Hanuman remains a favorite character of young children. The stories of hanuman’s childhood are intriguing and engrossing. Young children can relate to them easily- be it the time when hanuman was hungry or how he was always restless.
These stories also teach young children the virtue of many valuable character traits like patience, knowledge etc.
Also Read: Indian Mythology books for Kids | Children’s books about Indian Culture
9 Best Hanuman Stories for Kids (with Morals)
Here is a list of stories, that children are sure to enjoy. Each story has a moral in the end to help you explain the message.
Hanuman’s Birth Story
Near the hills of mount Meru lived a monkey couple named Anjana and Kesari. Anjana was a maiden from heaven. However, once she disturbed a sage during his meditation. So the sage cursed her to be born as a monkey. Upon pleading with the sage, he further told her that she will be free from her monkey body after she gives birth to a powerful son, who will be a form of Shiva himself.
Accordingly, Anjana took birth as a monkey. She became an ardent devotee of Shiva and spent all her time worshiping him for a son.
Meanwhile, in a faraway kingdom, king Dasarath was performing an Ashvamedha Yagya (a religious ritual) to have children. Lord Agni became pleased and came out of the Yagya fire with a divine sweet to be shared by three wives of Dasarath.
Vayu, the Wind God, was entrusted with the responsibility of delivering the sweet to the queens of Dasarath. However, on the way, he saw Anjana praying. There, upon the instructions of Lord Shiva, Vayu took some portion of the sweet and gave it Anjana. Vayu also blessed her that her son, who would be extremely intelligent, strong, and with the power to fly.
Soon Anjana gave birth to a monkey-faced son. The child was named Anjaneya, the son of Vayu and Anjana. He also became known as Pawanputra. Anjana became free from her curse.
Moral: Hanuman’s mother, Anjana was cursed. But she accepted the misfortune and kept on working hard to overcome it. The story tells children to not lose hope, and work even harder to overcome bad situation.
When Hanuman Wanted to Eat the Sun
Anjaneya was a very naughty kid. he could not sit idle in one place. He shook large trees and played with stones, disturbing others continuously. One day he became very hungry, while his parents were not in the house. He came outside the house searching for food.
Suddenly his eyes fell on to the rising sun. In all his hunger, he mistook the sun to be a fruit. He jumped to the sky to get it. Now the Sun was scared as Hanuman was coming near and near. He asked Indra, the king of gods to save him. Indra threw his spear at the monkey boy. It hit his jaw and broke it immediately. Anjaneya almost fell to the ground, but Vayu was there on time and caught his son.
Now Vayu became very angry. He sucked all the air out of the earth. In the absence of air, the lives on earth started suffocating. To please Vayu, all the gods blessed Anjaneya with special powers. He could change his shape and size as wish, become immortal, neither fire nor water can harm him.
Now Vayu’s anger subsided. He released the air back on the earth. Life came back to normal.
Due to his broken jaw, Pavanputra also became known as Hanuman (meaning broken jaw) from then on.
Moral: When one is hungry, he or she is motivated to cross all tough hurdles. This metaphor applies in the daily life and encourages us to remain hungry for knowledge or things we want.
Hanuman’s Education
It was time for Hanuman to start his education. He requested Surya, the Sun God, to be his teacher. However, Surya replied that he is always on the move throughout the day, how can he teach Hanuman. Young Hanuman replied that he will follow Surya the entire day and learn on the move. Looking at Hanuman’s commitment, Surya agreed to this proposal.
Day after day, Hanuman would move with Surya, circling the earth. Surya recited all the four sacred Vedas and explained to Hanuman the meanings in each. Once, Surya asked Hanuman to recite what he had learned. Hanuman recited all the 4 Vedas perfectly. His dedication to learnings impressed Surya very much.
When his teachings were over, Hanuman asked Surya if there was any way he could offer his teacher gratitude. Surya thought for a while and asked Hanuman to go to Kiskindhya. Surya’s son Sugreev was the prince of monkeys’ there. Surya asked Hanuman to go there and become Sugreev’s friend and help him when needed. Hanuman agreed to this. He offered his prayer to his guru and left for Kiskindhya.
Moral: The story of Hanuman’s education teaches young children the value of dedication along with highlighting the importance of learning.
Ram and Lakshman Meets Hanuman at Rishyamukh
Bali wanted to be the monkey king of Kiskindhya. So he defeated his brother Sugreev and sent him out of the kingdom. Sugreev took refugee in Matang Rishi’s Ashram in Rishiyamukh mountain along with Hanuman and some of his trusted aides.
One day Sugreev saw from far, two young bowmen wandering in the mountain area. He got suspicious, thinking they would be spies sent by Bali to kill him. So Sugreev sent Hanuman to find out who they were.
Hanuman took the form of a Sadhu and asked them who they are. Ram introduced himself saying, ‘I am Ram, the prince of Ayodhya. And this is my brother Lakshman. Ravan has kidnapped my wife Sita. We are searching for her.” Ram also told that they came across dying Jatayu, the king of vultures. Jatayu told them that Ravan had taken Sita away in the direction of Lanka.
Listening to all these, Hanuman realized that the Lord Vishnu himself had taken birth as Ram. He came back to his original form, introduced himself, and took Ram’s blessing. Hanuman then took Ram and Lakshman to Sugreev and narrated the entire story.
Sugreev informed Ram that some of the vanars(monkey) had spotted Ravan taking away a woman in his Pushpak. The woman threw few pieces of jewelry down and Sugreev had kept them. Sugreev showed Ram the jewelry pieces. Ram immediately recognized them as Sita’s and started weeping.
Sugreev and Ram became friends. Ram promised Sugreev that he will help him defeat Bali and get his kingdom back. Sugreev in turn promised his and the entire monkey army’s support in getting Sita back.
Moral: Good friends matter and one should always value good friends and nurture the relationship. The friendship of Ram and Sugreev benefited both of them immensely.
Hanuman Crosses the Sea
Hanuman and all the other monkeys started searching in all directions looking for Sita. They searched for months without any success. Exhausted, one day, they sat beside the seashore thinking what to do next. There they came across Sampati, Jayatu’s brother. Ram narrated the story of Jyatayu, how he bravely fought with Ravan and died.
Sampati was sad to hear about his brother’s death. He then told Ram that he could clearly see with his sharp vulture eyes that Sita was held captive in Ashok Vatika across the ocean in Lanka. Ram thanked him and set out in the direction of Lanka with Lakshman, Hanuman, Sugreev, and all the other vanars(monkeys).
Now the next problem arose – how to cross the ocean. Jambavan(the wise sloth bear) then remembered about the powers of Hanuman – how he can change shape at will and jump for as long as he wants. Everyone then sang praises of Hanuman and reminded him about his powers. Hanuman realized his powers and started chanting the name of Shri Ram. With each chant, his body started growing in size. Once he became huge in size, he took a giant leap and started crossing the ocean.
As Hanuman started flying over the ocean, nature rose to help him – the Sun reduced his heat and Vayu kept him afloat. Hanuman had to defeat three demons on his way over the ocean. He then reached the land of Lanka. But there again he faced a challenge. Gate of Lanka was being guarded by the demoness Lankini. Hanuman defeated her and entered Lanka in search of Sita.
Moral: Sometimes young kids need to be reminded of their power, just like Hanuman needed to be reminded in this story. When children are aware of their capabilities, they can achieve wonder.
Hanuman Meets Sita
Hanuman reached Ashoka Vatika in search of Sita. There he saw Sita sitting under a tree and grieving. Once it was dark, and there was no guard nearby, Hanuman came before Sita and introduced himself as the messenger of Ram. He then showed Sita the ring Ram had given him as proof.
Sita immediately recognized the ring and was elated knowing that Ram is being helped by Sugreev, Hanuman, and the entire monkey army. Hanuman also assured Sita that Ram will come and rescue her. Sita then gave Hanuman her armlet as proof of the meeting. Hanuman took permission from Sita to leave.
Moral: In this story, Hanuman assures Sita that Ram will rescue her and thus helps keep her moral high. It is very important to be kind and encouraging to people when they go through tough times.
Hanuman Meets Ravan and Burns Lanka
After meeting Sita, Hanuman felt hungry and started plucking fruits for eating and destroying the Ashok Vatika, uprooting trees. News of this reached Ravan. On his order, his son Meghnad came and arrested Hanuman and took him to Ravan. There Hanuman passed the message from Ram that he would come and defeat Ravan and rescue Sita.
Hearing all these, Ravan grew angry. He ordered to kill Hanuman. However, Ravan’s brother Vibheeshan reminded him that a messenger should not be killed. Instead, he can be taught a lesson and let go. Ravan agreed and ordered his people to burn Hanuman’s tail instead as a punishment.
As the rakshasas of Lanka started wrapping Hanuman’s tail in oil-soaked cloth to set fire, it started growing long and long. All the cloths of Lanka were used up to wrap his tail. Once the Rakshasas set fire to his tail, Hanuman started jumping from building to building and created havoc in the entire city. Wherever he went, he whipped his tail and set fire. The city of Lanka started burning. Pleased with his work, Hanuman started to make the return trip across the ocean. Soon he reached, met Ram, and gave Sita’s armlet to him.
Moral: Hanuman burning Lanka is story of how Ravan’s ignorance of Hanuman’s power destroyed the place. It teaches one to never underestimate the enemy. A great life long lesson for young children indeed.
Hanuman Lifts Sanjeevani Parvat
Ram, Lakshman, and the entire vanar(monkey) army built a bridge across the ocean and reached Lanka. The epic war started between Ram and Ravan’s army. Lakshman got seriously wounded in the war and fell very sick. Ram sent for Sushena, the famous physician to save Lakshman.
Sushena came and asked Hanuman to get the Sajeevani plant, the only thing that could save Lakshman at that stage. Sushena even provided Hanuman with the location of the plant in the Drongiri hill of the Himalayas. He described the plant as the one which emits light, making it easy to spot in the dark.
However once Hanuman reached there, he was confused and could not decide as to which one was the plant. As time was running out, Hanuman lifted the entire side of the mountain where the plant was located and got it to Sushena. The great physician used the plant and revived Lakshman.
Moral: In this story, the quick wit of Hanuman saved Lakshman. This tells young children to think outside the box when faced with a problem.
Bhim Meets Hanuman
Pandavas, along with Draupadi, were sent to exile by the Kauravas. Moving from place to place, Pandavas finally reached the Badrik Ashram in the Himalayas. There one day, a lotus with thousand petals fell on Draupadi’s lap. She was mesmerized by the flower and requested Bhim to find some more of those flowers. Bhim set out in search of the flower for his beloved wife.
Exploring for the flower, he reached a jungle. After walking for some distance inside, he saw a Monkey lying on the road, on his way. Bhim asked the monkey to move and give him the way. But the monkey refused, stating that he is old and does not have any energy to move. So, Bhim decided to move the monkey’s tail out of his way.
As Bhim tried to move the tail, he could not even lift it up. Gathering all his energy, Bhim tried again. This time also he failed to lift the tail even by an inch. Bhim realized that this was no ordinary Monkey. With folded hands, he begged for forgiveness and asked the monkey to reveal his identity.
The Monkey smiled and introduced himself as Hanuman. He was also the elder brother of Bhim, as both were sons of Pavan, the Wind God. Bhim embraced Hanuman with sheer joy. Hanuman blessed Bhim with the boon that he will help Pandavas in their fight by staying in the flag of Arjun.
Moral: Bhim, in all his arrogance of own power, failed to recognize Hanuman. This story teaches children not to be arrogant under any circumstance.
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