Festival Stories by NutSpace

Why Do We Celebrate Holi?Holi is a Hindu festival that is celebrated over two days. Day 1 is dedicated to religious offerings to the Holy fire also called "Holika Dehan" and the second day brings together people to throw away their inhibitions and feel united and is celebrated all over the world.In this episode listen in to the legends and myths around the origin of Holika Dahan which represents win of good over evil and a cute little story of mischievous Krishna and how playing with different colours came to be.About the Storyteller, Dr Shivani Kanodia:Dr Shivani Kanodia believes that stories exist all around us, from deep inside an ocean to high in the sky. With a PhD in biotechnology , storyline demanded that she pursues a career in science but what fun is a story without a twist? To give wings to her dreams and follow her passion she founded Aryah Inspires LLP in 2017 - an organization which aims to nurture the story-lovers within individuals and is on a mission to “Storify the Nation”. As a Professional storyteller, Applied theatre practitioner, consultant and trainer Shivani is committed to empower people to harness the power of storytelling and applied theatre tools to initiate dialogues, create conversations and make classrooms engaging and joyful. She has conducted over 300 sessions with more than 20,000 participants in range of sessions and workshops. Shivani has worked with various organizations like Pratham books, Katha India, Oxford University Press India, Jaipur literature Festival for outreach programme and The Hindu group to facilitate STEP summer programme. She has done story narration in collaboration with BookyBoo and and UNICEF Maharashtra to raise awareness regarding Virus during the Pandemic. She is also part of various international projects with ASST (USA) and Storytelling choir (UK). She is currently working with teachers from about 200 schools in Delhi and Haryana to train them in “Integrating Storytelling with Curriculum”.About NutSpaceNutSpace builds life skills and 21st-century skills in children using stories for kids. We deliver our lesson plans via live classes, online classes, self-paced courses www.nutspace.inFollow NutSpace on: Youtube | Facebook | Instagram

Why Do We Celebrate Navratri? The Story of the 9 Goddesses of NavratriDay 9: Navratri Story: Maa SiddhidatriOn the ninth day of the nine-day long Hindu festival of Navratri, we worship the ninth form of Devi Durga. The ninth form of Devi Durga is Maa Siddhidatri.It is said that at the beginning of time when there was nothing in the universe there was only darkness then Maa Kushmanda created the universe using her radiant smile. Maa Kushmanda also created the holy trinity. She created Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu and each one of these gods was given a job to do. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. Once all these gods were created, Shiva went and prayed to Maa Kushmanda and asked her more perfection. He asked Maa Kushmanda to bestow him with lots and lots of blessings, to bestow him with more perfection. And that’s when Maa Kushmanda created another goddess. She created Maa Siddhidatri.Maa Siddhidatri blessed Shiva not just with eight or ‘ashtasiddhis’ but with 18 siddhis or 18 perfections. These 18 comprised not just the ‘ashtasiddhis’ or the eight perfections but also ten more siddhis which are the secondary perfections as defined by Lord Krishna. And then something amazing happened, half of Lord Shiva’s body became one with Maa Siddhidatri. She became half of Shiva and that form of Shiva where he is half female and half male is called Ardhanareshwar.Maa Siddhidatri also blessed Brahma and Vishnu with eight perfections or the ‘ashtasiddhis’ and these eight Siddhis (perfections) are:Anima: The ability to become as small as an atomMahima: The ability to become infinitely largeGarima: The ability to become infinitely heavyLaghima: The ability to become infinitely lightPrati: The ability to become omnipresentPrakhambya: The ability to make all that you desire come trueIshitva: LordshipVashitva: The power to conquer all.And that is why Maa Siddhidatri is worshipped on the ninth day of the Navratri which is also called Ram Navmi or Naumi.Maa Siddhidatri sits on a lotus and her ride is a lion. She has four hands. In one hand she carries a Gada, in one a chakra, in one a lotus, and in one a Shunk. Maa Siddhidatri is not just worshipped by humans she is worshipped by the devas, by the Gandharvas, by the asuras, by the yakshas, and by the Siddhas.About the Storyteller, Rohini Vij:Rohini Vij is an early-years educator, professional storyteller, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, drama coach, voice artist, author, and Founder of NutSpace Edtech Pvt. Ltd. She has recorded audiobooks for various renowned publishers.Follow Rohini on: LinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAbout NutSpaceNutSpace builds life skills and 21st-century skills in children using stories for kids. We deliver our lesson plans via live classes, online classes, self-paced courses www.nutspace.inFollow NutSpace on: Youtube | Facebook | Instagram

Why Do We Celebrate Navratri? The Story of the 9 Goddesses of NavratriDay 8: Navratri Story: Maa MahagauriOn the eighth day of the nine day-long festival of Navratri, we celebrate and we pray to Maa Mahagauri. ‘Maha’ means extremely and ‘Gauri’ means fair. This is a story of Parvati-ji and once when Parvatiji in the form of Kaalratri was fighting all the demons and when she came back her skin had turned absolutely dark and try as she may she just couldn’t get rid of that dark skin. Her husband Lord Shiva made a little fun of her. He teased her and called her ‘kali’. However, this really really infuriated her and she went to Lord Brahma. She prayed and prayed to him and she told him that, ‘I want to get rid of this dark skin. Make me fair once again.’ After a severe penance, Lord Brahma was pleased and he blessed Parvati. He told her that she should go and take a dip in The Mansarovar Lake in the Himalayas. The moment Parvati stepped into The Mansarovar Lake in the Himalayas, her dark skin separated from her and magically took the form of a female. This female was called Kaushiki. Kaushiki went on to destroy two terrible demons Shumbha and Nishumbha. Shumbha and Nishumbha had got a boon from Lord Bhrama that they could not be killed by any man, god, demon or deity. And that’s how Kaushiki killed them.Once Parvati had bathed in the river she emerged absolutely stunning. Her skin was now fair and radiant and once again she became the fair-skinned one and came to be known as Maa Mahagauri. Maa Mahagauri has four arms. She carries a trident in one hand and a damaru in the other. She rides a white bull. She is a symbol of kindness and morality. That was a wonderful story, wasn’t it? But then, it makes me think about something.Tell me, is fair skin really a symbol of beauty? Is it important to have fair skin or a fair heart? I think Maa Mahagauri had an enormously courageous and beautiful heart and no matter what the colour of her skin was, she was the one who destroyed demons before and after.About the Storyteller, Rohini Vij:Rohini Vij is an early-years educator, professional storyteller, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, drama coach, voice artist, author, and Founder of NutSpace Edtech Pvt. Ltd. She has recorded audiobooks for various renowned publishers.Follow Rohini on: LinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAbout NutSpaceNutSpace builds life skills and 21st-century skills in children using stories for kids. We deliver our lesson plans via live classes, online classes, self-paced courses www.nutspace.inFollow NutSpace on: Youtube | Facebook | Instagram

Why Do We Celebrate Navratri? The Story of the 9 Goddesses of NavratriDay 6: Navratri Story: Maa KatyayaniMaa Katyayani is worshipped on the sixth day of the nine-day long Hindu festival of Navratri. Maa Katyayani is one of the most popular forms of Durga who is prayed to during Navratri. It is believed that Maa Katyayani was born to kill and bring an end to Mahishasura. The story goes like this – There was once a sage named Katyayan and he was childless. And he prayed with all his heart to the Trinity Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. He was blessed that one day he will have a wonderful child – a child will make him very very proud. In the meantime, Mahishasurah the demon was really really becoming powerful so much so that the Gods the devas also feared him and they all went to the trinity and begged them to find a solution. Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma combined their energies and created a female form. This female form was extremely radiant – as radiant as a thousand suns and she had 18 arms, she had fierce eyes, she rode a lion and was given the blessings to defeat Mahishasura in battle. Just before going into battle, all the gods blessed her with many gifts – Shiva gave her a mighty Trident, Vishnu gave her a Sudarshan Chakra, Brahma gave her a water-pot and a rosary, Varuna gave her a Conch / Shunk, Agni gave her a Dart, Surya gave her a Quiver, Vaayu gave her a Bow, Indra gave her a Thunderbolt, Kuber gave her a Mace, Kaal gave her a sword and a shield and Vishwa Karma gave her a Battle-Axe. She rides a lion and she is fierce. It is said that she went into a mighty battle with Maheshasura. The battle between Katyayani and Maheshasura went on for days and finally, she defeated him by chopping off his head. Katyayani is also known as Mahishasura Mardani the one who killed and defeated Maheshasura. And her celebration, her victory is celebrated in India. A day when a woman took a form that was fierce and she went down on earth and she defeated a demon who was as terrible as Maheshasura. Maa Katyayani has four hands – in one she holds a sword, in the other, she holds a lotus, with the third hand she blesses her devotees, and with the fourth hand, she protects them.About the Storyteller, Rohini Vij:Rohini Vij is an early-years educator, professional storyteller, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, drama coach, voice artist, author, and Founder of NutSpace Edtech Pvt. Ltd. She has recorded audiobooks for various renowned publishers.Follow Rohini on: LinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAbout NutSpaceNutSpace builds life skills and 21st-century skills in children using stories for kids. We deliver our lesson plans via live classes, online classes, self-paced courses www.nutspace.inFollow NutSpace on: Youtube | Facebook | Instagram

Why Do We Celebrate Navratri? The Story of the 9 Goddesses of NavratriNavratri Day 5: Maa SkandamataMaa Skandamata is worshipped on the fifth day of the nine day-long festival of Navratri. ‘Skanda’ means Kartikeya who was the firstborn child of Shiva and Parvati and ‘mata’ means mother so Skandamata essentially is the story of goddess Parvati. We all know that after Sati immolated herself, Shiva became completely disconnected from the world he lived away from everybody deep in tapasya and he did not care at all about what was happening. He lived as an ascetic.Around that time there were two demons Surahpadman and Tarakasura and they had got a boon that they could not be destroyed. In fact, the only person who could kill them was the offspring of Shiva and Parvati. However when Shiva completely disconnected himself from the world, all the gods and goddesses got really worried, ‘What if they’ll never manage getting rid of the two demons Tarakasura and Surahpadman? And that’s when they all went to Lord Vishnu and begged him to find a solution. Lord Vishnu told them that it was absolutely their mistake. Had they not gone to Daksha Prajapati’s Yajna without Shiva and Sati being a part of it, this would have never happened. Sati would have never immolated herself and Shiva would have never been disconnected from everybody. So Vishnu had no solution. That’s when Narad Muniji went and told Parvati, who had taken birth again, she was another incarnation of Sati, and this time she was born to the god of the mountains. Narad Muniji visited Parvati and told her that in this life too – she could get married to the love of her life, which is Shiva, however that would require severe penance, severe tapasya. Parvati really wanted to get married to Shiva and she went through thousands and thousands of years of tapasya – severe penance, after which Shiva was finally pleased he relented. And they both got married.When their union happened a blinding seed – a powerful seed – took birth. This seed was so radiant that Lord Agni himself was given the job of taking care of the seed because from its radiance the child of Shiva and Parvati would be born. However, Agni could not bear the radiance of the seed and he took help from Ganga. Ganga looked after the seed and then Parvati herself took the form of water because she knew that only she could carry the seed that was born of her union with Shiva. And then Kartikeya was born. He had six faces and he was looked after by six mothers also called ‘Krittikas’ which is how he got the name of Kartikeya.In south India, Kartikeya is also known as Lord Murugan. He’s the commander-in-chief of the Army of Gods. He is ever so powerful and he’s blessed by all gods and goddesses not just with powerful weapons but also immense knowledge.It is said that when he grew up a little bit he went to Brahma himself to gain knowledge. And on the first day, he asked Brahma a question. He asked him the meaning of ‘Om’ and Brahma took 12,000 verses to explain him the meaning of but Kartikeya was not satisfied so he went to his own father Lord Shiva and asked him. Shiva explained the meaning of ‘Om’ in 12 lakh verses this but Kartikeya was not satisfied. But by now he had figured out the meaning of ‘Om’ and he explained it to everybody in 12 crore verses. That was Kartikeya – ever so powerful – which is why it is believed that if you pray to Skandamata you automatically end up praying to Kartikeya.Skandamata has four hands. In one hand she carries Kartikeya as a baby, in her second and third hand she carries a lotus, and with her fourth hand, she blesses her devotees. Skandamata rides a lion and she sits on a lotus. Skandamata is believed to be the powerful mother of a powerful god and so she’s worshipped on the fifth day of Navratri.About the Storyteller, Rohini Vij:Rohini Vij is an early-years educator, professional storyteller, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, drama coach, voice artist, author, and Founder of NutSpace Edtech Pvt. Ltd. She has recorded audiobooks for various renowned publishers.Follow Rohini on: LinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAbout NutSpaceNutSpace builds life skills and 21st-century skills in children using stories for kids. We deliver our lesson plans via live classes, online classes, self-paced courses www.nutspace.inFollow NutSpace on: Youtube | Facebook | Instagram

Why Do We Celebrate Navratri? The Story of the 9 Goddesses of NavratriDay 7: Navratri Story: Maa KaalratriOn the 7th day of Navratri, we celebrate the 7th avatar of Goddess Durga, Kaalratri (also spelt Kalaratri). She is also known as Shubhankari. Kaalratri is the fiercest form of Devi Durga. She is the destroyer of evil. Maa Kaalratri is black as night and has three luminous eyes. She exhales fire. She has four hands, in one she holds a thunderbolt, in the other she holds a sword. Some stories say that her other two hands lay in mudras- one in ‘abhay’, symbolising her fearlessness, and the other in ‘varada’, symbolising her benevolence. Some say that she uses one hand to hold and the other to protect. After the asuras Shumbha & Nishumbha invaded devlok and destroyed Indra’s kingdom, the devas were left helpless since these two asuras had a boon that no man or god could kill them. To save the devas from the terror, Indra visited Parvati and apprised her of the situation. Parvati sent Chandi, also known as Kaali, to deal with the demons. However, Shumbha & Nishumbha had sent two other demons called Chanda & Munda in the battlefield already. Chandi killed the demons and earned herself the name Chamunda. She then faced another demon called Rakhtabeej. Rakhtabeej had a peculiar and powerful boon. He could never be destroyed. Whenever Rakhtabeej’s blood was shed and it came in contact with the ground, a new Rakhtabeej would emerge. This infuriated Maa Kaalratri and as she struck him, she bent low and drank his blood before it could come in contact with the ground. That was the end of Rakhtabeej. Maa Kaalratri then went on to kill Shumbha and Nishumbha, restoring peace in Devlok.About the Storyteller, Rohini Vij:Rohini Vij is an early-years educator, professional storyteller, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, drama coach, voice artist, author, and Founder of NutSpace Edtech Pvt. Ltd. She has recorded audiobooks for various renowned publishers.Follow Rohini on: LinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAbout NutSpaceNutSpace builds life skills and 21st-century skills in children using stories for kids. We deliver our lesson plans via live classes, online classes, self-paced courses www.nutspace.inFollow NutSpace on: Youtube | Facebook | Instagram

Why Do We Celebrate Navratri? The Story of the 9 Goddesses of NavratriNavratri Day 4: Maa KushmandaMaa Kushmanda is the Goddess of a form of Durga that is worshipped on the fourth day of the 9-day-long festival of Navratri, which is celebrated in India.Maa Kushmanda is also known as the smiling Goddess. Her name translates into three small words - 'Ku' means little. 'Ushma' means small and smiling and 'Anda' means egg which translates into a small cosmic egg. It is believed that is was Maa Kushmanda who actually created the universe. In the beginning, when there was nothing and there was only darkness, that's when Maa Kushmanda using her energy produced a small cosmic egg, which is the universe where we live. It is believed that it is Maa Kushmanda who resides in the core of the center of the sun and it is her that gives the sun the direction. It is she who gives all the universe warmth and energy.At the beginning of time when there was nothing, and after Maa Kushmanda had created the universe, she created 3 life forms - from her left eye she created a fierce Goddess called Maa Mahakali. From her third eye, from her forehead, she produced Maa. And from her right eye created a benevolent and smiling Goddess, Maa Mahasaraswati. And then she started glancing at these 3 life forms. These three life forms, Mahalaxmi, Mahakali, and Mahasaraswati were the first three life forms of the earth.She glanced at Mahakali. From Mahakaali a male and female were born. The male had 5 heads and 10 arms. She named him Shiva. The female has one head and 4 arms - she named her Saraswati. Then she glanced at Mahalaxmi. And from her too a male and a female were born. The male had 4 heads and 4 arms - she named him Brahma. The female has 1 head and 4 arms, she named him Laxmi. And then Maa Kushmanda glanced at Mahasaraswati. And from her too emerged a male and a female. The male had 1 head and 4 arms - she named him Vishnu. And the female too had 1 head and 4 arms - and she named her Shakti. And then she presented Shakti to Shiva, Saraswati to Brahma, and Laxmi to Vishnu as their consorts. It is believed that these 3 went on to create the rest of the universe. And then Maa Kushmanda absorbed the three back into herself. She absorbed Mahakali, Mahasaraswati, Mahalaxmi, all back into herself. And then it is believed that she became one with Shakti as an orb of energy, as an orb of form. And since then it is believed, Maa Kushmanda is the one that actually provides the entire universe with its warmth and energy.On the fourth day of Navratri we pray to Maa Kushmanda and she removes all obstacles from the lives of her devotees. Maa Kushmanda has eight arms, and in these eight arms, she carries a kamandal, a bow, an arrow, a pot of nectar, a lotus, a rosary, a disc and a mace. She rides a lion and because of which her devotees are fearless like her.If you like this video don't forget to push the like button and subscribe to our channel. There are many other videos in this playlist. There are stories about all the 9 forms of Devi Durga and also why we celebrate Navratri and also why we celebrate Dussehra. About the Storyteller, Rohini Vij:Rohini Vij is an early-years educator, professional storyteller, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, drama coach, voice artist, author, and Founder of NutSpace Edtech Pvt. Ltd. She has recorded audiobooks for various renowned publishers.Follow Rohini on: LinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAbout NutSpaceNutSpace builds life skills and 21st-century skills in children using stories for kids. We deliver our lesson plans via live classes, online classes, self-paced courses www.nutspace.inFollow NutSpace on: Youtube | Facebook | Instagram

Why Do We Celebrate Navratri? The Story of the 9 Goddesses of NavratriNavratri Day 3: Maa Chandraghanta This form of the goddess is associated with fear (bhayaanaka rasa). In this story, Parvati was to get married to Shiva. It was the wedding day and her parents were looking forward to receiving the groom. Her parents had made the best of arrangements but to their dismay, they were shocked to see Shiva. So much so that Parvati’s mother fainted. Shiva was dressed up as an ascetic - he was accompanied by his followers of ghouls. Parvati had not expected Shiva to show up like this especially on their wedding day. Angry, she took the form of Chandraghanta. She summoned her tiger, Dawon, and sat on her adorning an angry form with a moon-shaped bell on her head. The bell made a sharp and shrill menacing noise that hurt the ears of the ghouls. At last, she had the attention of Shiva who understood that she was upset at his appearance. She asked him to dress more appropriately. Shiva accepted her request and made his appearance more presentable. His followers changed their appearance too and at last, the wedding took place, amidst much galore. This form of the goddess is called Chandraghanta, where Chandra means moon and ghanta means bell. She is worshipped on Day 3 of Navratri. About the Storyteller: Rohini VijRohini Vij is an early-years educator, professional storyteller, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, drama coach, voice artist, author, and Founder of NutSpace Edtech Pvt. Ltd. She has recorded audiobooks for various renowned publishers.Follow Rohini on: LinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAbout NutSpaceNutSpace builds life skills and 21st-century skills in children using stories for kids. We deliver our lesson plans via live classes, online classes, self-paced courses.www.nutspace.inFollow NutSpace on: Youtube | Facebook | Instagram

Why Do We Celebrate Navratri? The Story of the 9 Goddesses of NavratriThe Story of the 9 Goddesses of NavratriThis form of the goddess is associated with calmness (Shanta rasa). This form of the Goddess Durga set out to win the love of Shiva who was meditating for years. To win his love she left her parent's palace and set out to the mountains to meditate. She meditated for years to finally win the trust and love of Shiva.About the Storyteller: Rohini VijRohini Vij is an early-years educator, professional storyteller, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, drama coach, voice artist, author, and Founder of NutSpace Edtech Pvt. Ltd. She has recorded audiobooks for various renowned publishers.Follow Rohini on: LinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAbout NutSpaceNutSpace builds life skills and 21st-century skills in children using stories for kids. We deliver our lesson plans via live classes, online classes, self-paced courses.www.nutspace.inFollow NutSpace on: Youtube | Facebook | Instagram

Navratri Story: Story of the 9 Goddesses of NavratriDay 1: ShailaputriNavratri is a nine-day long festival that is celebrated in India. Navratri is the celebration of Devi Durga and her nine forms. Devi Durga is also synonymous with Shakti. Shakti means energy, power, and empowerment. Shakti celebrates the female energy of the universe. The energy that brings about equilibrium and balance. The nine forms of Devi Durga are Maa Shailaputri, Maa Bhramacharini, Maa Chandraghanta, Maa Kushmanda, Maa Skandamata, Maa Katyayani, Maa Kaalratri, Maa Mahagauri and Maa Siddhidatri.On the 1st day of Navratri, we celebrate the first avatar of Goddess Durga, Shailaputri (Daughter of the mountains). This form of the goddess is associated with love (shringaara rasa). In this form, she gives up her life as a princess in order to look for Shiva, her true love. For more stories visit: www.nutspace.inAbout the Storyteller: Rohini VijRohini Vij is an early-years educator, professional storyteller, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, drama coach, voice artist, author, and Founder of NutSpace Edtech Pvt. Ltd. She has recorded audiobooks for various renowned publishers.Follow Rohini on: LinkedIn | Facebook | InstagramAbout NutSpaceNutSpace builds life skills and 21st-century skills in children using stories for kids. We deliver our lesson plans via live classes, online classes, self-paced courses.Follow NutSpace on: Youtube | Facebook | Instagram