Lord Rama is the seventh and the most popular avataar of Lord Vishnu. He is known as the ideal man and ideal son. The epic Ramayana, which is composed by the great Sage Valmiki has all stories around his life.

Lord Rama is shown as a standing figure, holding an arrow in his right hand and a bow in his left hand. His idols are usually accompanied by his wife, Sita Mata and his favourite brother, Lakshman and his favourite devotee, Lord Hanuman.

Rama is the son of King Dasharatha and Kaushalya and is from Ayodhya. King Dasharatha had three wives and four children- Rama, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrugan. While all the four sons were dear to King Dasharatha, Rama was his favourite. Sita, his wife is also known as the ideal wife.

Mythological stories say that Lord Shiva had granted a boon to a very powerful demon king Ravana that he will be invincible and cannot die at the hands of Gods. He also had the boon of 10 heads and was the ruler of the Golden Lanka which was an extremely rich land. Hence the Gods went to Lord Brahma to seek a solution from Ravana’s menace. Lord Vishnu himself appeared and said he will take birth as Rama and kill Ravana.

Rama was sent to exile by his father, King Dasharatha and stepmother, Kaikeyi for 14 years. He was accompanied by his wife, Sita and his brother, Lakshman. Queen Kaikeyi wanted her son, Bharat to be the King after her husband and hence made the plot. For 14 years, the exile continued in Panchavati which is present day Nashik city in Maharashtra, India. It is also believed that Lakshman did not sleep for all the 14 years of the exile to protect his sister-in-law and brother. He had requested Goddess of sleep, Nindra give him the blessing to stay awake for the 14 years. While the Goddess granted him the boon, she said that someone else had to sleep for these 14 years as a balancing act. Urmila who was Lakshman’s wife readily agreed and slept for these 14 years and sacrificed her life in the precious years.

During the exile, Sita was kidnapped by Ravana who wanted to make her his wife. Rama along with his monkey army fought Ravana and his demon army and rescued Sita. After completing his exile, when Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya, he ruled the kingdom and this golden period was called “Ram Rajya”.

The festival of Ram Navami is a festival to celebrate the virtues and ideal path of living as demonstrated by Lord Rama.