Celebrating Ram Navami

Though Rama Navami is a major festival for Vaishnavites, it is widely celebrated by worshippers of Shiva, too. It is considered auspicious to undertake a fast on the day in the name of Rama. Devotees perform elaborate pujas and chant the name of Rama. Temples of Rama have special services and bhajan sessions through the day. Stories from the Ramayana are read out in joyous public gatherings and satsangs. Most people fast until midnight. They break their fast with a prasad of fruits and milk.

One significant and popular element of the celebration is the Ramayana parayana, a discourse on the Ramayana, by a pundit or a professional story-teller. It usually lasts nine days, beginning on Ugadi and ending on Rama Navami. A skilled story-teller who can liven up the event by weaving in contemporary events attracts massive crowds.
The main significance behind the celebration of this festival is that the character of Lord Ram signifies an ideal son, an upright husband, a righteous King, and a loving brother and even an ideal man, someone who follow the right path against all odds in life. He was also the true embodiment of humanity.
So celebration of Ramnavami is some way special reminder of all the noble deeds or ideals for which Lord Ram symbolizes. So if we see it in true sense it is not only a festival to enjoy and have fun there are lot more things to be learnt. It is a celebration of goodness and its victory against all evils.

Sacred places associated with Rama, like Ayodhya, Ujjain and Rameshwaram, draw tens of thousands of devotees. In Rameshwaram, thousands take a ritual bath in the sea before worshipping at the Ramanathaswamy temple. Many places in North India host fairs in connection with the festival, culminating in spectacular fireworks on Rama Navami.

 

Devout Hindus celebrate this auspicious occasion in different ways but generally it involves the following rituals:

Fasting:
People observing a fast on Ram Navami usually restrict themselves to eating saatvic food free from: onion, turmeric, ginger, garlic and other such tamsic or rajasic food items. A diet of milk, water, fruits and curd is supposed to purify the mind and body.

Singing Bhajans:
It is a general practice to sing bhajans , usually in the bhakti tradition, eulogising the Lord, his brother Lakshman and his wife Sita.

The Temple Is Readied:
The temple in each house is decorated and readied for special puja and offerings for the Lord. Idols of Ram, Sita and Lakshman are decorated with flowers and the customary thali made of kansa , an alloy of copper, is filled with unbroken rice grains, water, flowers and aipun.

Arti And Distribution Of Prasada:
All the members of the family sing an arti to Ram, after which prasad is distributed among all the gathered devotees.

In Temples Outside:
In temples outside the home, the celebration is a re-enactment of the wedding of Lord Ram and Sita. This ritual wedding ends with the distribution of prasad consisting of soaked lentil or vada pappu and panakam a kind of sweet drink made by adding gur, pepper and cardamom to water.

Importance Of Fasting On Ram Navami

The Kalika Purana has references that instruct a Ram devotee to keep a strict fast on Ram Navami. This is because the Ram Navami vrata was considered one of the five most important vratas in the ancient times. According to the religious texts Ramachandrika and Vratarka it is imperative for every devotee to observe the Ram Navami vrat , as it is the only easy mean of gaining happiness in the material world and achieving salvation at the same time.