Ram Navami Puja Vidhi · राम नवमी पूजा विधि

How Ram Navami is kept: the fast until midday, the abhishek and puja of Shri Ram at the midday hour of his birth, the aarti, and reading the Ramayana, as the published guides describe it.

How the puja is done

When

Ram Navami falls on Chaitra Shukla Navami, the last day of Chaitra Navratri. Ram is said to have been born at midday, so the festival is kept on the day when the Navami tithi covers the madhyahna (the middle part of the day), and the main puja is done then. See the Ram Navami page for the date and the midday muhurat.

The fast

Many fast until the midday puja and then take fruit or simple sattvic food; others fast through the whole day.
Do not break the fast before the midday puja is complete.

Morning

Rise early, bathe and put on clean clothes, yellow or saffron if you can.
Clean the place of worship and set up an image of Shri Ram, often with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman (the Ram darbar).

The midday puja

At the midday muhurat, bathe the image (abhishek) with Ganga jal and milk or with panchamrit.
Offer chandan, akshat and flowers, and light a ghee lamp.
Celebrate the moment of his birth with the aarti; Aarti Kije Shri Raghuvar Ji Ki and the stuti Shri Ramchandra Kripalu are widely sung.
Offer bhog of sweets, fruits and panchamrit.

Reading and chanting

Read the Ramcharitmanas or the Ramayana through the day, especially the Sundar Kand; many also recite the Ram Raksha Stotra.
Many keep bhajan and kirtan through the day.

Customs differ by region and community: follow your family's way where it differs.

These steps are written in our own words; each appears in at least two of the published sources linked below, and steps found in only one source are left out. Puja customs differ by family, region and tradition; your family priest or family custom comes first.

About this text

Ram Navami celebrates the birth of Shri Ram, the avatar of Vishnu, to King Dasharatha and Queen Kaushalya in Ayodhya on Chaitra Shukla Navami. Because he is said to have been born at midday, the main puja is done at the midday hour. This page gives the observance as the published guides listed below describe it. Customs differ by region and community: follow your family's way where it differs.