Ram Navami Festival Celebration in Ayodhya

Ram Navami in Ayodhya

Though Ram Navami festival is celebrated throughout Indian landscape but Ram Navami celebration in Ayodhya , the birth place of Lord Ram) is an altogether different experience. The ninth day of the month of Chaitra (March-April) is celebrated as the birthday of Ram, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Ram was the ideal king of legendary India; he was the ideal in fraternal and filial duties too. Ramayana, written by Maharshi Valmiki (महर्षि वाल्मीकि), is replete with heroic stories of Ram, an epitome of love, respect & kindness. Ram Navami celebrations are most popular in Uttar Pradesh where Ram is reputed to have ruled. But because of the devotional nature and popularity of the Hindu epic Ramayana, Ram remains perhaps the most dearly loved of the hero-gods of the pantheon, and his birthday is an important date for every Hindu, irrespective of sect or caste. A large number of Hindu devotees from all parts of India gather in Ayodhya to worship Lord Ram and celebrate the advent of the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Ram is known as ‘Maryada Purushottam’ (मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम). He perfected the practice of righteousness. Ram is believed to have been born at midday, and in all Vaishnava temples, as the sun rises, a coconut is placed in a cradle and at midday the priest announces the birth of Ram. It is considered especially meritorious to read the Ramayana or listen to tales of Ram during the eight days preceding Ram Navami, and practically all over India the Ramayana is expounded in temples. Repeating the name of Ram is one of the devotional exercises in Vaishnavism, and temples resound with the cadence of the rhythmic repetition of the name of Ram. Stage shows depicting episodes from the Ramayana are other popular features of Ram Navami celebrations in Ayodhya, while in Uttar Pradesh Ramalila (Ramleela) dances and the burning of effigies of Ravan, Kumbhakarna and Meghanad heighten the gaiety of Rama Navami.

The devotees take early bath, light a lamp in front of Lord Ram’s idol, cook payasam or ‘khir’(खीर) and offer it to the needy on Ram Navami, one of the five most sacred festivals. Another popular ritual to celebrate Ram Navami is by inviting nine young / little girls to offer ‘halwa-puri’ (हलवा पूरी) as ‘prasad’ (प्रसाद). This ritual is known as ‘Kanya Pujan’ (कन्या पूजन). These young girls are revered as the manifestation of goddesses. A large number of devotees observe fast on the occasion of Ram Navami.

Ram Navami Festival Celebration in Ayodhya