Pan-India · March–April
Also known as Rama Navami · Sri Rama Navami
When it’s celebrated
The exact date shifts each year — it’s fixed from the panchang. Cast your free kundli or check the calendar for this year’s muhurat.
Significance
Ram Navami celebrates the birth of Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu and the ideal embodiment of dharma, virtue and righteous kingship. Marking the descent of the divine to vanquish the demon-king Ravana, it is a day of devotion, fasting and recitation of the Ramayana, honouring Rama as Maryada Purushottam, the perfect man.
The story
King Dasharatha of Ayodhya, childless, performed the Putrakameshti yajna to obtain heirs. From the sacrificial fire emerged divine payasam, which his three queens consumed; Queen Kausalya then gave birth to Rama at noon on the ninth day of Chaitra. Born as Vishnu's avatar to rid the earth of the tyranny of Ravana, Rama's life — narrated in the Ramayana — became the eternal model of duty, honour and righteousness.
Rituals
Across India
Ram Navami is observed across India, with grand celebrations in Ayodhya (Rama's birthplace), Bhadrachalam in Telangana, and Rameswaram. In the South, especially Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, it is also marked as Sita Rama Kalyanam, the ceremonial wedding of Rama and Sita. In Maharashtra and the North it caps the nine-day Chaitra Navratri.
Questions
Ram Navami celebrates the birth of Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu, who descended to destroy the demon-king Ravana and uphold dharma. He is revered as Maryada Purushottam, the ideal embodiment of virtue and righteousness.
Lord Rama is the presiding deity, often worshipped alongside Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman.
Ram Navami falls on the ninth tithi (Navami) of the bright fortnight of Chaitra, usually in March or April, marking the end of Chaitra Navratri. The date changes each year with the Hindu lunar calendar.
Devotees fast, worship and cradle the infant Rama at noon, recite the Ramayana, sing bhajans and organise processions. In the South, the day is also celebrated as Sita Rama Kalyanam, the wedding of Rama and Sita.
Lord Rama is believed to have been born at noon (madhyahna) on the ninth day of Chaitra, which is why the main worship and cradling of his idol takes place at midday.
Book a pooja in your name, find the muhurat, or read the day’s panchang — bring the festival into your own practice.
