In Hinduism, Shukla Paksha Navami of Chaitra month is considered as the festival of Ram Navami. On this day Lord Rama, the 7th incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was born. This year the festival of Ram Navami is on 2 April. According to Hindu scriptures, Lord Vishnu incarnated as Shri Rama born in Tretayuga to end the atrocities of Ravana and to re-establish religion. With this festival, the Navratri of Maa Durga also ends. People send wishes and greetings to family and friends on Ram Navmi.

There is a curfew in many places due to the coronavirus epidemic in India, while entire India is under lockdown till 14 April. All temples have been closed. In such a situation, it is difficult to celebrate Ram Navmi in temples. People have to celebrate the festival at home under being quarantine. It is considered significant to read Ram Navmi Katha on Ram Navmi.

Ram Navmi Katha

According to Hindu scripture Ramayana, Lord Rama was born on this day, so the devotees celebrate this auspicious day as Ram Navami. According to the epic Ramayana, King Dasaratha of Ayodhya had three wives but for a long time, no queen was able to give children to Dasaratha. Due to which King Dasharatha was very upset. In order to have a son, Rishi Vashistha gave the idea to King Dasharatha to perform a Putreshti Yajna.

After finishing the Yagna, Maharishi gave a bowl of kheer to the three wives of Dasharatha. All three queens became pregnant only a few months after eating kheer. 9 months later King Dasharatha’s eldest queen Kaushalya gave birth to Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Kaikayi to Bharata and Sumitra gave birth to twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.

DD National and DD Bharati will telecast the epics shows of ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’ respectively from today, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said. Ramayana will be shown on DD National two times in a day 9 am and 9 pm and Mahabharata will be shown on DD Bharati at 12 pm or 7 pm respectively.

Speaking about the manner in which they are scheduled, “One episode of the Ramayana will show in the morning and another episode in the evening.” It will be the same for ‘Mahabharata’ too. Based on Lord Ram’s life, ‘Ramayana’ was first telecasted on Doordarshan in 1987 and had a massive following across the country. Arun Govil played the role of Lord Rama and Deepika Chikhaliya of Sita. It also included actors such as Dara Singh, who played the Hanuman role, Lalita Pawar as Manthara. The series ‘Mahabharata’ was first telecasted in 1988.

This festival tells the story of Lord Shri Rama, who killed the Demon king Ravana after 9 days of continuous war in Lanka and freed Mata Sita from his captivity. On this day, Maa Durga also killed Mahishasura, hence it is also celebrated as Vijayadashami and Mata Durga is also worshiped. On this day effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghnad are burnt. This year, the auspicious Vijaya Dashami is on 8 October 2019.

There are some places in India of which the Dussehra celebration is quite famous and worth watching. Dussehra of Kullu in Himachal and Mysuru in Karnataka. Here Dussehra is celebrated with huge pomp and fervor.  The biggest attraction in Mysuru Dasara is the elephant procession which attracts tourists from all over the world.