Maryada Purushottam · The prince of Ayodhya
Rama
Rama, prince of Ayodhya, kept his father’s word through fourteen years in the forest, crossed the sea to bring Sita home and ruled as the ideal king. Chant his name, follow his journey through the seven books of the Ramayana, and see when to worship him next in your city.
- His day
- Thursday
- Next: Thu 29 Oct
- Next Rama day
- Diwali
- In 13 days · Sun 8 Nov
Book 1 of 7 · Ayodhya and Mithila
Bala Kanda
King Dasharatha of Ayodhya prays for sons, and four are born: Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. The sage Vishwamitra takes the young Rama and Lakshmana to guard his sacrifice from demons. In Mithila, King Janaka promises his daughter Sita to whoever can string Shiva’s great bow. Rama lifts it, and it breaks in his hands; he and Sita are married.
Its emblem: Shiva’s bow, broken at Sita’s swayamvara.
Book 2 of 7 · Ayodhya and Chitrakuta
Ayodhya Kanda
On the eve of Rama’s crowning, Queen Kaikeyi asks Dasharatha for two boons he once promised her: Bharata as king, and Rama in the forest for fourteen years. Rama goes gladly to keep his father’s word, with Sita and Lakshmana, and Dasharatha dies of grief. Bharata will not take the throne. He finds Rama at Chitrakuta, carries home his sandals, and rules in his name.
Its emblem: Rama’s sandals, which Bharata kept on the throne.
Book 3 of 7 · The Dandaka forest and Panchavati
Aranya Kanda
The three live among the sages of the forest. Ravana, king of Lanka, sends the demon Maricha in the form of a golden deer, and Sita asks Rama to catch it. While Rama and Lakshmana are away, Ravana comes as a holy man and carries Sita off. The old vulture Jatayu fights him and falls. Rama’s search begins, and the devoted Shabari sends him on to Sugriva.
Its emblem: the golden deer that drew Rama away.
Book 4 of 7 · Kishkindha, the kingdom of the vanaras
Kishkindha Kanda
On the mountain Rishyamuka, Rama meets Hanuman, who brings him to Sugriva, the exiled vanara prince. They swear friendship before a fire. Rama helps Sugriva win back his kingdom from his brother Vali, and Sugriva sends his vanaras out in every direction to find Sita. In the south the vulture Sampati tells them she is in Lanka, across the sea.
Its emblem: the mountain where Rama and Sugriva became friends.
Book 5 of 7 · Across the sea to Lanka
Sundara Kanda
Hanuman leaps across the ocean and searches Lanka by night until he finds Sita in the ashoka grove, still faithful to Rama. He gives her Rama’s ring, and she gives him a jewel from her hair to take back. Captured, he lets the demons set his tail on fire, then sets Lanka alight and leaps home with the news. Many read this book on its own, for courage and hope.
Its emblem: Rama’s ring, which Hanuman carried to Sita.
Book 6 of 7 · Lanka
Yuddha Kanda
Ravana’s brother Vibhishana leaves him and joins Rama. The vanaras build a bridge of stones across the sea, and the great war begins. When Lakshmana falls, Hanuman carries back a whole mountain of healing herbs. At last Rama kills Ravana, and Sita is free. They fly home to Ayodhya in the flying chariot Pushpaka, and Rama is crowned king.
Its emblem: the bridge the vanaras built to Lanka.
Book 7 of 7 · Ayodhya, and Valmiki’s hermitage
Uttara Kanda
Rama rules Ayodhya in peace and justice, the reign remembered as Rama Rajya. When people gossip about Sita’s time in Lanka, he sends her away, and she finds shelter with the sage Valmiki, where her twin sons Lava and Kusha are born. The boys sing the Ramayana before their father. Sita returns into the earth, her mother, and in time Rama walks into the Sarayu river and goes home to Vishnu.
Its emblem: the crown of his reign in Ayodhya.
Tap an emblem or a name to read each book, in order, from Ayodhya to Lanka and home again. The seven books of Valmiki’s Ramayana, in order. Many scholars hold the Uttara Kanda, and parts of the first book, to be later additions, and some tellings end with Rama’s crowning.
His days, in your city
Dates and puja times for the city you pick
For New Delhi
His return home to Ayodhya, welcomed with rows of lamps.
- Every Thursday
- Thu 29 OctHis day of the week
- Ram Navami
- Thu 15 Apr11:04 am to 1:39 pm
- Vijaya Dashami
- Sat 9 Oct2:05 pm to 2:52 pm
Sing his hymn
श्रीरामचन्द्र कृपालु भजु मन हरण भवभय दारुणं।
नवकंज लोचन कंजमुख कर कंज पद कंजारुणं॥
Shri Ramachandra kripalu bhaju man, harana bhava bhaya darunam,
Nava kanja lochana, kanja mukha kara, kanja pada kanjarunam.
O mind, worship kind Shri Ramachandra, who takes away the hard fear of birth and death. His eyes are fresh lotuses; his face, his hands and his feet are lotuses, red as the dawn.
हे मन, कृपालु श्री रामचन्द्र को भजो, जो जन्म और मृत्यु का कठिन भय दूर करते हैं। उनकी आँखें नए कमल हैं; उनका मुख, हाथ और चरण भी कमल हैं, भोर जैसे लाल।
Tulsidas’s hymn to Rama from the Vinaya Patrika, sung in North India at Ram Navami, at Dussehra and in daily worship.
A simple puja for Rama
There is no single day of the week for Rama: many keep Thursday for him, and above all Ram Navami, his birthday. At home, a short puja before a picture of Rama with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman is enough. Follow your family’s way where it differs.
- Clean the place of worship and set his picture there, on a yellow cloth if you have one.
- Light a ghee lamp and incense.
- Offer tulsi leaves, yellow flowers and fruit.
- Chant Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram 108 times, or read the Ram Raksha Stotra.
- Sing Shri Ramachandra Kripalu while waving the lamp.
- Share the prasad.
What you need
- A picture of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman
- Tulsi leaves
- Yellow flowers and a yellow cloth
- A ghee lamp and incense
- Fruit or a sweet as prasad
Prayers for the puja
Who is Rama
Rama is the prince of Ayodhya and the hero of the Ramayana, the seventh avatar of Vishnu. He is called Maryada Purushottam, the best of men, because he never stepped outside what was right: as a son, a brother, a husband, a friend and a king.
Sent to the forest for fourteen years to keep his father’s promise, he went without a word of complaint. When Ravana carried off his wife Sita, he crossed the sea with Hanuman and the vanaras, won her back and came home to rule. His reign, Rama Rajya, is still the picture of a just and happy kingdom.
He is worshipped with Sita, his brother Lakshmana and Hanuman at his feet, and his name alone, Rama, is held to be a prayer.
- Ramachandra Rama, gentle as the moon
- Raghava of the line of King Raghu
- Dasharathi son of Dasharatha
- Sitapati husband of Sita
- Kodandarama Rama with his bow, Kodanda
- Maryada Purushottam the best of men, who keeps to what is right
श्री राम जय राम जय जय राम
Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram
Glory to Shri Rama, glory, glory to Rama: a mantra of thirteen syllables, chanted alone or sung together.
श्री राम की जय, राम की जय, जय जय: तेरह अक्षरों का मंत्र, जो अकेले जपा जाता है या सब मिलकर गाते हैं।
श्रीराम राम रामेति रमे रामे मनोरमे।
सहस्रनाम तत्तुल्यं रामनाम वरानने॥
Shri Rama Rama Rameti, Rame Rame manorame,
Sahasranama tattulyam, Ramanama varanane.
Shiva tells Parvati: I say Rama, Rama, Rama, and rejoice in Rama, who delights the mind. Fair one, the name of Rama said once is equal to the thousand names.
शिव पार्वती से कहते हैं: मैं राम, राम, राम कहता हूँ और मन को आनंद देने वाले राम में रमता हूँ। हे सुंदरी, एक बार लिया गया राम का नाम हज़ार नामों के बराबर है।
A verse of his protection
Ram Raksha Stotra
रामाय रामभद्राय रामचन्द्राय वेधसे।
रघुनाथाय नाथाय सीतायाः पतये नमः॥
Ramaya Ramabhadraya Ramachandraya vedhase,
Raghunathaya nathaya Sitayah pataye namah.
To Rama, to Ramabhadra the kind, to Ramachandra, gentle as the moon, the wise one; to the lord of the Raghus, the master, the husband of Sita: I bow.
राम को, दयालु रामभद्र को, चन्द्रमा जैसे शीतल और ज्ञानी रामचन्द्र को; रघुकुल के स्वामी, प्रभु, सीता के पति को: मेरा नमन।
What his symbols mean
The bow, Kodanda
Strength kept for protecting others: he draws it only for dharma, never in anger.
The single arrow
One word, one arrow, one wife, as the saying goes: what Rama says he does, and what he aims at he reaches.
His dark-blue skin
The colour of a rain cloud, as Vishnu is drawn: vast and deep as the sky, and bringing relief like the rain.
Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman
Shown together as the Ram Darbar, his court: love, loyalty and devotion gathered round what is right.
His stories
Across India
Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh
His birthplace on the Sarayu river, where crowds bathe and worship at Ram Navami and the banks are lit with lamps before Diwali.
North India
Ram Lila plays through the nights of Navratri, ending on Dussehra with great effigies of Ravana set alight, and the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas read aloud in homes and temples.
Bhadrachalam, Telangana
Sita Rama Kalyanam, the wedding of Rama and Sita, celebrated on Ram Navami on the banks of the Godavari.
Kerala
Ramayana Masam, the month of Karkidakam, when families read the Ramayana aloud a little each evening.
Tamil Nadu
Rameswaram, where Rama worshipped Shiva before crossing to Lanka, and the Tamil Ramayana of the poet Kamban.
Orchha, Madhya Pradesh
Rama worshipped as the king of the town, Ram Raja, and given a guard of honour every day.
His temples
- Shri Ram Janmabhoomi MandirAyodhya, Uttar Pradesh
- Ramanathaswamy TempleRameswaram, Tamil Nadu
- Kalaram TempleNashik, Maharashtra
- Sri Sita Ramachandraswamy TempleBhadrachalam, Telangana
- Ram Raja TempleOrchha, Madhya Pradesh
Questions
When is Ram Navami in 2027?
Ram Navami is on Thursday 15 April 2027 in New Delhi, with the muhurat 11:04 am to 1:39 pm. Pick your city at the top of this page for its own date and muhurat.
Which day is Rama’s?
There is no single traditional day. Many keep Thursday, the day of Vishnu, whose avatar he is, and others pray to him on Tuesday and Saturday together with Hanuman. His great day is Ram Navami, his birthday.
What is Rama’s mantra?
Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram, the mantra of thirteen syllables. Many also say his name alone, Rama, or read the Ram Raksha Stotra.
What are the seven books of the Ramayana?
Bala, Ayodhya, Aranya, Kishkindha, Sundara, Yuddha and Uttara: his childhood and wedding, his exile, the forest and Sita’s capture, the friendship with Sugriva, Hanuman’s leap to Lanka, the war, and his reign.
Who wrote the Ramayana?
The sage Valmiki, called the first poet, in Sanskrit. It has been told again in many languages, among them the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas in Awadhi and the Ramayana of Kamban in Tamil.
Why is Diwali linked to Rama?
In North India, Diwali remembers the night Rama, Sita and Lakshmana came home to Ayodhya after fourteen years, and the people lit lamps to welcome them.