Wednesday 24 March: Rama Navami, Swaminarayan Jayanthi
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Wednesday 24 March
- Swaminarayan Jayanti
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This day marks the birth of Lord Swaminarayan for followers of the Swaminarayan tradition.
- Rama Navami
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Birthday of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu and the hero of the Ramayana
Rama Navami
Rama Navami celebrates the birth of Lord Rama, son of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya.
Rama (centre) with Laxman, Sita and Hanuman ©
Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu and the hero of the Ramayana, the Sanskrit epic of 24,000 stanzas.
A continuous recital of the book takes place for about a week prior to the celebration and on the day itself, the highlights of the story are read in the temple.
Rituals and ceremonies
The house is thoroughly cleaned on Rama Navami and is also decorated. Offerings of fruit and flowers are placed on the family shrine and after an early bath, prayers are recited.
The youngest female member of the household leads the puja (prayers) by applying a red tilak (mark) to all the other members of the family before everyone joins together in worship.
An image or picture of baby Rama is placed in a covered cradle. At noon the covering is removed and Prasad (special sacred food) is offered to Rama, which may then be shared amongst the congregation.
There is an element of fasting. Some people don't eat certain foods, particularly things like onions, garlic, some spices and wheat products.
The festival is a focal point for moral reflection and being especially charitable to others.
Celebrations at places associated with Sri Rama, like Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and Ramesvaram in Tamil Nadu, attract thousands of devotees.
Swaminarayan Jayanti
Swaminarayan Jayanti celebrates the birthday of Lord Swaminarayan (1781-1830), the founder of the Swaminarayan tradition.
Lord Swaminarayan was born in the village of Chhapaiya, Northern India, near Ayodhya, into a Brahmin family. He travelled extensively around India in his youth and eventually settled in an ashram in Gujarat. He was known as a social and moral reformer by the people of Gujarat, and by the British administration in that region. At the age of 21, he founded the Swaminarayan Sampradaya (or denomination) to promote his teachings. He initiated 3,000 sadhus (monks) and is recognised and worshipped as God by his followers.
To continue his work of promoting personal morality and moulding spiritual character, he promised to remain ever-present with his followers through an unbroken succession of enlightened gurus.
Devotees of Lord Swaminarayan celebrate his birthday by fasting and offering a large variety of food to sacred images of Swaminarayan in temples. The day passes in worship and reflection. In the evening, celebrations include scriptural discourses, devotional singing, and live enactments of episodes from the life of Swaminarayan. At precisely 10.10pm, believed to be the time of Swaminarayan's birth, the arti ritual is performed symbolising the auspicious birth.
Festivities continue into the night and with the breaking of the fast the following morning.