Ram Puja Vidhi (Ram Navami and Daily Puja)

In brief

Rama is the seventh avatar of Vishnu and is honored as Maryada Purushottam, the ideal person who kept his word and his duty even in hardship. Families worship him with Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman in a picture called Ram Darbar (Rama's court). In that picture Rama sits in the center, Sita is on his left, Lakshmana on his right and Hanuman at his feet.

The puja below suits daily worship. On Ram Navami, the birthday of Rama, families add a midday birth ceremony and special offerings.

When to do it

For daily puja, choose the morning after a bath, or the evening before sunset. Keep the time you can repeat each day.

Ram Navami falls on Chaitra Shukla Navami, the ninth day of the bright half of Chaitra. Rama is said to have been born at midday, so the main puja is held in madhyahna, the middle of the day, when Navami is present. The festival page shows the midday window for your city.

Many people fast on Ram Navami until the midday puja, or through the day, with fruit and milk. Fasting is a personal choice. People with health conditions, pregnant or nursing women, children and the elderly should follow their doctor's advice and may keep a lighter fast.

What you need

• A Ram Darbar picture or a small idol of Rama, on a clean yellow or red cloth
• Clean water, and for Ram Navami the ingredients of panchamrit (milk, curd, honey, ghee and sugar)
• Sandal paste, kumkum, akshata (whole, unbroken rice) and flowers
• Many fresh or dried tulsi (holy basil) leaves, which are dear to Vishnu's avatars
• A ghee lamp, incense, and camphor if you use it
• Fruit and sweets for naivedya (the food offering). On Ram Navami, panakam, a cooling drink of jaggery, ginger and cardamom.
• A book of the Ramayana, Ramcharitmanas or Rama Raksha Stotra

Puja vidhi (steps)

1. Bathe, wear clean clothes, and clean the space. Set up the Ram Darbar picture where you can see it.
2. Light the lamp and incense. Hold a little water in your right palm and say in your own words that you are doing the puja with devotion. This is the sankalpa (spoken intention).
3. Sip water three times (achamana), saying "ॐ केशवाय नमः, ॐ नारायणाय नमः, ॐ माधवाय नमः" (Om Keshavaya Namah, Om Narayanaya Namah, Om Madhavaya Namah). Then bow briefly to Ganesha.
4. Invite Rama with a flower and a few grains of rice, and offer a seat by placing a flower before the picture.
5. Offer a few drops of water. On Ram Navami, bathe a small idol with panchamrit and then with clean water, dry it and dress it in yellow.
6. Offer sandal paste, kumkum, flowers and tulsi leaves at the feet of Rama and Sita.
7. Offer incense and the lamp.
8. Place the naivedya before the picture for a few minutes.
9. Chant "श्रीराम जय राम जय जय राम" (Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram) or "ॐ श्री रामाय नमः" (Om Shri Ramaya Namah). Say it 108 times on a mala (prayer beads), or fewer if you have little time. Ask a priest or elder to guide pronunciation.
10. Read the Rama Raksha Stotra, a few verses of the Ramcharitmanas, or a short Ramayana passage. On Ram Navami, at midday, rock a small cradle with baby Rama and sing the birth song.
11. Sing the aarti, moving the lamp slowly in a clockwise circle.
12. Bow, ask forgiveness for any mistake, and share the prasad.

Mantras and aarti

• Aarti: "Aarti Kije Shri Raghuvar Ji Ki" is a popular Rama aarti. "Shri Ramchandra Kripalu Bhajman" is a well-loved prayer attributed to Tulsidas, often sung with it.
• Namavali: the 108 names of Rama.
• Mantras: "Om Shri Ramaya Namah" and "Shri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram" are the most widely chanted.
• Readings: the Rama Raksha Stotra, the Ramcharitmanas, and the Sundara Kanda.

The full texts are on their own pages.

Doing it in the USA

Ram Navami often falls on a working day. If you cannot pause at midday, a short prayer at lunch or an evening puja is accepted by many families, though you may wish to check with your priest. Many temples hold the Rama Kalyanotsavam (the wedding of Sita and Rama) and a midday abhishek, often on the weekend nearest to Ram Navami.

Use your own city's local midday, not India's. Jaggery, ginger, cardamom and tulsi for panakam are sold at Indian grocery stores and many supermarkets.

Check your lease and smoke alarm before lighting a lamp, incense or camphor. A small ghee lamp on a steel plate is usually the safest, and an electric lamp is a good substitute where open flames are not allowed. Many families accept dried tulsi leaves when fresh ones are hard to find in winter.