Ram Navami Story: Birth of Lord Rama & Victory of Dharma

Ram Navami Story

The story of Rama Navami is well described in the Valmiki Ramayana. It is a classical Sanskrit epic written by the great poet and author, Maharishi Valmiki.

It narrates the entire life of Lord Rama, His childhood, adulthood, and disappearance. All the highlighted reunions and the fight with the demon king, Ravana, are beautifully explained in it.

i) The Crisis Before Lord Rama's Appearance:

Before the divine birth of Lord Rama, there was an unsettled distress among the people. It was the result of the cruel ruling of the demon Ravana.

Ravana was an intelligent scholar in scriptures and a devotee of Lord Shiva. He had earned powers through intense penance to Lord Shiva.

But later, he started to use that power to:

i) Destroy the yagnas performed by saints and sages.

ii) Insult rishis and devotees.

iii) Disrupt many sacred rituals.

iv) Abuse the heavenly beings.

ii) A Request to Lord Vishnu:

The demigods, sages, and other divine beings were unable to tolerate the cruelty of Ravana anymore. They all appealed to Lord Vishnu to protect them and the people on earth from the demon king.

iii) Exile and Abduction of Sita:

After accepting a 14-year exile, Lord Rama left Ayodhya with His wife, Sita, and brother, Lakshmana.

With the support of His devoted wife and brother, He spent all these years peacefully and righteously in the forests.

One day, the vicious demon Ravana abducted Mother Sita with a pre-planned plot. He took her to his kingdom in Sri Lanka.

iv) End of Ravana:

Lord Rama successfully defeated Ravana with the help of Hanuman, Lakshmana, Bharata, and other loyal friends.

i) Hanuman:

Hanuman is the most faithful and devoted devotee of Lord Rama. He helped in the search for Sita by crossing the ocean. When he found Sita in the Ashoka Vatika, he delivered the ring of Lord Rama as promised to the Lord.

He burned many parts of Lanka to weaken the defense system of King Ravana. At the time of the final battle, he brought Sanjeevani herbs to save Lakshmana.

ii) Lakshmana:

Lakshmana refused to live in the Ayodhya kingdom and left with his brother to take care of Him in the forests.

He never left Lord Rama's side and defeated a son of Ravana named Indrajit, also known as Meghnad.

iii) Bharata:

Queen Kaikeyi asked for Rama's exile so she could make Bharata the king. When Bharata went to the palace and got the news of Lord Rama's exile, he refused to take the place that only belonged to his brother and kept longing until Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya.

Why Did Lord Rama Take Avatar?

The main purpose behind the divine birth of Lord Rama was to restore the cosmic imbalance created by the evil ruling of the ten-headed demon king, Ravana.

The demon was endowed with the following powers:

i) Extreme physical power.

ii) Abilities to perform magic.

iii) Ability to get protection from the supreme beings.

iv) Mastery over celestial weapons.

Everyone in the three worlds was terrified of his powers and evil activities. He had kidnapped many wives of sages, always disrespected the demigods, and taken over many kingdoms.

Hence, Lord Rama appeared to free the sages, celestial beings, and the people from this evil being.

Significance of Ram Navami Story

i) Re-establishment of Dharma:

The core of Sri Rama Navami story is that the protection of righteousness is a must, even if the world is completely distressed, imbalanced, or in chaos.

His entire life manifests the terms of living in dharma and acting accordingly.

ii) An Ideal Human Behavior:

In an ideal human, the following qualities are naturally present:

a) Truthfulness:

While living through His life, Lord Rama never compromised to neglect the truth.

It is the time when Queen Kaikeyi demanded that the king fulfill one of the two boons she got from him.

She wanted him to send Lord Rama to the 14-year exile so that she could declare her son as the future king.

The king was not happy with the demand, but to fulfill his promise, he accepted it.

Here, Lord Rama could have refused to go and fight for His rights. But He simply honored the desire of His second mother and His father's promise.

For Him, truthfulness was above any material comfort or power.

b) Courage:

Lord Rama's courage was not limited to the battlefield. He was completely rooted in morals, spiritual belief, and inner strength.

Without even thinking twice, He decided to leave for 14 years of exile with no fear or disappointment.

During His exile, He protected the sages and innocent people from the demons. He was completely calm and righteous, instead of arrogant or proud. He was always bound to what is right, even if it was challenging.

c) Humility:

Lord Rama was the divine incarnation of the Supreme Personality Himself, and He was born as a prince of Ayodhya. However, He never stopped respecting elders, saints, sages, and gurus.

Not only humans, but He also showed humility towards the forest inhabitants, like birds, vanaras, and other animals.

He always spoke gently to everyone and accepted help from His devotees, friends, and brother without acting superior. This way, He showed that humility is greater than supremacy.

Spiritual Lessons from Ram Navami Story

i) Dharma in Every Circumstance:

The biggest example of the Ram Navami story is the steadfast nature of Lord Rama in every challenge and difficulty. He sacrificed everything personal: His emotions, lifestyle, and family to follow Dharma.

ii) Attitude of Forgiveness and Sympathy:

Lord Rama treated everyone with respect and humility, even the enemies. When the brother of Ravana came to serve under the lotus feet of Rama, He accepted him.

Even though his brother was the one who abducted Mother Sita to Sri Lanka, Lord Rama welcomed his brother, Vibhishana, with open arms.

The only thing He saw was the humble nature and surrender attitude of Vibhishana, not that he belonged to Ravana's bloodline.

iii) Pure Devotion:

In the entire Ram Navami story, we have witnessed the selfless services of Hanuman, Lakshmana, Bharata, and others towards Lord Rama.

Whatever they did, especially Hanuman, Lakshmana, and Bharata, was for the sake of Lord Rama, without expecting personal benefits. This is pure devotion and a sign of a sincere devotee of the Lord.

Conclusion

Just by learning this Ram Navami story, you can become familiar with the real “service” performed by the devotees, unlike the services performed by materialistic people who expect something in return.

Observe this Rama Navami by donating some help to poor children and accidental cows through selfless contributions to their lives.