Storytelling is the ancient art of conveying events in words, images, and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories have been shared in every culture and in every land as a means of entertainment, education, preservation of culture and in order to instill moral values. Crucial elements of storytelling include plot and characters, as well as the narrative point of view. Stories are frequently used to teach, explain, and/or entertain. Less frequently, but occasionally with major consequences, they have been used to mislead. There can be much truth in a story of fiction, and much falsehood in a story that uses facts.

Storytelling has existed as long as humanity has had language. It's the world of myth, of history, of the imagination...it explains life. Every culture has its stories and legends, just as every culture has its storytellers and often revered figures with the magic of the tale in their voices and minds.

The appearance of technology has changed the tools available to storytellers. The earliest forms of storytelling are thought to have been primarily oral combined with gestures and expressions. Rudimentary drawings scratched onto the walls of caves are also forms of early storytelling. Ephemeral media such as sand, leaves, and the carved trunks of living trees have also been used to record stories in pictures or with writing. With the advent of writing, the use of actual digit symbols to represent language, and the use of stable, portable media stories were recorded, transcribed and shared over wide regions of the world. Stories have been carved, scratched, painted, printed, or inked onto wood or bamboo, ivory and other bones, pottery, clay tablets, stone, palm-leaf books, skins (parchment), bark cloth, paper, silk, canvas and other textiles, recorded on film and stored electronically in digital form. Complex forms of tattooing may also represent stories, with information about genealogy, affiliation and social status.

  

Traditionally, oral stories were passed from generation to generation, and survived solely by memory. With written media, this has become less important. Conversely, in modern times, the vast entertainment industry is built upon a foundation of sophisticated multimedia storytelling.

Within Hindu tradition, story remains an essential means of transmitting values. Heroes and heroines embody ideal virtues, which they exhibit through exemplary behaviour. Many of the stories focus on the kshatriyas and brahmanas, the two classes most responsible for maintaining social and spiritual culture and corresponding norms of behaviour. Stories can be explored repeatedly, with the reader or listener gaining progressively deeper insight.

 
Stories often illustrate key values. The tale of Mrigari the hunter examines non-violence (ahimsa) and its relationship to key concepts such as karma and reincarnation. It reflects the Hindu tendency to see life not merely through its physical symptoms but through the eyes of the consciousness inherent in all species. This story is relevant to issues of diet, hunting, empathy, violence, compassion, and animal welfare. It also illustrates the role of the guru in transforming the lives of others. Many narratives explore the qualities of such spiritual leaders, and their abilities to instill wisdom and character in others. Before meeting his spiritual teacher, Mrigari used to enjoy half-killing his victims. Afterwards, he avoided all violence, even going out of his way to avoid stepping on ants.

 

The kshatriya class carried responsibility for protecting its citizens – and not just in human society. A pigeon about to be devoured by a hawk took shelter of King Shibi. The hawk subsequently insisted that he also had a right to protection and that the king must provide eatables for all dependants, including carnivores. Maharaja Shibi resolved the problem by cutting and donating flesh from his own body, equal in weight to that of the pigeon. Once on the scales, the pigeon miraculously became heavier and heavier and the king was about to sacrifice his entire body. Two demigods then revealed that they had decided to test the king by taking the forms of the two contesting birds. Many Hindu stories focus on the grave responsibilities of public leaders.

  

Some stories illustrate how traditional values can clash with contemporary ideals. Draupadi, one of the heroines of the Mahabharata, accepted the role of a faithful wife and at the same time was an influential, assertive, and discerning woman. Although Hinduism assigns specific roles to women, it in no way condones their exploitation. On the contrary, Draupadi's tale teaches that those who offend women lose all good fortune. As a result of offending Draupadi, millions of nobles had to lay down their lives on the plains of Kurukshetra. Draupadi's character may appear somewhat ambiguous. Though she demonstrated the fiery self-esteem often associated with royalty she also exhibited remarkable compassion by forgiving the murderer of her five adolescent sons. In India today, there are traditions which focus on the veneration of Draupadi.