Rama Navami 2027 Date – 15 April

The birth of Rama

King Dasharatha of Ayodhya had no heir, so the sage Rishyashringa performed a fire sacrifice (putrakameshti yajna) for him. From the fire came a bowl of payasam, which the king shared among his three queens. Kaushalya gave birth to Rama, Kaikeyi to Bharata, and Sumitra to the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Rama was born at noon on Navami, the ninth day of the bright half of Chaitra, under the Punarvasu nakshatra.

Rama is worshipped as the seventh avatar of Vishnu and as maryada purushottam – the ideal man who keeps to dharma even at great personal cost.

How Rama Navami is celebrated

• Ayodhya – pilgrims bathe in the Sarayu and crowd the temples for the midday birth celebration.
• Bhadrachalam, Telangana – Sita Rama Kalyanam, the celestial wedding of Rama and Sita, is performed with great ceremony; many Telugu homes and temples hold a kalyanam too.
• North India – the Ramcharitmanas is read through in the days before (akhand path), and shobha yatras with tableaux of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman pass through towns.
• Tamil Nadu and Karnataka – Ramayana discourses and music festivals (Rama Navami utsavams) are held for several days, especially in Bengaluru and Mysuru.
• ISKCON and Vaishnava temples – a fast until midday and kirtan.

Panakam, neer mor and kosambari

In South India, Rama Navami prasad is designed for the summer heat: panakam, a cooling drink of jaggery, water, dry ginger, cardamom and black pepper; neer mor, thin spiced buttermilk; and kosambari, a salad of soaked moong dal with cucumber and coconut. In the North, kheer, halwa-puri and panjiri are offered, and those who kept the Navratri fast often do Kanya Puja and break it on this day.

Fasting on Rama Navami

Some devotees fast from sunrise until the midday birth puja; others keep the fast through the day, eating only fruit and milk, and break it the next morning. Those keeping the full nine-day Chaitra Navratri fast end it on Navami or Dashami according to family custom.

Rama Navami puja samagri (what you need)

• Picture or idol of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman
• A small cradle for baby Rama
• Yellow cloth
• Tulsi leaves
• Flowers and a garland
• Chandan, roli and akshat
• Panchamrit
• Panakam, kheer or panjiri as naivedya
• Fruit
• Diya, camphor and incense

How to do Rama Navami puja, step by step

1. Bathe in the morning and take the sankalp to fast.
2. Decorate the puja place and the cradle with flowers.
3. Around midday, bathe the idol or offer water to the picture and dress it in yellow.
4. Offer chandan, akshat, tulsi and flowers, then the naivedya.
5. Place baby Rama in the cradle and rock it while singing a birth song or bhajan.
6. Read the story of Rama's birth or chant the Rama Raksha Stotra.
7. Perform aarti and share the prasad.