prince Arjuna stood in front of his army and saw his great grandfather, his gurus and other elders as the opponents: hegot very disheartened. With bowed head, his bow slipping from his hands; he looked at his cousins and teachers on the other side and felt sad.

In a deep, solemn voice he whispered “Krishna, I can’t do this. How can I fight people I love?”

Krishna looked at him with kind eyes and smiled gently. With a voice echoing with all the wisdom, Krishna said, “Arjuna, sometimes we must stand for what is right, even when it is hard. Your duty is to protect goodness. I am here with you. We cannot fall back from doing right when it becomes hard for us. Being righteous is not a choice but a duty that should be fulfilled no matter what the circumstances are. You follow your dharma, which being a Kshatriya is to protect the people from wrong and do your karma. I’ll always be there with you.”

Arjuna understood that we have to do our karma without any hesitation and he valiantly fought in the battlefield.

This Gita story tells kids that sometimes doing the right thing feels difficult — but courage and goodness must guide us. We can further enhance the learning by doing some simple activities like make the kids participate in a “Right vs. Easy” Sorting Game. In this game, kids will be given cards with situations (e.g., “Helping a friend,” “Copying homework”). Then, they will be asked to sort these cards into Right and Easy but Wrong.

Another Bhagavad Gita story that can intrigue kids and is suitable for read aloud stories is the story titled: The Lamp in the Wind — “Stay Steady”

When on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, Prince Arjuna was standing there dumbfounded and overwhelmed with emotions debating whether he should take part in the battle or not, his charioteer, his mentor Lord Krishna said, “A wise person is like a lamp in a windless room. No matter what happens outside — noise, arguments, temptations — the flame stays steady. Similarly, a wise man is the one who keeps his focus and attention steady irrespective of the circumstances around.” The moral of the story for the kids is that one should stay calm and focused, even when things around them are distracting.

A Candle Breathing Exercise can be done to reinforce the learning. The kids can be asked to pretend there’s a candle in front of them. Then, they should be asked to breathe gently so the flame does not flicker. 

The next Bhagavad Gita story can be titled The Chariot of the Mind — “Control Your Horses”

When Arjuna was confused and was hesitant to fight against his own clan, Krishna guided him. Krishna told Arjuna, “Think of your body as a chariot. The horses of these chariot are your senses and the control of these horses that is the reins are in the hands of your mind. If the horses run wild, then the chariot will crash that means if your senses will not be under control then ultimately your body will be affected and you will face health issues as well as other problems. Suppose, your senses want you to indulge in a fancy dessert that you cannot afford and as your senses are running wild, you are not able to control them, thus being compelled by them you probably will steal that dessert. The consequences can be punishment, humiliation or even facing the law.  When the horses run wild, the chariot crashes. The same happens with the body when your senses go unchecked. If you control your mind and the mind is able to hold the reins steady, you reach your goal!”

This Gita story tells kids that we must control our senses — our thoughts and feelings guide our actions. Our desire to watch television or youtube videos can lead to incomplete homework or assignments. Our desire to play for longer can lead to incomplete exam preparations. All these will affect our academic performance and ultimately affect our life goals. To deepen the learning simple activities can be organised like asking the kids to draw a chariot with labels: Mind, Senses, Body, Wisdom. Let them decorate the horses. They can also be shown a working model of chariot where they can see how the speed of horses or their turns etc can affect the speed and direction of the chariot.

The next Bhagavad Gita story that can be a good story to read aloud or to role play for kids is the one that can be titled: The Seed of Karma — “Every Action Grows”

Krishna picked up a tiny seed and showed it to Arjuna. He asked what do you think this seed will grow into? Arjuna replied, “A tree.” Krishna acknowledged and said, “Exactly, every seed grows into a tree and the tree that it produces depend upon the seed. A mango seed will produce a tree with sweet mangoes while a neem seed will grow into a neem tree with bitter neem fruits,” Krishna said.

“In the same way, every action you do grows into a result. So, plant good seeds — kindness, honesty, hard work and you will get good fruits- success, accomplishment and fulfilment.”

The moral of the story for kids is that good actions create good results; bad actions create problems.

We can perform a “Plant a Good Seed” Jar activity for the kids to aid the learning. Have kids write good actions on slips of paper and put them in a jar. At the end of the week, read them aloud. Discuss what will be the outcomes if those good actions are performed too or are not performed.

The Two Birds on the Tree, is another Bhagavad Gita story perfect for read aloud and role play activities. The gist of the story is that you can observe your emotions instead of reacting. Krishna said to Prince Arjuna, “There are two birds which live on a tree. One bird eats fruits — sometimes sweet, sometimes bitter. It cries and laughs depending on the taste. The other bird only watches peacefully.”

Arjuna curiously asked, “Which bird am I?” to this, Krishna smilingly replied, “Both. You feel emotions, but you can also choose to watch them calmly.”

Understanding this story helps kids handle anger, jealousy, or disappointment. Kids can be asked to role play where two kids enact as two birds while other kids enact different scenarios that may happen in day-to-day life of the kids, some good and some bad.  Let them understand the ways we can choose to stay calm in the changing conditions. 

The theme of Mahabharata isn’t just about war — it’s about inner conflict, duty, and courage. Specially, Bhagavad Gita teaches us about many practical values that can improve our quality of life drastically if we apply them in our lives. By turning these stories into scripts and activities, we can make it fun, relatable, and perfect for group learning or performance. That’s what we do at Bambinos. We make spiritual earning fun and help improve a kid’s mental health and well- being. So, enrol your kids in Bambinos Bhagavad Gita classes and watch the changes happening in front of you in real time and towards the better.

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