Fervour grips Hindu devotees ahead of Ram Navami 2023 tomorrow

Fervour marks preparations by Hindu devotees a day ahead of Sri Ram Navami celebrations which fall on March 30 this year. An ardent devotee's family takes immense joy in preparing Om inscribed sweets to be offered as prasad to Ayodhya Ram. In south India, devotees hold marriages considering Ram Navami as the auspicious day of marriage of Ram and Sita.

Hyderabad: Preparations are in full swing for the Rama Navami 2023 celebrations to be held across the country and abroad on March 30. The day is celebrated with fervour and pomp by Hindus all over the world. Devotees throng temples, offer prayers and attend bhajans. Most of them observe penance and chant mantras prior to this festival occasion.

Special temple processions are carried out with idols of Lord Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman. Ram Navami festival mainly marks the birth anniversary of Lord Ram, a Prince of Ayodhya believed to be the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This festival also marks the end of Chaitra Navaratri, the nine-day-long festival that concludes on March 30 this year.

As part of this, devotees conclude their 9-day Navratri fasts and take part in Ram Navami festivities with fervour. Young and old, women and children adorned in new attire join in these celebrations. For the Hindus, Lord Ram remains a symbol of an ideal person and a dutiful husband known for righteousness, honesty and integrity.

At Ayodhya's Ram Temple, one devotee has been making and supplying sweets that are offered as 'prasad' to Lord Ram every year for the last several years. These sweets are made of sattu, sugar and ghee. They come inscribed with the Hindu sacred symbol 'Om'. The devotee says that his family has been honoured for being involved in the making of this prasad for the Lord.

Traditionally, devotees in south India consider Sri Ram Navami auspicious for holding marriage ceremonies. They believe that Lord Rama married Goddess Sita on the day of Sri Rama Navami and organise Sri Sitaramul Kalyanam (marriage of Ram and Sita) in a big way in temples and streets.