Ram Navami – Let’s Dive into the Divine Story of Ram Navami and Feel his Presence Around Us

The good thing about being an Indian is that we never run out of festivals so there is no dearth of keeping ourselves away from entertainment. We want to get superstitious and do the ‘tough wood’ thing for this. Each month, we get to celebrate a new festival and we have been brought up in such a way that we cannot really imagine our lives without these traditional celebrations going around us, once in a while.

Talking about celebrations, yes you might have thought right that we are going to discuss one of the biggest Hindu festivals which is right around the corner. It is none other than Ram Navami.

Ram Navami, as the name indicates, is one of the biggest Hindu festivals related to Lord Ram. Lord Ram is one of the most celebrated Hindu deities. The festival is an annual one that marks the birth anniversary of Lord Rama. It falls on the Shukla Paksha Navami which is the ninth day of the Chaitra month and is also the conclusion of Chaitra Navratri.

In India, Navratri (one of the biggest Hindu festivals), happens twice in a year. It is a 9-day festival where the 9 supreme Goddesses are prayed and celebrated. On the 9th day of Chitra Navratri which happens in March or April, Ram Navami falls on that day. So, by the end of one festival (Chaitra Navratri), we have another festival (Ram Navami) to celebrate it. It happens on the last day of Chaitra Navratri, or Vasanta Navaratri which begins on Ugadi.

Lord Rama Birth Moment – As per the Drik Panchang, Lord Rama was born during Madhyahna period which is the middle of the Hindu day. Madhyahna which prevails for six Ghatis (approximately 2 hours and 24 minutes) is the most auspicious time to perform Rama Navami Puja rituals. Lord Rama was born during the Treta Yuga.

Date – Ram Navami is on 17th April this year.

Little Details about Lord Rama – Well, that is just for a noob who wants to explore more of the Hindu culture, or else Lord Rama needs no introduction. Lord Rama is the eldest son of King Dashratha and Maa Kaushalya. He is the 7th avatar of Lord Vishnu. He was the eldest prince of Ayodhya and he became the successor of his father as the king of Ayodhya, years later.

The word Rama is derived from two words, Ra which means light and Ma means within. This indicates that Rama means that the divine light within you is Rama.

Lord Rama has always been in the news and lately with the ‘pran pratishtha’/inauguration ceremony of the epic Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, he has been the centre of attraction of the whole world. We say the entire world because we all saw lots of International celebrities posting their good thoughts and wishes on this big celebratory moment. Well, to be honest, the moment was quite epic and big to let it go unnoticed, by any means and anyone.

The day of the inauguration of Ram Mandir was no less than a Diwali in winter in the whole country. The energy was highly contagious and we loved that day.

Significance of the Festival – Lord Rama is seen and prayed as the epitome of a righteous person who could give his life but could not disobey the wishes of his parents (pran jade par vachan na jaye). People see him as a symbol of truth, virtue, bravery, courage, and devotion to his duty.

So, the story of Ram Navami goes to the time when King Dashratha and his three wives were not able to give a prince/son/a future king to the kingdom. So, Rishi Vashishth advised them to perform Putra Kamesti Yagna and post this yagna, all three wives were given kheer to eat (an Indian dessert) blessed by the Lord of Yagna.After consuming the kheer, all three queens of the King, mAA Kaushalya, Maa Kaikeyi and Maa Sumitra gave birth on the last day of the Chaitra month. Lord Ram was born to Queen Kaushalya (who was the eldest) and Bharat was born to Maa Kaikeyi. The other two sons Lakshman and Shatrugana were born to Maa Sumitra.

People/devotees also relate this festival to the fact that this day being an establishment of ‘good or evil’ as Lord Rama was born with the sole purpose of defeating Ravana and removing evil energy from the world.

Ways to Celebrate this Festival – Well, there is no static rule to celebrate this festival. Each devotee is free to celebrate this festival in a way they want. But, the beginning of the day should be done with offering water to Surya in the early morning to propitiate him. This is due to the belief that the descendants of Surya were the ancestors of Rama.

People read the Ramayana on this day, participate in Ram Leela, sing praises and prayers of Lord Rama, and do other things as per their beliefs. Other activities include visiting temples, performing puja, and offering prayers inside the temple or at home. Devotees prepare special dishes like panakam and neer mor, which are considered to be Lord Rama’s favourite drinks.

A lot of people also perform fast on this day. Since we told, that different beliefs are attached to this festival, different devotees perform different religious activities on this day, whatever brings happiness and peace to them. Some devotees also take part in the abhishekum or coronation ceremony. If not anything, a lot of devotees visit the Rama temple and engage in doing the daily chores of the temple.

Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, sees a big celebration around this festival. This festival is celebrated in most parts of the country. The entire city is decorated with flowers and lights and each house celebrates this festival.

On that note, we want to wish you a very Happy Ram Navami.

The good thing about being an Indian is that we never run out of festivals so there is no dearth of keeping ourselves away from entertainment. We want to get superstitious and do the ‘tough wood’ thing for this. Each month, we get to celebrate a new festival and we have been brought up in…