Hari Om! Parents,
The class began with deep breathing, Om chanting and Sahana Vavatu. After chanting the Lord Rama shlokas, children chanted all seven daily prayers (ref. My Prayers Book pg.11). We also chanted the Guru Stotram (ref. Balavihar Handbook pg.24), followed by Verses 1-16 of the Bhagavad Geeta (ref. Balavihar Handbook pg.15). Story telling resumed with Yuddha Kanda of the Ramayana, with Indrajit resuming his battle against the vaanara army. The vaanaras fought him with boulders and trees, but Indrajit easily defeated them. He then created a magical Sita form, placed her in a chariot and shot her with an arrow. The vaanaras watched this and were fooled by the magic. The news of Sita's death reached Lord Rama, who threw down his weapons in shock. Vibhishana stepped in to console everyone, and pointed out that Indrajit was using his magic tricks once again to fool everyone. Indrajit meanwhile begins performing an "asuric yagna" to increase his powers and make him undefeatable. Upon Vibhishana's advice, Lakshmana and Hanuman, rushed to stop the yagna at once. After a great battle, Lakshmana used his "Indra astra" and Indrajit was killed. As the vaanara army rejoiced, Lord Rama hugged Lakshmana praising him for saving the day! The sad news of Indrajit's death devastated Ravana. He broke down crying, having lost his best warrior and biggest support. Ravana blamed Sita for the cause of his sorrow and loss of loved ones. The angry Ravana drew his sword and rushed towards ashoka vatika to kill Sita. Several ministers stopped Ravana, reminding him that a king must fight bravely in the battlefield and not kill an unarmed woman. Ravana started to prepare for battle with Lord Rama. He wore his best silk robes, jewelry and crown. With all his best weapons, Ravana drove onto the battlefield in his divine chariot. We paused the story here.
Next the class did a Ramayana review quiz. Since it was Balavihar movie night, the children watched a video of "Hanuman meeting Ravana". We did the online aarthi, followed by Shanthi mantras and pledge before ending class. Your child can continue with "Rama nama" likhita japa and color Lesson 35 in the Ramayana coloring book.
Jai Shri Ram!
- Rashmi and Uma
