The Story of Markandeya in English For Kids

The story of Markandeya is the best mythological story that brings the children close to their culture. Mythology is an important aspect of our culture. It helps the kids to know why certain rituals are followed in society and also how the community functions and thinks. Culture helps the children to stay connected with their roots. The mythological stories provide a fair idea of good and evil at a very young age. In today's fast-paced world, we hardly get to know about the good traits. All we get to witness or hear is diplomacy, cheating, and negative traits. These mythological stories help in building a progressive society that we all dream of. Indian mythology helps to convey a sense of belonging, historical perspective, the concept of dharma, good virtues, moral lessons, and models for good behavior. The power of persuasion in mythological stories is greater than that of normal stories. The myths explain the shared and historical beliefs of our society and culture such as the social order in our societies and instill awe about life guiding the children towards spiritual enrichment. This story is a fabulous mythological story that helps in the spiritual development of the kids.

Story Of Markandeya

Once upon a time, there was a great rishi named Mrikandu. The rishi was leading an ascetic life in the forest. The wife of Rishi was Marudhvathi. They were childless for a long period. Mrikandu had performed tapas for several years to please Lord Shiva so that they could have children. One fine day, Lord Shiva appeared before them. Lord Shiva told them that he was pleased by Mrikandu's devotion and therefore asked him to ask for any boon that he desired. Mrikandu was very happy. He prayed to Lord Shiva to bless him with a child as he was childless.

Lord Shiva asked Mrikandu if he wanted a pious, virtuous and intelligent son who would just live up to the age of sixteen years or if he wanted an evil-natured son who would live long. Sage Mrikandu did not think much as he did not desire a worthless son. He begged for an intelligent son whom he could be proud of. Lord Shiva granted the request of Mrikandu and departed. After some time, Marudhvati gave birth to a son. Both the parents were extremely happy about the arrival of the kid for whom they had waited so long. They named him Markandeya.

When Markandeya was just a few years old, his father made arrangements for his studies. Markandeya mastered all the Shastra and Vedas in his boyhood. His ways of pleasing endeared him to all his teachers. The boy was liked by everyone. When the boy reached the age of twelve, the parents arranged his Upanayana. The boy was initiated into the chanting of Gayatri's mantra. The boy was regular in performing the Sandhya Vandana and this pleased everyone. Markandeya was spending his days happily, delighting all the people around with his pleasant behavior and charming looks. 

The parents were always sad at heart and gloom was spread over their faces whenever they looked at their son. They did not tell Markandeya that he was destined to die at the age of sixteen. The sixteenth year of Markandeya was approaching fast. One day, Markandeya asked his father the reason behind his sadness. Mrikandu told Markandeya that he was destined to live only for sixteen years by Lord Shiva. Markandeya was not afraid of death. He consoled his parents by saying that death is not a thing that wise people should dread. The next day Markandeya came to his parents and asked them for their blessings. Markandeya was confident of winning over death. Markandeya decided to perform severe penance to please Lord Shiva. The parents blessed him and sent their son for penance.

Markandeya was to complete his sixteenth year on a certain day. Yama already knew that the life of Markandeya was coming to an end. Yama had a rope with the noose to take out the soul of the young lad from his body. Yama saw that Markandeya was engaged in the worship of Lord Shiva. Markandeya was not allowed to live a minute longer after the completion of his sixteenth year. Yama was forced to show himself to the boy because of the devotion of Markandeya to God. Yama threw his rope along with Shiva Linga which encircled the neck of Markandeya. The Shiva Linga was split into two and Lord Shiva came out. Yama was killed to save Markandeya.

At the request of other Gods, Shiva restored the life of Yama. Lord Shiva was pleased with the devotion of Markandeya and hence blessed him with deathlessness. Rishi Markandeya lived long.

Given below is a graphic representation of the story of Markandeya

Moral Of The Story

The mythological stories seek to educate, inform and entertain young children. These stories get the children to ask questions, impart life values, encourage curiosity and give various cultural perspectives on history, the world, etc. Moral stories impart ethical values to children and help them to differentiate between good and bad. The story helps in the spiritual development of the children. It teaches the kids that for everything we need blessings in life. If we take the shelter of a superior personality, we can encounter all the problems coming into our life easier and we can do all the impossible things.

Note To Parents

All the stories for the kids have a moral attached to them. Storytelling is the best and most powerful technique for young children. Good traits help in the character-building of the kids. As a parent, we need to develop these good traits in our kids. We can do this by narrating stories to them. Ethics, devotion, sacrifice, truthfulness, loyalty, and sticking to commitments can be understood easily by some powerful mythological characters. For example, the story of Markandeya teaches the children the importance of devotion in their life.