Divya KathaThe best-loved Krishna stories in Hindi come from the Bhagavata Purana (his birth in Kansa's prison, the universe in his mouth, Kaliya and Kansa), Hanuman stories from the Valmiki Ramayana (Bal Hanuman and the sun, meeting Rama, Lanka and the Sanjeevani mountain), and Shiv Puran katha from the Shiva Purana (the pillar of fire, Sati, Parvati's tapasya and Ganesha). Below are fifteen short ones, each with the text it comes from.
Knowing the source matters. It tells you where to read more, and it separates what the scriptures say from what grew around them later in folk tradition, which is lovely in its own right but different.
Krishna stories in Hindi (श्री कृष्ण की कहानियाँ)
1. Krishna janm: the night in Kansa's prison
A voice from the sky warned King Kansa of Mathura that the eighth child of his sister Devaki would kill him, so he imprisoned Devaki and her husband Vasudeva and killed their children one by one. When the eighth, Krishna, was born at midnight, the guards fell asleep and the prison doors opened. Vasudeva carried the baby across the flooded Yamuna to Gokul, left him with Nanda and Yashoda, and brought back Yashoda's newborn daughter. Source: Bhagavata Purana, canto 10.
2. Yashoda sees the universe in Krishna's mouth
The other children complained that little Krishna had been eating mud. When Yashoda made him open his mouth, she saw inside it the whole universe: earth, sky, stars, mountains and oceans, and even herself and her village. Then the vision faded, and she simply held her child again. Source: Bhagavata Purana, canto 10.
3. Kaliya daman: dancing on the serpent
The many-headed serpent Kaliya had poisoned a pool of the Yamuna, so that cows and cowherds who drank there died. Krishna jumped in, let Kaliya coil around him, then broke loose and danced on his hoods until the serpent gave in. Krishna spared him and sent him away to the sea. Source: Bhagavata Purana, canto 10. (For Govardhan and Sudama, see our stories for kids.)
4. Kansa vadh: the end of fear in Mathura
Kansa invited Krishna and Balarama to Mathura for a wrestling contest, meaning to kill them. Krishna overcame the elephant Kuvalayapida at the gate, the brothers defeated the wrestlers Chanura and Mushtika, and Krishna then ended Kansa himself, freeing his parents Devaki and Vasudeva. Source: Bhagavata Purana, canto 10.
5. Krishna as Arjuna's charioteer
At Kurukshetra, when Arjuna lost heart before fighting his own family, Krishna, his charioteer, taught him the Bhagavad Gita: do your duty, let go of clinging to results, the self does not die. Source: Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva. Read 7 core teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, or the whole Mahabharat ki kahani in Hindi.
Hanuman stories in Hindi (हनुमान जी की कहानी)
6. Bal Hanuman and the sun
Baby Hanuman saw the rising sun, thought it was a ripe fruit and leapt into the sky to grab it. Indra struck him with his vajra, and he fell with his jaw (hanu) injured, which gave him his name. Vayu, his father, withdrew the air from the worlds in anger until the gods gave the child their blessings. Source: Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, told by Jambavan.
7. Hanuman meets Rama
Sugriva, hiding from his brother Vali, sent Hanuman disguised as a wandering ascetic to find out who the two armed strangers were. Rama noticed how perfectly he spoke and said such a messenger could win any task. That meeting began Hanuman's lifelong devotion and the friendship of Rama and Sugriva. Source: Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand.
8. The leap to Lanka
Reminded of his strength by Jambavan, Hanuman leapt across the ocean, found Sita in the Ashok Vatika, gave her Rama's ring, and set Lanka alight with his own burning tail. Source: Valmiki Ramayana, Sundar Kand. The full story: Hanuman in the Sundar Kand.
9. Sanjeevani: carrying the mountain
When Lakshman fell in battle, the healer Sushena sent Hanuman to the Himalayas for four healing herbs. Unable to tell which plants they were, Hanuman lifted the whole mountain and carried it back to Lanka. Source: Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kand; also the Ramcharitmanas, Lanka Kand.
10. Hanuman and Bhima
Centuries later, in the Mahabharata, proud Bhima found an old monkey lying across his path and could not lift its tail. It was Hanuman, his elder brother, as both are sons of Vayu, teaching him humility. Source: Mahabharata, Vana Parva. (The well-known image of Hanuman tearing open his chest to show Rama and Sita in his heart is from later devotional tradition, not the Valmiki Ramayana.)
Shiv Puran katha in Hindi (शिव पुराण कथा)
11. The endless pillar of fire
Brahma and Vishnu once argued over which of them was greater. A pillar of fire appeared between them with no beginning and no end. Vishnu, as a boar, dug down to find its base; Brahma, as a swan, flew up to find its top. Neither could. Vishnu admitted it, while Brahma falsely claimed success, and Shiva appeared from the pillar. This is told as the origin of the linga. Source: Shiva Purana, Vidyeshvara Samhita.
12. Sati and Daksha's yajna
Sati, daughter of Daksha, married Shiva against her father's wishes. Daksha held a great yajna and invited everyone except Shiva. Sati went anyway, and when her father insulted her husband before the assembly, she gave up her body. In his grief and anger Shiva sent Virabhadra, who destroyed the yajna. Source: Shiva Purana, Rudra Samhita.
13. Parvati's tapasya
Sati was reborn as Parvati, daughter of the mountain king Himavan, and set her heart on Shiva. When Kamadeva tried to stir Shiva with his arrow, Shiva burned him to ash with his third eye. Parvati did not give up. Through years of severe tapasya she won Shiva, and they married. Source: Shiva Purana, Rudra Samhita.
14. How Ganesha got an elephant head
Parvati made a boy from the paste on her body and set him to guard her door. When Shiva came home, the boy, not knowing him, would not let him in, and in the battle that followed Shiva cut off his head. Seeing Parvati's grief, Shiva restored him with the head of an elephant and declared that Ganesha would be worshipped first, before every other god. Source: Shiva Purana, Rudra Samhita (Kumara Khanda).
15. Neelkanth and Gangadhar
When the halahala poison rose from the churning ocean, Shiva drank it to save the worlds, and his throat turned blue: Neelkanth. (Read the Samudra Manthan story.) And when King Bhagiratha's tapasya brought the Ganga down from heaven, Shiva caught her in his matted hair so that her force would not shatter the earth: Gangadhar. Sources: Bhagavata Purana and Shiva Purana; the descent of the Ganga is also in the Valmiki Ramayana, Bal Kand.
Which texts to read next
| Deity | Main texts | Best place to start |
|---|---|---|
| Krishna | Bhagavata Purana (canto 10), Mahabharata, Harivamsha | Bhagavata Purana, canto 10 |
| Hanuman | Valmiki Ramayana, Ramcharitmanas, Mahabharata | Sundar Kand |
| Shiva | Shiva Purana, Linga Purana, Mahabharata | Shiva Purana, Rudra Samhita |
Watch Krishna, Hanuman and Shiv stories as short videos
These kathas are told as one-minute Hindi episodes in the Divya Katha app, some through a witness's own eyes, like Hanuman's or Nandi's. Each one carries a lesson worth keeping. One minute a day, and these stories become your own.
Questions people ask
Where do Krishna stories come from?
Krishna's childhood in Gokul and Vrindavan is told mainly in the tenth canto of the Bhagavata Purana, and also in the Vishnu Purana and the Harivamsha. His role as Arjuna's charioteer and the Bhagavad Gita are in the Mahabharata.
What is the story of Bal Hanuman and the sun?
As a baby, Hanuman saw the rising sun, took it for a ripe fruit and leapt into the sky to eat it. Indra struck him with his vajra and he fell, injuring his jaw (hanu), which is how he got his name. Jambavan tells this story in the Kishkindha Kand of the Valmiki Ramayana.
What is the Shiv Puran katha about?
The Shiva Purana tells the stories of Shiva - how he appeared as an endless pillar of fire before Brahma and Vishnu, Sati and Daksha's yajna, Parvati's tapasya and marriage to Shiva, the birth of Ganesha and Kartikeya, and the twelve jyotirlingas - along with teachings on worship.
How did Ganesha get an elephant head?
In the Shiva Purana, Parvati made Ganesha and set him to guard her door. He stopped Shiva, who did not know him, and in the fight Shiva cut off his head. To console Parvati, Shiva brought him back to life with the head of an elephant and made him the first to be worshipped.
Is the story of Hanuman tearing open his chest in the Ramayana?
No. Hanuman opening his chest to show Rama and Sita in his heart is not in the Valmiki Ramayana or the Ramcharitmanas. It comes from later devotional tradition and is loved for what it says about his devotion.
