Rama Navami

Rama Navami
A painting of the temple's deities Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana in the Yogananda Narasimha temple, Bhadrachalam
TypeHindu
SignificanceBirthday of Rama
CelebrationsPuja to Ram Lalla
ObservancesPuja, Vrata (fast), recitation of the Ramayana and its other versions, charity, and bhajan
DateChaitra Shukla Navami
2024 date17 April (Eastern hemisphere)[1]
16 April (Western hemisphere)[2]
2025 date6 April (Eastern hemisphere)[3]
5 April (Western hemisphere)[4]
FrequencyAnnual
Related toChaitra Navaratri, Hanuman Jayanti
Explanatory note
Hindu festival dates

The Hindu calendar is lunisolar but most festival dates are specified using the lunar portion of the calendar. A lunar day is uniquely identified by three calendar elements: māsa (lunar month), pakṣa (lunar fortnight) and tithi (lunar day).

Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz. amānta / pūrṇimānta. If a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa.

A lunar year is shorter than a solar year by about eleven days. As a result, most Hindu festivals occur on different days in successive years on the Gregorian calendar.

Rama Navami (Sanskrit: राम नवमी, romanized: Rāmanavamī) is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Rama, one of the most popularly revered deities in Hinduism, also known as the seventh avatar of Vishnu.[5][6][7] He is often held as an emblem within Hinduism for being an ideal king and human through his righteousness, good conduct and virtue.[7][8] The festival falls on the ninth day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the lunar cycle of Chaitra (March–April), the first month in the Hindu calendar.[9] It is also part of the Chaitra Navaratri festival in spring.[10] Rama Navami is a holiday for government employees in India.[11]

The rituals and customs associated with Rama Navami vary from region to region throughout India. The day is marked by reciting from the Hindu epic Ramayana which narrates the tale of Rama.[12] Vaishnava Hindus celebrate the festival by visiting temples, praying, fasting, listening to spiritual discourses and singing bhajans or kirtans (devotional songs).[5][10][13] Some devotees offer worship to Rama like an infant by placing an image of him in a cradle.[12] Charitable events and community meals are also organized. The festival is an occasion for moral reflection for many Hindus.[5][14]

Important celebrations on this day take place at Ayodhya's Ram Mandir and numerous Rama temples all over India. Ratha yatras (chariot processions) of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman occur at several places.[5][15] In Ayodhya, many take a dip in the sacred river Sarayu and then visit the Rama temple.[6]

  1. ^ "Chaitra Navratri 2023: Is Chaitra Navratri beginning on March 21 or 22? Find the correct date of the Hindu festival". hindustantimes.com. 19 March 2023.
  2. ^ "2024 Rama Navami Vrat, Puja Date and Time for New York City, New York, United States".
  3. ^ "Ram Navami 2024, 2025 and 2026". publicholidays.in. 17 April 2024.
  4. ^ "2025 Rama Navami Vrat, Puja Date and Time for New Delhi, NCT, India".
  5. ^ a b c d "Religions - Hinduism: Rama Navami". BBC. 28 August 2009.
  6. ^ a b Hindus around the world celebrate Ram Navami today, DNA, 8 April 2014
  7. ^ a b "Rama | Description, Symbolism, Meaning, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ The nine-day festival of Navratri leading up to Sri Rama Navami has bhajans, kirtans and discourses in store for devoteesArchived 7 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ a b James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z. The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 558–559. ISBN 978-0-8239-3180-4.
  11. ^ Holiday Calendar Archived 28 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, High Court of Karnataka, Government
  12. ^ a b Robinson, James B. (2009). Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-0641-0.
  13. ^ Ramnavami The Times of India, 2 April 2009.
  14. ^ "President and PM greet people as India observes Ram Navami today". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  15. ^ On Ram Navami, we celebrate our love for the ideal Archived 7 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine Indian Express, Monday, 31 March 2003.