Rama Navami

1 History

Rama Nawami (Devangar: ; IAST: Rma

navam ) is a Hindu festival, celebrating the birth of the
god Rama to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya in
Ayodhya. Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu, is one of
the oldest avatars of Lord Vishnu having a human form.
[2][3] [4]
The holy day falls in the Shukla Paksha on the
Navami, the ninth day of the month of Chaitra in the
Hindu calendar. Thus it is also known as Chaitra Masa
Suklapaksha Navami, and marks the end of the nineday Chaitra-Navaratri (Vasanta Navaratri) celebrations.
Rama navami is one of the most important Hindu festivals.

In the epic Ramayana, Dasharatha, the Emperor from

Ayodhya, had three wives named Kausalya, Sumitra and
Kaikeyi in the Treta Yuga (which follows the Satya Yuga
and succeeded by the Dwapara Yuga). Rama is born
to Kaushalya, Lakshmana & Shatrughna to Sumitra and
Bharata to Kaikeyi. Rama is known as 'Maryada Purushottam' which means an ideal, righteous and a great
or a perfect human being, being the best son, brother,
husband and father.
Rama who takes birth by his own will, on Bhuloka (Earth)
when Adharma rules over Dharma. He protects all his
devotees by vanquishing the roots of Adharma. Vishnu
decided to incarnate, as Rama, to destroy the Asura (person with demonic and evil designs) called Ravana who is a
Brahmin king of Lanka. Lord Rama & Lord Krishna are
the only gods in Hinduism or Aryan Vedic context that
really existed (and some gods are their manifestations or
devotees) and all others are mythological gures based
on Puranas. Hence the mahamantra: II Hare Rama Hare
Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare II II Hare Krishna Hare
Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare II

At some places the festival lasts the whole nine days

of the Navaratri, thus the period is called 'Sri Rama
Navaratra'.[5][6] It is marked by continuous recitals,
Akhand Paath, mostly of the Ramacharitamanas, organized several days in advance to culminate on this day,
with elaborate bhajan, kirtan and distribution of prasad
after the puja and aarti. Images of the infant Rama are
placed on cradles and rocked by devotees. Community
meals are also organized.[7] Since Rama is believed to
have been born at noon, temples and family shrines are
elaborately decorated and traditional prayers are chanted
together by the family in the morning. Also, at temples,
special havans are organized, along with Vedic chanting
of mantras and oerings of fruits and owers. Many followers mark this day by vrata (fasting) through the day
followed by feasting in the evening, or at the culmination
of celebrations.[2][8][9] In South India, in Bhadrachalam
the day is also celebrated as the wedding anniversary
of Rama and his consort Sita. Sitarama Kalyanam, the
ceremonial wedding ceremony of the divine couple is
held at temples throughout the south region, with great
fanfare and accompanied by group chanting of name of
Rama.[10][11]

1.1 Natal chart of Rama

Valmiki in his Sanskrit text Ramayana describes the natal
or birth chart of young Rama,[15] and this day is celebrated as Ramanavami festival throughout India and
amongst Indian diaspora:[16]

2 Celebrations

The important celebrations on this day take place at

Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) Sita Samahit Sthal (Sitamarhi)
(Bihar), Bhadrachalam (Telangana) and Rameswaram
(Tamil Nadu), thronged by thousands of devotees.
Rathayatras, the chariot processions, also known as
Shobha yatras of Rama, Sita, his brother Lakshmana and
Hanuman, are taken out at several places,[2][12][13] including Ayodhya where thousands of people take a dip in the
sacred river Sarayu.[14]

Followers of Hinduism in South India normally perform

Kalyanotsavam (marriage celebration) with small deities
of Rama and Sita in their homes, and at the end of the day
the deity is taken to a procession on the streets. This day
also marks the end of the nine-day utsava called Chaitra
Navaratri (Maharashtra) or Vasanthothsava (Telangana,
Andra pradesh, Karnataka & Tamil Nadu) (festival of
Spring), which starts with Gudi Padwa (Maharashtra).
According to recent astrological studies, some consider
his date of birth to be January 10, 5114 BC[18][19]
Some highlights of this day include
Kalyanam, a ceremonial wedding performed by
temple priests
1

4 SEE ALSO
Sri Rama Navami is shared with Swaminarayan Jayanti,
the birth of Swaminarayan, who was born in the village
of Chhapaiya in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

3 Rama Rajya
Main article: Ram Rajya (The rule of Rama)
Rama Rajya, the reign of Sri Rama, is a rare period of
peace and prosperity bestowed by him alone. This festival
commemorates the birth of Sri Rama who is remembered
A Home temple with deities of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and
for his prosperous and righteous reign.
Hanuman, on Sri Rama Navami
In Northern India, an event that draws popular participation is the Rama Navami procession, also called Ratha
Panakam, a sweet drink prepared on this day with
Yatra. The main attraction in this procession is a gaily
jaggery and pepper.
decorated chariot in which four persons enact the divine
Procession of murtis in the evening, accompanied by pastimes of Rama, His brother Lakshmana, His queen
Sita and His pure devotee, Hanuman. The chariot is acplaying with water and colours.
companied by several other persons dressed up in ancient
costumes as Ramas soldiers. The procession is a gusty
For the occasion, Followers of Hinduism fast or restrict
aair with the participants praising echoing the blissful
themselves to a specic diet in accordance to VedaDdays of Ramas rule as the Supreme Emperor on Bhuloka
harma. Vedic temples are decorated and readings of the
(Earth).
Ramayana take place. Along with SriRama, people also
worship Sita, Ramas wife; Lakshmana, Ramas brother; The Ramrajya means the reign, the kingdom and the
and Hanuman, an ardent devotee of Rama and the leader general circumstances (the Rajya) that Shreeram gave
of his army in the battle against the rakshasa Ravana, the to Ayodhya. Moulding the people on the lines of the subjects of Ayodhya; to make of them, what the citizens of
Brahmin king of Lanka.
Ayodhya were; creating a society and social order like
Some people put a small idol of Rama in a cradle, symAyodhya had, grooming every single individual from this
bolising the signicance of the day and oer prayers to
point of view leading to a corresponding response from
[7]
it. Community meals are also organised.
the human community in its entirety - that is what the
Ramrajya means
When the subjects (the people of the kingdom) are
happy, they are not sad, not miserable, not helpless, not
starved or hungry, they are not targets for abuse and contempt, they are not kicked around, the reign or the prevailing state is called the Ramrajya, said Sadguru Shree
Aniruddha Bapu in His special discourse on 6 May 2010
as he spoke about the Ramrajya, His dream, His aim, His
word and His motto, all for His friends sakes - our sakes.
And so we understand that the Ramrajya is as much a
state of aairs at the general level as it is a state of mind
(mind as in mental capacities, inner resources of a person)
Sri Ramanavami Kalyanam utsava at Bhadrachalam Temple, in at the particular level. This is a destination, a situation we
have to attain and so ushering in the Ramrajya calls for
Telangana
committed and consistent eort at both the individual and
The Kalyanam performed in the Bhadrachalam Temple, the collective levels.
in Telangana is very famous.[20]
A number of ISKCON temples introduced a more prominent celebration of the occasion of the holiday with the
view of addressing needs of growing native Hindu congregation. It is however always was a notable calendar
event on the traditional Gaurabda calendar with a specic
additional requirement of fasting by devotees.[21]

4 See also
Public holidays in India
List of Hindu festivals

References and notes

[1] March 2015 Calendar with Holidays. Retrieved 20

November 2014.
[2] Ram Navami BBC.
[3] Gupte, B (1919). Hinduism or VedaDharma - (misnomer:
Hinduism) Holidays and Ceremonials.
[4] The nine-day festival of Navratri leading up to Sri Rama
Navami has bhajans, kirtans and discourses in store for
devotees Indian Express, Friday , March 31, 2006.
[5] Sri Ram Navami VedaDharma (Hindu) and Muhammadan festivals, by John Murdoch. Published by Asian
Educational Services, 1991. ISBN 81-206-0708-2. Page
47
[6] Ram Navami
[7] President and PM greet people as India observes Ram
Navami today. IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved
8 April 2014.
[8] Ramnavami Govt. of India Portal.
[9] Ramnavami The Times of India, Apr 2, 2009.
[10] Gaiety marks celestial wedding in Bhadrachalam The
Hindu, Saturday, Apr 08, 2006.
[11] Thousands witness Sitarama kalyanam The Hindu, Saturday, Apr 08, 2006.
[12] On Ram Navami, we celebrate our love for the ideal
Indian Express, Monday , March 31, 2003.
[13] Shobha yatra on Ram Navami eve Indian Express, Thursday, March 25, 1999.
[14] At Ayodhya, Ram Navami celebrated amid religious harmony Indian Express, Apr 15, 2008.
[15] Jagannathan, Maithily (2005). Rama Navami. South
Indian Hindu Festivals and Traditions. Abhinav Publications. p. 82. ISBN 81-7017-415-5.
[16] Rama Navami
[17] Bala Kanda, Chapter 18, Verse 8, 9, 10 Text
[18] The Sunday Tribune - Spectrum - Lead Article
[19] Bezbaroowa, Sunit; Joshi, Arvind (November 8, 2003).
Lord Ram was born in 5114 BC. The Times Of India.
[20] http://www.bhadrachalarama.org/
[21] Zaidman, N. (2000). The Integration of Indian Immigrants to Temples Run by North Americans. Social Compass 47 (2): 205. doi:10.1177/003776800047002005.
Retrieved 2008-06-01. Another example of a religious
enterprise initiated by a board member was the organization of Lord Ramachandra Appearance Day (Sri Ram
Navami).

6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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