Born to King Dashratha and Queen Kaushalya in Ayodhya in the Treta Yuga, Rama is considered the seventh avatara (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu and his birth is commemorated as Rama Navami in India. It is celebrated as a spring Hindu festival on the ninth day of Caitra Navaratri which marks the birth of Rama. Rama is also known as Maryada Purushottama. The king Dasharatha and his three queens-- Sumitra, Kaikeyi and Kaushalya performed Yajnya on the advice of Vashista when none of them were able to give birth to the next ruler of Ayodhya. After a yajnya, they were given the sacred offering blessed by the Lord of yajnya. The queens conceived soon and gave birth to sons. While Kaushalya gave birth to Rama, Laxman, Bharat and Shatrughan were born to Kaikeyi and Sumitra. Lord Rama, who was the first in line to the throne, had to step back due to a conspiracy and king Dashratha had to send him for exile up to 14 years.
He ruled the kingdom once he came back. Rama stands as the symbol of many good virtues. He is known to be kind, affectionate, empathetic and considerate of feelings of people around him. He has been labelled as noble, generous, fearless, simple and free from flamboyance. Though Rama Navami is a major festival which celebrates birth of Lord Rama, it is widely celebrated by the worshippers of Shiva, too. It is considered auspicious to undertake a fast on the day of Rama Navami, in the name of Rama. The objective of the fast is not to ask for special favors of the deity, but to seek perfection as a human being.
Devotees perform elaborate pujas and chant the name of Rama for whole day. Temples of Rama are
specially decorated and satsangs and bhajan sessions are organized in most of the temples, through the day. Discourse on the Ramayana, are recited by a pundit or a professional story-teller on this day. At some places of India, it usually lasts nine days, beginning on Ugadi and ending on Rama Navami.
Rama Navami is predominantly celebrated in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Telangana where people come out of their homes to play with sticks. In Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand, devotees visit regional Jagannath temples to observe annual ‘Rath Yatra’. Sacred places associated with Rama, like Ayodhya, Ujjain and Rameshwaram, draw thousands of devotees on this festival of Ram Navami. In Rameshwaram, people take a ritual bath in the sea before worshipping at the Ramanathaswamy temple. Rama Navami will be celebrated on 10th April 2022.
Yoga Vidya Gurukulam wishes everyone a happy Rama Navami.