Ram Navami: A Celebration Beyond Birth

Priyanka Rout

Ram Navami: A Celebration Beyond Birth

Ramayana, an epic that narrates the story of mighty Rama and his journey to destroy the evil Ravana, forms an integral part and parcel of the Indian culture and society. To date, this epic is narrated to instill the good values of Rama in the listeners. And perhaps it is this very epic that brought the culture of Ram Navami into practice. Let's explore the nuances and colors of this festival with the Singhania family.

The Ayodhya clan; Image Source: Pinterest

The Singhania residence looked straight out of a Disney movie, where the houses look more like castles. The three-storied house looked like a bride; all decked up perfectly. Painted in beige and golden hues, the garden in the center looked ethereal. The water fountain added to the beauty of the whole place. People walking on the road paid more attention to the house than the road. After all, the palace looked so grand that no one could divert their attention from it.

Mr. and Mrs. Singhania sat at the long dining table to have their breakfast. Despite having two sons and one daughter, the couple lived alone in the humongous house. But today, they were happy. After all, all their children would come to meet them. The house would finally fill with laughter and giggles. Every year the entire family would gather on the occasion of Ram Navami, bringing back old memories to life. It was not as if their children didn't love them, but family and business took the majority of their time, and they couldn't give much time to their parents.

Everyone came downstairs adorning their traditional sarees and dhoti-kurtas. The prayer room was all decked up. Idols of Lord Rama, Laxmana, Sita, and Hanuman were installed. Beautiful garlands and clothes adorned the torso of these idols. Mridula took tilak and applied it on everyone's forehead.

The priest, too, began reciting the story of Ram Janama (Lord Rama's birth) to everyone. The bhajan mandal was ready to sing the bhajans and choupais of Ramcharit Manas in the melodious voice to make the atmosphere more spiritual. While the kids were excited to have a scrumptious breakfast consisting of poori, kheer, alu dum, and laddus, the elder had to wait till midnight to break their nirjal vrat (waterless fast).

“Dadi, why do we read Ramayana on Ram Navami?”, asked Neha. "The Ramayana conveys Lord Ramchandra's life message and lessons. It is stated that repeating his name (Rama Nama) is the simplest and most effective means to achieve purity, serenity, knowledge, insight, joy, prosperity, and, finally, emancipation. The name "Rama" literally means "one who is wonderfully joyous and brings delight to others," as well as "one in whom the sages exult."

"Did you ask the caterers to make the special sweets I had asked for?" asked Anita. "Yes, I did. Shall we pick up the kids from the airport, or should I send the driver?" asked Arun, sipping his tea. ''I think we should go and pick them up. My kids are coming back after one year.", said Anita while admiring the gigantic family photo on the wall.

"How do we look, Nani? asked the kids excitedly. It was 9:00 AM. While the adults were still asleep after the tiring journey, the kids were excited to show their traditional attire to their grandparents. "All of you look amazing. Neha, Mridula, where did you get these ghagra cholis from? They look great on you. Suraj, your dhoti kurta looks adorable. My grandchildren have got my looks, isn't it, Arun?" asked Anita excitedly. "Absolutely Anita.", replied Arun while shaking his head.

"Repeating of My name is comparable to the repetition of one thousand names of Divinities or repetition of chants one thousand times," Lord Rama remarked. Lord Rama was the ideal human; he represented the divine on Earth and educated us all on how to spend our lives in accordance with ethics and spiritual ideals.

Lord Rama was a compassionate, kind, righteous, and honest man. Despite having all the power in the region, he remained calm and polite. We discover how to become a perfect son, a perfect brother, a wonderful spouse, and, most importantly, a perfect king by carefully examining his life. In Ayodhya, his reign is known as Ramarajya, which means "perfect governance." The main aim of listening to Ramayana on Ram Navami is to instill the good qualities of Rama in the listeners.", said Anita, while feeding her grandchildren.

"Dadi, every year we celebrate this festival with the entire family. But you never told us why we celebrate this festival?" asked Suraj in a thoughtful voice. "Rama Navami is considered one of India's oldest festivals. Since Hinduism is considered the oldest religion globally, this festival can be dated back to the pre-Christian era.

Ram Navami's reference can also be found in Kalika Purana, where it has been written that when the caste system was quite prevalent in India, even the lower caste people were allowed to be a part of this festival. Hindus believe that if a person diligently observes the fast on this festival, it leads to the attainment of salvation.", said Anita, rolling the laddus in her palm.

"But why is Ram Navami celebrated, Nani?" asked Mridula.

"Long back in the year 5114 BC in Ayodhya, there lived a king named Dasharatha. He had three wives named Kausalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi. But none of them bore a child. Worried about his kingdom's future, King Dasharatha asked for advice from Sage Vasistha.

Vasistha advised him to perform Puthra Kamesti Yagna, a holy ritual for obtaining offspring. Vasistha handed a bowl of payasam to the king and asked him to distribute it among his wives.

Dasharatha divided the payasam evenly between his elder wife, Kausalya, and his younger wife, Kaikeyi. Sumithra received half of both wives' parts. While Kausalya and Kaikeyi gave birth to one son each, Sumithra gave birth to twin sons.

The day was one of the essential celebrations in Ayodhya, with not just the royal family but every inhabitant of the city exhaling a sigh of relief and thanking God for the miracle, unaware that God himself was there among them in the person of Rama, Kausalya's newborn son.

According to Ramayana, as written by the sage and poet Valmiki, Rama is the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu born on Earth to restore humanity to its former splendor, destroy evil, and defend the innocent," said Arun, with pride in his eyes.