KarmaVaaniFestival · March–April
Ram Navami
The birth of Bhagavan Sri Rama, ideal of dharma.
Ram Navami celebrates the birth of Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu and the embodiment of righteous conduct. Devotees read the Ramayana, sing bhajans, and visit temples where the deity is adorned and cradled. It falls on the ninth day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra, often concluding Vasanta Navaratri.
Why it is kept
Rama’s birth is celebrated on the Shukla Navami of Chaitra, at midday, the hour he is said to have been born in Ayodhya. It closes the nine days of Chaitra Navaratri.
Step by step
How to observe it
Read or listen to the Ramayana
Many complete a reading of the Ramayana or the Ramcharitmanas over the nine days, finishing with the birth.
Worship at midday
The image of infant Rama is bathed, dressed and placed in a cradle at noon, with bhajans and aarti.
Offer and share prasad
Panakam (jaggery water) and buttermilk are offered in the South; in the North, sweets and fruit.
Customs differ between regions, communities and families. Where your family or temple has its own way, follow it.
Fasting
Fasting
Often fasted until the midday worship, or for the whole day on fruit and milk.
Fasts should suit your health. Children, elders, pregnant women and anyone unwell or on medication should eat, or keep a lighter fast; that is the tradition, not an exception to it.
Traditions
- Ramayana recitation
- Temple processions
- Fasting
- Bhajans
Where to go
Temples to visit
पूजा सामग्री
