Bhagavad Gita for Kids: Chaper 1 Verse 12 Explained with Fun Activities

Teaching the Bhagavad Gita to kids is a powerful way to instill timeless values such as courage, wisdom, and self-discipline from an early age. Each verse offers unique lessons to guide children through life’s challenges, helping them develop strong character and leadership skills.

In this article, we’ll explore Chapter 1, Verse 12, and its lesson on the power of bold actions. For a deeper dive into all chapters and verses of the Gita, be sure to check out our complete guide here, where you’ll find engaging activities and insights for every verse.

Bhagavad Gita for Kids – Chapter 1, Verse 12

Sanskrit Verse

तस्य सञ्जनयन्हर्षं कुरुवृद्ध: पितामह: |
सिंहनादं विनद्योच्चै: शङ्खं दध्मौ प्रतापवान् || 12||

English Transliteration

tasya sañjanayan harṣhaṁ kuru-vṛiddhaḥ pitāmahaḥ
siṁha-nādaṁ vinadyochchaiḥ śhaṅkhaṁ dadhmau pratāpavān

Word by Word English Translation

First Sentence

तस्य (tasya): his

सञ्जनयन्हर्षं (sañjanayan harṣhaṁ): causing joy

कुरुवृद्ध: (kuru-vṛiddhaḥ): Kuru family’s elder i.e. Bheeshma

पितामह: (pitāmahaḥ): grandfather

Second Sentence

सिंहनादं (siṁha-nādaṁ): lion’s roar

विनद्योच्चै (vinadyochchaiḥ): sounding very loudly

शङ्खं (śhaṅkhaṁ): counch shell

दध्मौ (dadhmau): blew

प्रतापवान् (pratāpavān): the glorious

Verse Meaning in English

Bhishma, the eldest warrior of the Kaurava army, saw that Duryodhana needed some courage. So he made a sound like a lion and blew his conch loudly. That sound gave the whole army strength and joy.

🌱 What Can We Learn from This Verse?

• Courage can be shared: Bhishma knew that showing his strength would help others feel strong too.
• Actions speak louder than words: Sometimes we don’t need to say a lot. A simple action—like a hug, a high-five, or just showing up—can mean everything.
• We all have a “lion roar”: It’s that brave voice inside us that helps us try again, stand up, and say, “I can do it!”

🎨 Age-by-Age Activities

💡 These are fun, fresh, and a little unexpected—but each one teaches this powerful truth: Bravery is contagious.

👶 1–3 Years: “Bubble of Bravery”

💬 What we’re teaching: Feeling safe makes it easier to be brave. Bhishma created a feeling of safety for others. Toddlers can learn that they can be someone’s “safe bubble.”

🧩 Activity:

• Blow bubbles together and call each one a “brave bubble.”
• Whisper something strong into each bubble before you blow it (“I’m strong like a tiger!” “You can do it, Amma!”).
• Watch them float—and pop them with a power move (clap, stomp, roar).

🌈 This playful ritual helps toddlers connect sound, breath, and strength in a magical way.

🧒 4–5 Years: “Shadow Leader” Game

💬 What we’re teaching: A real leader doesn’t always shout—they inspire others through how they move through the world.

🧩 Activity:

• Set up a simple obstacle course (pillows, tunnels, cardboard boxes).
• One child is the “Bhishma Leader” and moves through it boldly, but without saying a word.
• The others must copy every move, trusting the leader’s strength and silence.
• Switch roles.

🦁 This builds confidence in leading through quiet courage—and teaches others to feel calm by trusting someone else’s steady rhythm.

🧒🏽 6–8 Years: “Echo Walk”

💬 What we’re teaching: One bold, centered action can echo in others.

🧩 Activity:

• Go on a short walk. Each child chooses a confident move (big arm swings, hopping, striding, balancing, etc.).
• Every 30 seconds, they “pass” their move to someone else, who echoes it.
• Keep layering moves, letting bravery and creativity ripple through the group.

🎶 It becomes a kind of movement symphony—teaching that strength when shared, multiplies.

👧🏽 9–12 Years: “Soundtrack of Courage”

💬 What we’re teaching: You don’t need to speak to change someone’s mood—Bhishma used sound. Music, energy, and presence can be powerful tools for lifting others.

🧩 Activity:

• Ask kids to create a mini playlist or short sound collage (3–5 tracks or sound effects) that they think could give someone courage, just like Bhishma’s conch blast did.
• They can include lion roars, drum beats, or even their own recorded message.
• Encourage them to “gift” it to someone—a sibling who’s sad, a parent who’s tired, or even themselves on a hard day.

🎧 It turns the abstract idea of “energizing others” into a real, creative act.

🧑🏽‍🎓 13+ Years: “Flashlight Moments” Challenge

💬 What we’re teaching: Courage is often quiet. And real leadership is noticing when someone else needs a little light, and being the one to offer it.

🧩 Activity:

• Teens choose one person each day for a week.
• Without saying much, they do one thing that lifts that person: a handwritten note, showing up for them in class, silently helping with chores, or sending a meme that makes them laugh.
• They reflect at the end of the week: Did my small act change the mood of the day?

🕯️ This teaches them how to “blow their conch” in real life—through presence, not volume.

🛏 Bedtime Reflection (All Ages)

“Like Bhishma, I can lift others up.
With just one roar, one act, one brave breath—
I can be the reason someone feels strong.”

❤️ Final whisper from the Gita

Even the strongest warriors need to feel supported. Bhishma didn’t give a speech. He blew his conch.

The lesson? When someone you love feels scared, you can blow your own kind of conch through your actions, your smile, your bravery.

You don’t need to be the oldest to lift others up.
You just need to show up like Bhishma.