Ram Navami is the ninth day of the bright half of Chaitra. In Maharashtra the birth is celebrated at noon with a kirtan that ends exactly at the hour: the kirtankar tells the story up to the moment, a cradle holding a coconut wrapped as the infant is rocked, and the gathering sings the lullaby. The prasad is sunthavada, dry ginger pounded with sugar.
The story
Rama, Sita and Lakshman spent much of their exile at Panchavati, on the Godavari at Nashik, and it was from there that Sita was carried off. The black-stone Kalaram temple stands on the spot.
The seventeenth-century saint Samarth Ramdas, born on a Ram Navami, gave Maharashtra the thirteen-syllable mantra of Rama and set up Maruti temples in village after village. At Shirdi the festival was begun in Sai Baba's lifetime and is still the town's largest.
श्रीराम जय राम जय जय राम
Shri Ram, victory to Ram, victory, victory to Ram
The thirteen-syllable mantra taught by Samarth Ramdas
How it is kept
- Janmache kirtanA kirtan timed to reach the birth at noon.
- PalanaThe cradle is rocked and the palana, the cradle song, is sung.
- SunthavadaDry ginger and sugar, sometimes with coconut, as prasad.
- Chaitra GauriThrough this month the goddess is seated on a swing at home and women are invited for haldi-kunku, with kairi panha and soaked gram.
Why this date
Ram Navami is the Navami of the bright half of Chaitra, on the day it covers midday.
Ram Navami in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Sunday | |
| 2026 | Thursday | |
| 2027 | Thursday | |
| 2028 | Monday | |
| 2029 | Sunday | |
| 2030 | Friday |
More Marathi festivals
19 MarchGudi Padwaगुढीपाडवा
2 AprilHanuman Jayantiहनुमान जयंती
19 AprilAkshaya Tritiyaअक्षय्य तृतीया
4 MarchHoli and Dhulivandanहोळी · धूलिवंदन
15 FebruaryMaha Shivaratriमहाशिवरात्री
25 JulyAshadhi Ekadashiआषाढी एकादशी
Where to see Ram Navami
In Maharashtra
- Kalaram Temple, NashikMaharashtraIn Panchavati; the chariots of Rama and Garuda are drawn two days later, on Ekadashi.
- ShirdiMaharashtraThree days of festival, with flags carried in procession to the Dwarkamai.
- RamtekMaharashtraA hilltop temple near Nagpur where Rama is said to have rested.
- SajjangadMaharashtraThe fort near Satara where Samarth Ramdas spent his last years.
Across India
- AyodhyaUttar PradeshThe birthplace, where sunlight is thrown on to the image at noon.
- BhadrachalamTelanganaThe day is kept as the wedding of Rama and Sita.
- RameswaramTamil NaduWhere the bridge to Lanka began.