BLOOMIN

Do you think you can break a mountain?

Reading Time: 6 minutes | Age Limit: 9-12 | Country Origin: India

Read It Like a Book

Listen to the story

“The Man Who Broke a Mountain”

Meet our hero:

This powerful true story of determination and love shows how a single person, with purpose and perseverance, can move mountains—literally.

When a tragic accident took away his wife, he made a promise—no one in his village would ever have to suffer like she did again. With only a hammer, chisel, and unstoppable willpower, he began to carve a road through a massive mountain. It took him 22 years but he did break a mountain.

Story in motion

The Man Who Broke The Mountain

Do you think you can break a mountain if your friend or family was in some trouble & were stuck on the other side?

Many years ago, in a small village surrounded by towering mountains in Bihar, a man and his wife lived a simple but happy life. Every day, the man worked hard as a labourer in the fields, and his wife crossed a rocky mountain daily to bring him fresh food and water.One day, as the man waited for his meal, his wife, who was pregnant with their second child, arrived late, limping and in pain. Her pot was broken, her clothes were dusty, and she was bleeding from a deep cut on her foot.“What happened to you?” the man asked, worriedly.

“I tripped on the rocky path,” she said,holding back tears.

“I fell hard and spilled your food and water.”

The man was heartbroken. He knew that his wife needed immediate medical attention, but the nearest hospital was 75 miles away. Getting there meant undertaking a dangerous journey, but there was no other way. Later that night, tragedy struck. The man’s wife, who was very weak and wounded, did not survive the long, arduous journey to the nearest doctor. And soon after she reached the hospital, she gave birth to a baby girl and died.

The man was devastated when his beloved wife passed away. The mountain had taken her away. But instead of being steeped in sorrow, or giving up, he made a bold decision; “I will break this mountain. I will carve a road so that no one else has to suffer like this.”

Armed with only a hammer and a chisel, he set to work. Every morning, he worked in the fields, and every evening, he chipped away at the giant mountain. He did this day after day, year after year.

People laughed at him. “You are wasting your time,” they said. “How can one man break a mountain?”

But the man did not stop. He had no machines, no helpers, and no money.All he had was great determination and commitment. He used fire to heat the rocks, then poured water over them to crack them. Slowly, piece by piece, the mountain started to break.

Do you think Manjhi was mad to go on a quest to break a mountain?

After ten years, a small path appeared in the hard mountain. People who once mocked the fiercely determined man, now saw the progress that he had made. They started to help.

And finally, after 22 years of hard work, the mountain was split open! A road wide enough for carts and people to walk through was ready. A journey that once took many hours, was now just a few minutes long.

The man had done the impossible. He had carved a path through the mountain, single-handedly, with just his bare hands. This amazing man’s name was Dashrath Manjhi, and he became known as “The Mountain Man of India.”

In 2011, the government of Bihar took note of what Dashrath Manjhi had achieved single-handed. They named the road he had made ‘Dashrath Manjhi Path‛. Dashrath Manjhi‛s single- minded dedication and passion earned him the name, ‘The Mountain Man of India.‛

Dashrath’s story teaches us that no challenge is too big if we have determination. If one man can move a mountain, what great things do you think you can achieve with hard work and perseverance?

What Did You Learn From Dasharath Manjhi ?

New Video

See the story unfold

Tollit referrentur contentiones an sed. Ius tacimates defini tione, quoprimatum dicunt labitur te. Te debet tibique.

Find Events

“Roots of the Story: ”

Dashrath Manjhi (1934-2007) was a very poor labourer from Gehlour in the Indian state of Bihar. In 1959, his wife died after slipping and falling on a rocky mountain. The heartbroken man decided that he would smash the mountain with his bare hands and carve a road through it, so others would not have to die like his beloved wife, because medical help was inaccessible. The story of how he accomplished this task is now an oft repeated, awe-inspiring tale. Today, Gehlour has been renamed as Dashrath Nagar, and it has a bridge connecting it to the nearest town Wazirganj. The town has a cemented road named Dashrath Manjhi Sarak Path, and a primary healthcare facility named after Manjhi. In 2011 a documentary ‘The Man Who Moved the Mountain,‛ based on Dashrath‛s life, was released. Two Kannada movies based on Dashrath Manjhi‛s life were also made. On 26th December 2016, a postage stamp was released, featuring Dashrath Manjhi by India Post in the ‘Personalities of Bihar‛ series.