From Puranas to the Digital World: A Tribute To My Mother and All other Mothers

It is said that a mother is a child’s first teacher. She nurtures the child. The child then learns about their culture, their heritage etc. from their mother. It was my mother who had instilled in me the love for the Ramayana of Krittibas. There used to be this illustrated version, which my mother used to read from and explain what that meant. I enjoyed the Ramayana more than the Mahabharata of Kashidas. For one, the Ramayana was a simpler story and the book was illustrated. The Mahabharata was not illustrated. The fat book with no illustrations was of no interest to a five-year-old me then.

Our scriptures have viewed motherhood through sacred lenses. The mother is recognized as the moral compass of the family. The Taittiriya Upanishad has the saying Matru Devo Bhava—Mother is to be revered as God.

The mother’s thoughts and actions are said to have an effect on a child while it is still in the womb.

Let me talk about some mothers from the texts from which I share posts. There are many there; I have chosen a few here.

There are stories about Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra and their roles, but I want to touch on Sita. Sita in the Ramayana is a mentally strong woman. After her return from Lanka, a pregnant Sita is abandoned by Rama. She brings up Lava and Kusha independently. She is probably the first documented single-mother. She refuses to depend on her husband for the upbringing of her children.

Sarama is the mother of Taranisen and the wife of Vibhishan. She loves her son and when her son wants to go and fight Rama, she tries to stop him. When her son says he knows that he is going to face Vishnu in the form of Rama, she cries and yet she lets her son go.

The naga princess Ulupi made Babrubahana fight Arjuna. Babrubahana was the son of Arjuna and Chitrangada, and Ulupi was a wife of Arjuna. Ulupi was aware of Ganga cursing Arjuna. Arjuna had been cursed to die at the hands of his own son. Ulupi, aware of this, commanded Babrubahana to challenge his father. After Babrubahana killed Arjuna, she revived her husband, explaining that her actions were a calculated move to save him from falling into hell for the sin of killing Bhishma. This was a mother who had lost her own son, Iravan, in the battle of Kurukshetra.

It’s been a few days since Mother’s Day (not that we need a special day, every day is Mother's Day)  and I was thinking of posting something. In July, it will be 11 years since my mother left this world. This post is my tribute to her, my first teacher.

Bhagavad Gita (2.20) says that the soul is "never born, nor does it ever die... it is not destroyed when the body is destroyed". I hope she is there somewhere to guide me, while I share what she taught me, with all.

In the Indian civilization, a mother is not simply a woman; she is a fighter through every age. Whether she is raising the Pandavas in the forest or a child in today’s digital world, her role remains that of the nation-builder. She teaches her child not merely how to succeed but how to remain humane amidst success.

Concept	Impact on Child Development	Connection to Bengali Tradition
Pratham Guru	First teacher of moral values.	Injunction of Matru Devo Bhava.
Vatsalya Bhava	Nurturing through affection.	Reflected in Krittibasi Ramayan.
Hate Khori	Initiation into literacy.	Celebrated during Saraswati Puja.
Niti (Ethics)	Practical worldly wisdom.	Transmitted via Hitopadesha fables.
Panchali	Cultural and spiritual continuity.	Led by mothers in the household.

The shade of a mother’s saree is described as the "safest place in the entire world," where fear disappears and comfort exists without explanation. Eleven years after her passing, that shade is now a memory, accessible through the stories she once told. The blog, therefore, is more than a collection of tales; it is a tribute to the woman who was my God.

Motherhood is the place where all love begins and ends. Her teachings remain because they are based on "lived experience, love, and consistency"—the curriculum of the maternal preceptor.

The Hitopadesha, as a collection of stories, allows the mother to use the "Story of the Tiger with a Golden Bangle" to teach about the dangers of greed. These tales provide the "life skills beyond classrooms" that define the mother’s influence.

Hitopadesha Tale	Moral Lesson	Maternal Application
Tiger and the Traveller	Greed leads to ruin.	Teaching the child to be cautious of false promises.
Blind Vulture and Cat	Don't blindly trust anyone.	Developing the child's critical thinking and discernment.

This blog is an attempt to preserve her stories. This is my tribute: a life lived in accordance with the values taught by my first teacher.