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When is Ram Navami or birthday of Lord Rama celebrated? Ram Navami is the celebration of the birthday of Rama, a divine figure in Hinduism. On this festival people perform Kalyanotsavam (marriage celebration) with small images of Rama and Sita in their houses, and at the end of the day the deity is taken to a procession on the streets.
When is Ram Navami celebrated?
Ramnavami or the Birthday of Lord Rama falls on the 9th day of the bright fortnight of the month of Chaitra (March-April).
Sri-Ramnavami is dedicated to the memory of Lord Rama. It occurs on the ninth day (navami). Lord Rama is an avatar of Lord Vishnu who came down to earth to battle the invincible Ravana in human form. At some places the festival lasts the whole nine days of the Navratras, thus the period is called Sri Rama Navratra.
Ram Navami – Birthday of Lord Rama
Birthday of Lord Rama – Rama Navami is a spring Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of god Rama. He is particularly important to the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, as the seventh avatar of Vishnu. The festival is a part of the spring Navratri, and falls on the ninth day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) in the Hindu calendar month of Chaitra. This typically occurs in the Gregorian months of March or April every year. Rama Navami is an optional government holiday in India.
The day is marked by Rama Katha recitals, or reading of Rama stories. Ramayana and Mahabharat are considered Itihasa by Indian traditions. Some Vaishnava Hindus visit a temple, others pray within their home, and some participate in a bhajan or kirtan with music as a part of puja and aarti. Some devotees mark the event by taking miniature statues of the infant Rama, washing it and clothing it, then placing it in a cradle. Charitable events and community meals are also organized. The festival is an occasion for moral reflection for many Hindus. Some mark this day by vrata (fasting).
The important celebrations on this day take place at Ayodhya and Sita Samahit Sthal (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi (Bihar), Janakpurdham (Nepal), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta (Andhra Pradesh) and Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu). Ratha yatras, the chariot processions, also known as Shobha yatras of Rama, Sita, his brother Lakshmana and Hanuman, are taken out at several places. In Ayodhya, many take a dip in the sacred river Sarayu and then visit the Rama temple.
