Sandhya KathaRāmāyaṇa · Mahābhārata · Purāṇas · Upaniṣads

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Nāyaṉmārs stories for children

Stories from Nāyaṉmārs, laid out to read aloud. This page is generated from stories that have already passed Sandhya Katha's publication gate.

What “with sources” means here. Every story below names the work and passage we checked, carries age guidance, and says when the tradition is variant, regional or oral instead of smoothing those differences away.

6 published stories

The Temple Nobody Could See Periya Purāṇam · Pūsalār Nāyaṉār, 4171–4188 Ages 5+ · regional tradition A poor man builds a temple entirely in his head. On the day it is finished, a king has to move his own festival. Read the sourced telling → The Loincloth on the Scales Periya Purāṇam · Amar-Nīti Nāyaṉār Purāṇam, verses 502–549 Ages 7+ · regional tradition A merchant piles cloth, gold and jewels onto a balance. One small loincloth still outweighs everything. Read the sourced telling → The Old Man with the Deed Sēkkiḻār, Periya Purāṇam · Taḍuttāṭkoṇḍa Purāṇam — wedding, deed, Tiruveṇṇainallūr assembly, temple revelation and first hymn Ages 9+ · regional tradition An old man stops a wedding with a palm-leaf deed. The groom calls the claim impossible, follows him to court—and loses. Read the sourced telling → Nandanār and the Bull Periya Purāṇam · Tiru Nāḷaippōvār Nāyaṉār Purāṇam Ages 8+ · regional tradition He made the drums the temples played on, and was never allowed in to hear them. At Tiruppuṅkūr the stone bull is in the way. Read the sourced telling → The Mango in Her Hand Periya Purāṇam · Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār Purāṇam, 1722–1787 (Project Madurai numbering) Ages 9+ · regional tradition Puṉitavati feeds a hungry guest with one of two mangoes. When her husband asks for another, she turns to Śiva. The fruit that comes to her hand changes their life together. Read the sourced telling → Appar's Small Spade Sēkkiḻār, Periya Purāṇam · Tirunāvukkaracar Purāṇam, temple-service and Tiruppukalūr testing sequence, especially verses 1681–1683 Ages 6+ · regional tradition A poet-saint clears weeds from temple ground. Gold and jewels appear in the earth, and he keeps working. Read the sourced telling →

Sandhya Katha chooses one story each night for your child's age and the calendar, and lays it out to be read aloud.

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