Sri Rama Navami is the ninth day of the bright half of Chaitra. In Karnataka its mark is hospitality in the heat: stalls on every street give away panaka of jaggery and lime, spiced buttermilk and kosambari of soaked lentils and cucumber. In Bengaluru the day opens the Ramanavami music festival, a month of Carnatic concerts under a pandal that has been held every year since 1939.
The story
Karnataka is Ramayana country. Kishkindha, the monkey kingdom where Rama met Hanuman and Sugriva, is placed at Anegundi and Hampi on the Tungabhadra, and every rock there has a story.
The concerts in Chamarajpet began as a boy's neighbourhood celebration and grew into one of the great stages of South Indian music.
How it is kept
- Panaka, majjige, kosambariGiven free to all passers-by, from stalls set up by neighbourhood groups.
- Puja at noonFor the hour of the birth.
- SangeethaConcerts and harikathe through the evenings.
- RathotsavaRama temples draw their chariots.
Why this date
Rama Navami is the Navami of the bright half of Chaitra, on the day it covers midday.
Sri Rama Navami in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Thursday | |
| 2027 | Thursday | |
| 2028 | Monday | |
| 2029 | Sunday | |
| 2030 | Friday | |
| 2031 | Tuesday |
More Kannada festivals
7 AprilYugadiಯುಗಾದಿ
20 AprilHanuma Jayantiಹನುಮ ಜಯಂತಿ
8 MayAkshaya Tritiyaಅಕ್ಷಯ ತೃತೀಯ
22 MarchHoliಹೋಳಿ ಹುಣ್ಣಿಮೆ
6 MarchMaha Shivaratriಮಹಾ ಶಿವರಾತ್ರಿ
14 JulyPrathama Ekadashiಪ್ರಥಮ ಏಕಾದಶಿ
Where to see Sri Rama Navami
In Karnataka
- Fort High School grounds, Chamarajpet, BengaluruKarnatakaThe Sree Ramaseva Mandali's music festival.
- Kodandarama Temple, HampiKarnatakaOn the river bank where Rama is said to have crowned Sugriva.
- AnegundiKarnatakaOld Kishkindha, across the Tungabhadra from Hampi.
Across India
- AyodhyaUttar PradeshThe birthplace, with the noon worship of the infant Rama.
- BhadrachalamTelanganaThe wedding of Rama and Sita on the Godavari.
- RameswaramTamil NaduWhere the bridge to Lanka began.