In the epic Ramayana, Dasharatha, the Emperor from Ayodhya, had three wives named Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi in the Treta Yuga, which follows the Satya Yuga and is succeeded by Dwapara Yuga. Their greatest worry was that they had no children, and so they had no heir to the throne in the Ikshvaku Kula or royal lineage of great, pious, wonderful Emperors. Rishi Vasistha suggests him to perform Puthra Kamesti Yagna, through which he can have a desired child. He also tells him to invite Maharshi Rishyasringa to perform this yagna
for him. Emperor Dasharatha consents and heads to Maharshi
Rishyasringa's ashram, to invite him. Maharshi agrees and accompanies
Emperor Dasharatha to Ayodhya (Capital of Avadha) and performs the
yagna. As the result of this yagna, Yagneshwara appears and provides
Dasharatha a bowl of divine pudding (Kheer/Payasam) and requests him to
give it to his wives. Dasharatha gives one half of the payasam to his
elder wife Kausalya, and another half to his younger wife Kaikeyi. They
both give half of their portions to Sumitra. After few days all three
Queens conceive. On the ninth day (Navami) of Chaithra Masa (last month
in Vedic calendar), at noon Kausalya gives birth to Rama, Kaikeyi gives
birth to Bharata, and Sumitra to twin boys, Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
Rama is the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, who takes birth by His own will, on Bhuloka (Earth) when Adharma rules over Dharma.
He protects all his devotees by vanquishing the roots of Adharma. Rama
decided to incarnate to destroy an Asura or person with demonic and evil
designs, called Ravana.
[edit] Natal chart of Rama
Valmiki in his Sanskrit text Ramayan describes the natal or birth chart of young Rama,[13] and this day is celebrated as Ramanavami festival throughout India and amongst Indian diaspora:[14]
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"On completion of the ritual six seasons have passed by and then in the twelfth month, on the ninth day of Chaitra month [March'April], when the presiding deity of ruling star of the day is Aditi, where the ruling star of day is Punarvasu (Nakshatra),
the asterism is in the ascendant, and when five of the nine planets
viz., Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus are at their highest
position, when Jupiter with Moon is ascendant in Cancer, and when day is advancing, then Queen Kausalya
gave birth to a son with all the divine attributes like lotus-red eyes,
lengthy arms, roseate lips, voice like drumbeat, and who took birth to
delight the Ikshwaku dynasty, who is adored by all the worlds, and who is the greatly blessed epitome of Vishnu, namely Rama."
' Book I: Bala Kanda, Ramayana by Valmiki, Chapter (Sarga) 18, verses 8, 9, 10 and 11[15] |
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Celebration
Followers of Hinduism in South India normally perform Kalyanotsavam (marriage celebration) with small deities murtis of Rama and Sita in their homes, and at the end of the day the deity is taken to a procession on the streets. This day also marks the end of the nine-day utsava called Chaitra Navaratri (Maharashtra) or Vasanthothsava (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu) (festival of Spring), which starts with Gudi Padwa (Maharashtra). According to recent astrological studies, some consider his date of birth to be January 10, 5114 B.C.[16][17]
A Home shrine with images of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman, on Sri Rama Navami
Some highlights of this day include
- Kalyanam, a ceremonial wedding performed by temple priests
- Panagam, a sweet drink prepared on this day with jaggery and pepper.
- Procession of murtis in the evening, accompanied by playing with water and colours.
For the occasion, Followers of Hinduism fast or restrict themselves to a specific diet in accordance to VedaDharma. Vedic temples are decorated and readings of the Ramayana take place. Along with SriRama, people also worship Sita, Rama's wife; Lakshmana, Rama's brother; and Hanuman, an ardent devotee of Rama and the leader of his army in the battle against the asura Ravana.
SriRama Navami is dedicated to remembering Rama, as the most supreme
with resolute Bhakti (devotion). It occurs on the ninth day, or navami,
beginning count from the "no moon day" or Amavasya, during the waxing
moon duration called "Shukla Paksha". Sri Rama Navami generally occurs
in the months of March and April. Celebrations and festivities begin
with prayer to the Surya Deva early in the morning. At midday, when Rama incarnated on that day in Treta Yuga, that duration is special and hence devotional service to him is performed with Bhakti and piety.
The Kalyanam performed in the Bhadrachalam Temple, in Andhra Pradesh is very famous.[18]
A number of ISKCON
temples introduced a more prominent celebration of the occasion of the
holiday with the view of addressing needs of growing native Hindu congregation. It is however always was a notable calendar event on the traditional Gaurabda calendar with a specific additional requirement of fasting by devotees.[19]
Sri Rama Navami is shared with Swaminarayan Jayanti, the birth of Swaminarayan, who was born in the village of Chhapaiya in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
[edit] Rama Rajya
Main article: Ram Rajya (The rule of Rama)
Rama Rajya, the reign of Sri Rama is a rare duration of peace and prosperity bestowed by him alone. Mahatma Gandhi,
the father of modern India used this divine term to describe how he
felt India should be run post-Independence from the British monarchy.
This festival commemorates the birth of Sri Rama who is remembered for
his prosperous and righteous reign.
In Northern India, an event that draws popular participation is the
Rama Navami procession, also called Ratha Yatra. The main attraction in
this procession is a gaily decorated chariot in which four persons enact
the divine pastimes of Rama, His brother Lakshmana, His queen Sita and
His pure devotee, Hanuman. The chariot is accompanied by several other
persons dressed up in ancient costumes as Rama's soldiers. The
procession is a gusty affair with the participants praising echoing the
blissful days of Rama's rule as the Supreme Emperor on Bhuloka (Earth).
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