Diwali Story for Kids: Rama's Return, Told by Lamplight

Picture the first evening of Diwali. The house lights are off, one small clay lamp, a diya, is burning on the windowsill, and someone small leans against your arm and asks, "Why do we light it?" That question is where many a Diwali story for kids begins, and one of the best-known answers is the one families have told for a very long time: a prince, fourteen years in the forest, and a city that lit every lamp it had to bring him home.

The short answer: Diwali is the festival of lights. Many Hindu families remember Prince Rama coming home to Ayodhya with Sita and Lakshmana after fourteen years away, and the people lighting rows of lamps to welcome them. The lamps stand for light winning over darkness, and good winning over evil.

So sit beside the lamp and tell it one chapter at a time. Most of it comes from the Ramayana, the Sanskrit epic traditionally credited to the poet Valmiki; the rows of lamps on the night Rama came home are how Diwali tradition remembers the ending. Each chapter closes with a lesson short enough for a four-year-old to say back.

The Diwali story for kids, in six short chapters

1. The prince who kept a promise

Long ago, in the city of Ayodhya, lived a kind and brave prince named Rama. Everyone expected him to be king one day. But his father, King Dasharatha, had once promised Queen Kaikeyi two wishes. She asked for her own son, Bharata, to be king, and for Rama to live in the forest for fourteen years.

Rama didn't argue. He kept his father's word. His wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana wouldn't let him go alone, so the three of them walked out of the city together.

Lesson: a promise kept is a kind of light.

2. The golden deer

The forest was wild and beautiful, and for years they lived there simply. Then Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka, decided he wanted Sita for himself. He sent a demon disguised as a shimmering golden deer. Sita had never seen anything so lovely, and Rama went after it. Soon Lakshmana followed.

The moment Sita was alone, Ravana swooped down and carried her away to his island kingdom across the sea.

Lesson: not everything that sparkles is what it seems.

3. Hanuman's great leap

Rama searched and searched. On the way he made friends with Sugriva, king of the monkeys, and with Hanuman, a monkey so strong and so loyal that he could leap over mountains. Hanuman took one enormous jump across the ocean and landed in Lanka. There he found Sita sitting sadly in a garden, and gave her Rama's ring so she would know the message was true: Rama is coming for you.

Lesson: a true friend is brave for you.

4. The bridge of stones

But how could a whole army cross the sea? The monkeys and bears set to work. They carried rocks to the shore, one at a time, and laid them in the water until a bridge stretched all the way to Lanka. Even a little squirrel helped, as many families tell it, rolling in the sand and shaking it between the stones.

Lesson: many small hands can cross an ocean.

5. Light over darkness

Rama's army marched across the bridge, and there was a great battle. Rama and Ravana fought for a long, long time, until at last Rama won. Sita was free.

Lesson: stand up for what is right, even when it takes courage.

6. The lamps of Ayodhya

At last the fourteen years were over. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana flew home in the Pushpaka, a chariot that could sail through the sky. They reached Ayodhya on the darkest night of the month, with no moon at all.

So the people of Ayodhya filled small clay lamps with oil and set them everywhere: along the roofs, on the walls, beside every doorway and down every path. Thousands and thousands of little flames, so that Rama could find his way home through the dark.

Lesson: when someone you love is coming home, light the way.

If you want the pictures to color while you tell it, this is what the Diwali coloring book gives you: Rama and Sita riding home on its opening page, and a row of diyas among the 40 pictures after it.

Back at the window

By now the diya on the windowsill has burned a little lower, and your listener knows why it is there. It is one of the lamps of Ayodhya, lit again, a very long time later and, for many families, a very long way from India.

That is also why Diwali falls when it does. The main night comes on amavasya, the night of the new moon, in autumn. With no moonlight at all, every single lamp counts.

More than one Diwali story

Not every family tells the same story on this night. Many Hindu families welcome Goddess Lakshmi, who brings good fortune, on the main night, and draw rangoli patterns at the door to invite her in. In parts of south India, the festival remembers Krishna defeating the demon Narakasura. Jains mark the night Lord Mahavira attained nirvana. Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas, the release of Guru Hargobind from imprisonment in Gwalior Fort, and the Golden Temple in Amritsar is lit up for it.

Each story belongs to the people who tell it. What they share is a lamp in the dark.

Why do we celebrate Diwali? The five-sentence answer for school

If your child needs something to say in class tomorrow:

1. Diwali is the festival of lights, celebrated by millions of people in India and all over the world.
2. Many Hindus remember Lord Rama coming home to Ayodhya with Sita and Lakshmana after fourteen years in the forest.
3. The people of Ayodhya lit rows of lamps to welcome them, so families light diyas too.
4. Diwali celebrates light over darkness and good over evil.
5. Families clean their homes, make rangoli, share sweets and gifts, and pray to Goddess Lakshmi.

The story is only one part of the festival

Diwali unfolds over several days, and the names and customs vary by region and family. This article is about the story of Rama's return, so there is no need to squeeze the whole festival calendar into it.

If you would like one child-sized activity for each day, from painting a diya to making a Bhai Dooj card, our guide to Diwali activities for kids follows the five days one evening at a time.

Then come back to the lamp. That is where this story belongs.

How to tell the Diwali story at home

A story told once is a story. A story told every year becomes your family's. A few things help it stick:

• Tell it by lamplight. Switch off the lights and tell it by the diya, or by a battery tea light for the youngest. The dark is part of the story.
• Let them finish the lesson lines. By the second year, pause before each lesson and see who can say it first.
• Act out the bridge. Cushions or building blocks across the floor make a fine bridge to Lanka, and small children love being the squirrel.
• Give their hands something to do. Young children often listen better when they're busy, so tell it over a craft, a bowl of laddoo dough or a picture to color. (Here's what coloring does for young children.)

That last idea is why we made our Diwali coloring book: the pictures to color while you tell it. Its title page shows Rama and Sita riding home in their chariot to a lit-up Ayodhya, the next page tells the story of Diwali simply for children aged 4 to 8, and then come 40 pictures, each one named, including Sita in the garden, Hanuman flying, Welcome Home and Ayodhya lit up at night. Every picture is printed on one side only, so a finished Welcome Home can go up in the window on the main night.

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