Tradition note. Told by Daśaratha himself, near the end, as an explanation of why he is dying. That framing is in Vālmīki and we have kept it: the story is a confession, not an anecdote.
Before you begin. A boy of about ten is killed by accident, and his blind parents are told. Nothing is dwelt on — the arrow is one sentence — but it is the saddest thing in the collection and children ask about it afterwards. Read it yourself first. It ends by connecting forward to Rāma's exile rather than closing, which helps.
Ages 8+2 min aloudcarrying the people who carried youowning what you did
When Daśaratha was young he could shoot by sound alone — go down to the river in the dark, wait, and put an arrow into whatever he heard drinking. He was very proud of it.
Near that river lived an old blind couple and their son, Śravaṇa. He had made them a kāvaḍi — a pole with a basket hanging at each end — and he carried them in it, across most of the country, because they had wanted to see the holy places.
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That night they were thirsty, and he went down with a pot.
Daśaratha heard water going into a hollow thing. Elephant, he thought — and he was so pleased with being quick that he let go of the string before he had finished the thought.
The cry was not an elephant's.
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He ran towards it. That matters. He did not hide and he did not wait for morning.
The boy could still speak. He said: I am not angry with you. But my mother and father have had no water since this morning and they cannot come and find me. Fill the pot. Take it up. Tell them yourself.
So he did. And the old man, who had nothing left to give anyone, said: you will die the way I am dying. Grieving for a son. I am not inventing that to punish you.
Years later Daśaratha sent his eldest son into the forest for fourteen years, and did not last a fortnight. He knew exactly why, and he said so.
Now turn to your child
Śravaṇa's parents wanted to see the holy places, and he picked up the pole without arguing. What is something someone has carried for you?
And if they shrug, you can leave it at this: Everyone was carried before they could walk.
Daśarathaduh-SHUH-ruh-thuhRāma's father, king of Ayodhyā. As a young man he could shoot by sound alone, and was very proud of it.
ŚravaṇaSHRUH-vuh-nuhA boy who carried his blind parents across the country in two baskets on a pole.
kāvaḍiKAA-vuh-deeA pole carried across the shoulders with a basket hanging from each end. Pilgrims still carry them; Śravaṇa carried his parents in his.
This is the three-minute telling. The longer one, tonight's pick, and the rest of the collection are in the app — free, nothing to install.