Rama Nawami


The festival of Rama Nawami celebrates the birth of Lord Rama, son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya.  Lord Rama is the seventh avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu and the great Hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana, the Sanskrit epic of 24,000 stanzas. Lord Rama is supposed to have lived during the 8th or 7th century B.C. The festival occurs at the beginning of summer when the sun has started moving nearer to the northern hemisphere. The Sun is considered to be the progenitor of Lord Rama’s dynasty and the hour chosen for the observation of the festival is when the sun is overhead and is at its maximum brilliance. In some places of Nepal prayers on this day starts not with an invocation to Lord Rama, but to Surya (Sun) which could have established Rama’s birthday to a festival devoted to the Sun God.


A significant and popular element of the Rama Nawami festival is the Ramayana parayana, a discourse on the Ramayana by high priests, which usually lasts for nine days ending on Rama Nawami. The house is thoroughly cleaned on Rama Nawami and is also elaborately decorated with offering made of various delicacies and flowers which are followed by an early morning rise and holy bath in the river. Then prayers are recited. The public worship stars with morning ablutions, chanting Vedic mantras dedicated to Lord Vishnu, and offering flowers and fruits made to the God. People keep a fast throughout the day, breaking it only at midnight with fruit. In many parts of Nepal, especially in the Kathmandu valley and southern part of the country, large public gatherings (satangs) are organized to commemorate the birth of Rama. Excerpts from Ramacharitmanas, extolling the glory of Lord Rama, are recited. The other attraction of this procession is a gaily decorated chariot in which four persons are dressed up as Lord Rama, Sita (Lord Rama’s divine consort and an incarnation of Goddess Laxmi), his brother Laxman and his disciple Hanuman. The chariot is accompanied by several other persons dressed up in ancient costumes as work by Rama’s solders. And the procession is a gusty affair with the participants shouting praises echoing the happy days of Lord Rama’s rain.


On this particular occasion, Janakpur- the southerly low land town of Nepal where the famous temple of Janaki is situated, draws a large number of devotees both across Nepal and India who flock to celebrate the occasion with much enthusiasms and also to pay their homage to Lord Rama.

Glance of Nepal