Overview of Ram Navami Festival
Ram Navami is a popular festival, which is celebrated with immense joy and pleasure. On this day, people offer sincere prayer to Lord Rama in order to win his blessings. Generally, we celebrate this festival in the month of March or April. Lord Rama was born in Ayodhaya, so on this occasion, the entire city of Ayodhaya is decorated, and people take part in the special rituals and celebrations.
This festival is associated with happiness and excitement as devotees organise multiple events to mark the birth anniversary of Lord Rama. Lord Ram is an avatar of Lord Vishnu, and therefore, devotees worship him by offering pujas and sweet dishes. Lord Ram is a well-known Hindu deity who was responsible for the killing of Ravana. As per the Hindu calendar, we witness his birthday on Chaitra month, commonly known as Ram Navami.
History of Ram Navami
If we believe the Hindu myths, sage Valmiki wonderfully represented in ‘Ramayana’, how Lord Ram took birth. Also, he mentioned about Rama’s brothers Lakshmana, Bharata, Shatrughna and his loving spouse Maa Sita.
Legend says that the King of Ayodhya, Dasratha, was living with his three wives, Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra. On the other hand, Ayodhya experienced a time of extreme abundance during the tenure of Dashratha.
King Dasaratha never had children, and so there was no successor to the crown of Ikshvaku Kula. After receiving advice from Rishi Vashishta, he organised ‘Putra-Kameshti yagna, an ancient process to obtain the desired child. During yagna, Agni Dev and Yagneshwara manifested beside Dashratha and gave him a bowl of kheer. Then they asked Dashrartha to offer kheer to his two wives.
Dashratrtha obeyed the command and offered kheer to Kaushyala and Kaitkeyi. Whereas third wife Sumitra received one-half of each of the queens’ portions. Later, Kaushalya gave birth to Lord Rama, Kaikeyi gave birth to Bharata, and Sumitra gave birth to Lakshmana and Shatrughan on the ninth day of Chaitra month. Since then, this day is celebrated as Ram Navami with great enthusiasm.
Celebrations of Ram Navami
Rama Navami commemorates Lord Rama’s birth anniversary. Lord Rama is an incarnation form of the Hindu God, Lord Vishnu. This festival not only marks the birth of Rama but also indicates the victory over the evil forces. Therefore, several devotees perform puja to worship the Hindu deity on this auspicious day.
Vaishnavas gather at a nearby temple and delicate idol of adolescent Rama under a shower and then put it in a crib. Rama Katha or sacred songs are performed for the entire day. On this felicitous day, many devotees also observe a fast to appease the Lord. On this day, along with Lord Rama, devotees also remember Maa Sita, Lakshmana, and Lord Hanumana because in their prayers.
Some of the devotees also take part in the Shobha yatra of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanumana. At the same time, other people or priests organise charitable activities and community meals as part of the festival. Ram Navami is not only famous in India, but it is also celebrated by people around the globe.
Ram Navami 2024 Rituals
On this auspicious day, devotees observe a day-long fast from the early morning till the next day. They worship Lord Rama by listening or imitating the epic Ramayana, conducting Lord Rama’s and Goddess Sita’s symbolic marriage and also performing Vishnu Puja.
Worshippers organise religious programs for the consecutive nine days. Certain admirers practice a strict fast daily, abstaining from food and drink, while others perform relatively mild fasting, where they are allowed to eat water and fruits.
On Ram Navmi, many devotees travel to Ayodhya from different corners of the world. They arrive at Ayodhaya to worship Lord Rama and to witness the beautiful city decorated with lights and flowers.
Attain Good health, wealth, peace and prosperity by performing personalised Vishnu Puja.
Ram Navami Puja Rituals
Lord Vishnus followers gather at a nearby temple to perform a puja. Many other devotees stay awake during the night to perform bhajan and kirtan. Also, people commemorate this day by washing and dressing statues of Lord Ram and placing them in a shrine.
During these days, Ayodhya organises ceremonies to worship Lord Rama and Maa Sita. Many devotees dress up as Lord Ram and his wife Maa Sita. Below is how you can perform rituals at your home.
- Wake up in the early morning and take a bath.
- Wear neat and tidy clothes.
- Place the idol of Lord Ram near the temple of your home.
- Use of Akshat, Chandan, Dhup, and incense sticks.
- Offer jaggery or sweets to Lord Rama.
- Read the epic story of Ramayana.
- Conclude the puja by performing aarti.
- Later, distribute prasad to other worshippers
Besides, on Ram Navami, a unique Kanya Pujan is performed, where nine girls are invited to the devotee’s house and are worshipped as Goddess Durga in nine different ways. This is because Ram Navami falls on the last day of Chaitra Navratri.
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