Ramnavmi

The festival of Ramnavmi is the birth of Lord Ram, and Swaminarayan Jayanti is the birth of Lord Swaminarayan.

Ramnavmi On this day God has manifested on this earth twice. Manifestation of Lord Ram was in the form of the ideal king/person. To Him the promise was bigger then anything and everything. There was a king Dasharath of Ayodhya. He had three queens and four sons. Ram from eldest queen Kaushalya, Laxman and Shatrughna from middle queen Sumitra and Bharat from the youngest queen Kaikeyi. When all princes came of the age, Dasharath, in consultation with elder statemen, decided to appoint Lord Ram as the next king. By this time, Lord Ram had married Sita, princess of Videh.

On the eve of the coronation, Kaikeyi asked to redeem her two promises from the king. She asked that her son Bharat be made next king instead of Ram and Lord Ram be banished in the forest for fourteen years. When Lord Ram heard this, he willingly accepted and prepared for exile in the forest. His wife Sita and brother Laxman went with Him. When Bharat returned to Ayodhya, he condemned his mother for her actions. He requested Lord Ram to return to Ayodhya, but Lord Ram declined. Bharat returned with Lord Ram’s blessings and slipper. He put these slippers on the throne and ruled the kingdom on Lord Ram's behalf. This behaviour of Bharat and Laxman shows us the true duties of loving brothers.

While in exile, the demon king Ravan abducted Sita forcefully. Searching for Sita in the forest, Lord Ram met Hanuman. With the help of his king, Sugriv, and his army of monkeys, Lord Ram fought battle with Ravan for nine days. Victory was celebrated on the tenth day, and is celebrated even today as Vijaya Dashmi (victory day) all over India. After slaying Ravan and appointing Ravan’s younger brother as the king, Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya. Exactly after fourteen years of exile, Lord Ram reached Ayodhya on the day Hindus all over the world celebrate as Diwali. Colourful lamps illuminated the whole of Ayodhya and people blew firecrackers to show their pleasure. The next day, Lord Ram was made king of Ayodhya. This day was the new beginning for people of Ayodhya. They marked this day as the first day of the New Year, which has survived till today as Hindu New Year.

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Related Links:

Ekadashi

Guru purnima

Tulsi vivah

Holi

Janmastmi

Shivratri

Diwali

Vijya Dashmi

Vasant Pachmi