The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind in his message on the eve of Ram Navami has said: –
“On the occasion of Ram Navami, I extend my greetings and best wishes to all my fellow citizens.
Lord Rama’s life is a message in itself. A message of adhering to the values of righteousness, treading the path of truth, devotion to duty, restraint and selfless service. Let us embrace these moral values and make the world beautiful, clean and joyful with our good deeds.”
CM Mamata Banerjee congratulated all on the eve of Ram Navami a Hindu Festival of spring celebrated as Birth Day of Lord Rama.
रामनवमी के शुभकामनाएँ
সকলকে জানাই রামনবমীর শুভেচ্ছা pic.twitter.com/UhiP5KO0oE
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 24, 2018
Rama Navami (Devanagari: राम नवमी; IAST: Rāma navamī) is a spring Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of god Rama. He is particularly important to the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, as the seventh avatar of Vishnu. The festival is a part of the spring Navratri, and falls on the ninth day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) in the Hindu calendar month of Chaitra. This typically occurs in the Gregorian months of March or April every year. Rama Navami is a relatively minor festival of Hinduism and not a national holiday, but an optional restricted holiday in India.
The day is marked by Rama Katha recitals, or reading of Rama stories. Ramayana and Mahabharat are considered Itihasa by Indian traditions. Some Vaishnava Hindus visit a temple, others pray within their home, and some participate in a bhajan or kirtan with music as a part of puja and aarti. Some devotees mark the event by taking miniature statues of the infant Rama, washing it and clothing it, then placing it in a cradle. Charitable events and community meals are also organized. The festival is an occasion for moral reflection for many Hindus. Some mark this day by vrata (fasting).
The important celebrations on this day take place at Ayodhya and Sita Samahit Sthal (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi (Bihar),Janakpurdham (Nepal), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta (Andhra Pradesh) and Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu). Rathayatras, the chariot processions, also known as Shobha yatras of Rama, Sita, his brother Lakshmana and Hanuman, are taken out at several places. In Ayodhya, many take a dip in the sacred river Sarayu and then visit the Rama temple.