1st person: Hey! Why the houses and temples are decorated so beautifully today?
And why the sound
of bhajan is everywhere??
2nd person: Don’t you know?? Today’s RAM NAVAMI . Ramnavami is a spring Hindu festival that
celebrates the birth of Hindu Lord Ram, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. This festival marks the end of
the spring festival Chaitra Navratri. The festival is a part of the Spring Navratri and falls on the ninth day
of the bright half in the Hindu calendar month of Chaitra. This occurs in the Gregorian months of March
or April every year.
1st person: Okayy… So it’s like the Hanuman Jayanti and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti , right??
2nd person: Exactly! You know what, Ram Navami is considered one of the five most important Hindu
Festivals as it marks the birth anniversary of Hindu God, Lord Ram, the son of King Dasharath and Queen
Kaushalya in Ayodhya. Lord Ram is the seventh avatar of Hindu Lord Vishnu. On this auspicious day, the
devotees of Lord Ram and Lord Vishnu celebrate the day by doing the Ram Katha recital as well as
reciting the verses from the Holy Hindu Scriptures like Shrimad Bhagavat and Ramayan.
1st person: Can you tell me about the rituals…. I mean like how it is celebrated??
2nd person: People celebrate Ram Navami in different ways, some devotees like to visit the temples,
yet some just pray from their own homes, Bhajans and Kirtans are sung, religious offering like sweets
and fruits are given in temples even Pujas are done in the name of Lord Ram and Lord Vishnu, devotees
hold a day-long fast . The fast often begins before sunrise or at sunrise and stretches till the sunrise of
the following day. Recitals of Ram Katha and Holy Hindu texts like Shrimad Bhagavat and Ramayan are
done. Some devotees mark the event by taking miniature statues of the infant Lord Ram, washing it,
clothing it, and then placing it in a cradle, followed by aartis and offerings, and the ceremonial wedding
of Lord Ram and the Goddess Sita.
Ramnavami represents the victory of goodness over evil and it signifies the establishment that Dharma
beats Adharma. The day is often started by offering Jal (water) to the Hindu God Surya Devta (The Sun)
at sunrise, who is often a time in Hindu Mythology considered as an ancestor to Lord Ram.
The significance of Ramnavami is to bring positive energy to your lives and to diminish the negative
vibrations from the earth. Recitals of Ram Katha and Shrimad Bhagavatam are done to channel and
remember the meaning of this auspicious occasion.