Sri Rama Navami

On Chaitra Sukla Navami (the ninth day of the bright half of

Chaitra) Sree Ramanavami is celebrated. Sree Rama was
born on this day and years later on the same day Rama
married Sita. Sree Sitarama Kalyana Mahotsav (wedding) is
performed in the abode Sitarama Temple, Bhadrachalam,
Khammam District, Andhra Pradesh with great tradition and
Bhakti. On behalf of Andhra Pradesh Government, Chief
Minister with his wife visits the Kalyana Mahotsav and offers
Silk Clothes and Pearls as Talambralu (auspicious) to the God
and Goddess. The whole of this celebration is telecasted live in
Doordarshan.
Wherever four Hindus live, Rama and Sita will be there so said Swami
Vivekananda, one of the foremost harbingers of modern national renaissance
of Bharat. The reverse also is equally true wherever Rama and Sita live,
the people there will remain and live as Hindus.
Every hill and rivulet of Bharat bears the imprint of the holy feet of Rama
and Sita. Sri Rama reigns supreme to this day in the hearts of our people,
cutting across all barriers of province, language, caste or sect. Even the
tribes living in isolated valleys and jungles have names like Mitti-Ram and
Patthar-Ram. In some other tribes, every name carries the proud suffix of
Ram, such as Lutthu Ram, Jagadev Ram, etc. In many northern parts of
Bharat mutual greetings take the form of Jay Ramjee Ki.
Sri Rama has become so much identified with all the good and great and
virile qualities of heroic manhood that expressions such as Us me Ram nahi
hai (there is no Rama in him) meaning that a person has lost all manliness
and worth have become common usage. And when a Hindu quits the world
stage, he is bid God-speed in his onward journey with Ramanama satya hai
or Raghupati Raghava raja Ram, patita paavana Sita Ram. In fact, the latter
couplet has become the nations bhajan par excellence.
Sri Ramas story, Ramayana, has been sung and resung in all the languages
and dialects of Bharat. The tradition of writing epics centering round the
saga of Ramas achievements started by Valmiki in Sanskrit and was
continued by Tulsidas in Hindi, by Kamban in Tamil, by Ramanujan in
Malayalam, by Krittivasa in Bengali and Madhav Kambali in Assamia and in
fact, in almost every Bharatiya language. The tradition is being continued up
to the present day. The Ramayana Darshanam of K.V. Puttappa, the national
literary award of Bharat by the Jnana Peeth. The enchanting Geet Ramayana
composed in Marathi by G.D. Madgulkar and set to tune by Sudhir Phadke is
now thrilling the hearts of millions in Maharashtra.
The various tribal groups too have sung the story of Ramayana in their
dialects. Sri Rama, Lakshmana and Janaki mirror the ideals for millions of

tribal boys and girls. The Khamati tribe in Arunachal Pradesh, which is
Buddhist, depicts Ramayana as the story narrated by Buddha to his first
disciple, Ananda, and carries the universal message of Buddha. How deeply
significant that every group and sect even in distant and far-flung parts of
Bharatavarsha should have found a radiant reflection of its own ideals in the
form of Sri Rama!
The comparison of Sri Ramas fortitude to Himalayas and the grace and
grandeur of his personality to the ocean Samudra iva gaambheerye,
dhairye cha Himavaan iva portrays how inseparably his personality has
been blended into the entire national entity of Bharat.
Where in lay the secret of this unique greatness in Ramas personality? He is
called Maryaada-Purushottama the great one who never deviated from the
norms set by Dharma. In the eyes of the Hindu, the touchstone of human
excellence is Dharma. Devotion to Dharma came first in Ramas life and
considerations of his personal joys and sorrows came last. It was his
supreme commitment to putra-dharma (duty of a son) that made Rama
smilingly depart to the forest for fourteen years at the bidding of his father.
And this he did on the very day he was to be anointed as the future emperor
of Bharat. He would not budge from the path of Dharma righteousness
even when his own preceptor, his parents, his brothers and the whole body
of his subjects tried to dissuade him. He upheld the supremacy of Dharma in
every one of his human relationships and hence became an ideal son, an
ideal brother, an ideal husband, an ideal disciple, an ideal friend, an ideal
kind and even an ideal foe.
The one and supreme concern of Sri Ramas life was the welfare of his
subjects. He would forsake everything else to uphold his kingly duties the
Rajadharma. The night previous to his scheduled coronation, when Rama
and Sita were alone in a happy mood in view of the next days joyous
occasion, Sita asked Rama, What is that thing which hold dearest to your
heart? Rama fell serious for a moment and said, Dear Sita, you know I
love you most dearly, but I love the subjects of Ayodhya more and if their
welfare demands, I would not hesitate to sacrifice even you! The following
couplet conveying this idea is cited often:
Sneham dayaam cha soukhyam cha yadi vaa Jaanakimapi|
Aaraadhanaaya lokasya munchate naasti me vyathaa||
And Sri Rama did live up to his words. When he felt that the call of his royal
duties Rajadharma demanded the forsaking of Sita, he wavered not in
carrying it out. The most crucial test came when Lakshmana violated the
orders of Rama and admitted Durvasa to Ramas presence with a view to
averting the destruction of Ayodhya by Durvasas curse. Rama stuck to the
law of the land and awarded death penalty to Lakshmana one whom he
loved dearer than his own life. It was with such a fiery faith that Rama
followed the dictates of Dharma.

To such a one, how could power and pelf hold any fascination? When Bharata
came to him in the forest and implored him to return to Ayodhya and
become the emperor, Sri Rama firmly refused. Here was enacted a scene
unparalleled in the annals of world history each of the two brothers trying
to out-argue the other to make him accept the emperorship of a great and
mighty kingdom.
Sri Ramas role as one of the first and foremost national unifiers of Bharat is
also unique and extraordinary. He embraced Guha, the forest King and ate in
his house without the least hesitation. No sense of high or low ever touched
his all-embracing love of his people. He even enjoyed a fruit tasted and
offered with devotion by Shabari, a tribal lady in the far south.
The Vanaras or the forest-dwellers too felt that Rama was their own. He
endeared himself to them so intimately that they became, in fact, his chief
allies against Ravana. All over Bharatavarsha, the dear, little squirrel with its
three brown stripes bespeaks the devotion to Sri Rama even among the
animal world. Along with the Vanaras, a solitary squirrel had played his
humble part in carrying sand for the construction of bridge to Lanka and Sri
Ramas caressing of the little one on the back had left those indelible stripes
for all future generations.
Sri Ramas intense adoration for the motherland has been immortalized by a
legendary couplet which is playing on the lips of millions even to this day:
Janani janmabhoomischa swargaadapi garreyasi (the mother and the
motherland are to me greater than the heavens themselves).
The story of Rama is not that of a single towering personality dwarfing all
others. The other characters like Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata and Hanuman
too shine in their own greatness. All of them are so closely interwoven with
Sri Ramas life and achievements that it is well-nigh impossible to think of
any one without the other. In fact, the most popular picture of Sri Rama, i.e.,
of Sri Rama Pattabhisheka includes Sita, Hanuman and all his brothers. And
in the bringing out of the greatness of all these partners of his life-drama,
Ramas instinctive recognition of their merit and virtues played no mean
part. He would always be the first to openly appreciate the unique and noble
traits in others character. Even for Kaikeyi, who was responsible for his
banishment to forest, Rama had only words of kindness. And as for Ravana,
the abductor of his wife, Ramas unstinted praise of his erudition and
prowess at once lifts the story of Ramayana to heights unsurpassed in the
annals of human history.
No wonder, the story of Sri Rama has crossed the boundaries of Bharat and
inspired by many a distant people, their culture and literature. Indonesia
with Muslims forming 80% of her population continues to adore Rama and
Sita as her great cultural standard-bearers, and Ramayana as her national
epic par excellence. Indonesia also prides herself in having the biggest
drama stage in the world with Ramayana as its chief attraction. And the

credit goes to that country for celebrating the very first grand World
Ramayana Festival some years ago.
The birthday of Sri Rama, indeed, signifies an event worth of remembrance
by every one, whatever his country or race or religion, who cherishes the
time honored sublime values of human culture and civilization.

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