The education in primitive gurukuls comprised mainly of telling the stories of old time gods or heroes.

One word substitute is Legend.

Ode: a lyric poem, typically one in the form of an address to a particular subject, written in varied or irregular metre.
Epic: a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the past history of a nation.
Allegory: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
Legend: a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but not authenticated.