Rama Navami 2026

“For the purpose of confusing the citizens, Rama spoke to the charioteer as follows: ‘Mounting the chariot alone, O Charioteer, beginning by facing north, go quickly for a while and then turn the chariot back again. Remaining careful, proceed in such a way that the citizens cannot find Me.'” (Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 46.30-31)

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मोहनार्थं तु पौराणां सूतं रामोऽब्रवीद्वचः
उदङ्मुखः प्रयाहि त्वं रथमास्थाय सारथे
मुहूर्तं त्वरितं गत्वा निवर्तय रथं पुनः
यथा न विद्युः पौरा मां तथा कुरु समाहितः

mohanārthaṃ tu paurāṇāṃ sūtaṃ rāmoʼbravīdvacaḥ
udaṅmukhaḥ prayāhi tvaṃ rathamāsthāya sārathe
muhūrtaṃ tvaritaṃ gatvā nivartaya rathaṃ punaḥ
yathā na vidyuḥ paurā māṃ tathā kuru samāhitaḥ

It is supposed to be a day of celebration. People can joyously relive the appearance of the Divine within this world. Though we suffer in a land of birth and death, there are glimpses of hope whenever the original proprietor happens to pay a visit. He retains His nirguna status, despite presenting the visual of saguna. Whether He has attributes that we can identify or we think He can only be this indescribable force beyond the bounds of the universe, at least on Rama Navami we can celebrate. He came to this world as the long awaited first and eldest son of King Dasharatha, but on this particular day you are having a difficult time moving beyond something Rama once did.

To set the table of the hypothetical situation, you are a parent. You only entered this status a short while ago. It is not something you necessarily feared, dreaded, or intentionally avoided beforehand. They say that life happens fast. Just when you think you are set in your ways, safe and comfortable, life hits you with a change. Better to be prepared. Better to be ready to adapt. Change is the only constant, as confirmed in the early stages of the Bhagavad-gita conversation.

देहिनो ऽस्मिन् यथा देहे
कौमारं यौवनं जरा
तथा देहान्तर-प्राप्तिर्
धीरस् तत्र न मुह्यति

dehino ‘smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

You became a parent a few years ago and things are going okay. It is a change, for sure, but not anything too difficult. If there is any lasting pain, it would be in witnessing the treatment. Not towards you as the parent, but towards the child. They seem to have an affinity for adults, and particularly family members. They get happy when there is a meeting. They get sad at times of separation.

To alleviate the pain of separation, you intentionally plan visits. You bring your child to places you know they will enjoy. The problem arises when the people being visited are not as receptive to the child. On one particular day, two of them happen to be preparing to leave. They are going to the store, to run a few errands. They will be back in a little while. The issue is that the child wants to accompany them. The child hears them getting ready. The child begins to put on their shoes, prepared to walk outside. Of course, it is too late. The two people have left. They found a way to trick the child. They distracted the child and then made their getaway. Witnessing the sequence of events from afar, you internally reflect as follows:

“How could they do that? How could they be so mean? Would it have hurt them to bring the child along? I hope I am never that cruel. I will never tell my child about this. Hopefully, they will forget about it. Actually, they are too young to even know what is going on. They will forgive. But I will hold on to this memory forever. I hope to never behave the same way towards someone so innocent, kind, and loving.”

In this regard, we have a pastime involving the avatara of Vishnu known as Rama. He is the person being honored on the annual occasion of Rama Navami. The history of Rama on this earth has such a perfectly presented narrative that there are many official records to preserve the memory, most notable among them the Ramayana of Valmiki. In one part, Rama has to leave Ayodhya for fourteen years. It is a grave injustice. It is a punishment brought upon by internal rivalries amongst elders in the family. Rama is an innocent bystander who happens to be collateral damage in the quest of Queen Kaikeyi to harm her husband, who is King Dasharatha.

As Rama is Vishnu, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He holds the opulence of vairagya to the fullest extent. The literal translation to this Sanskrit word is “the absence of attachment.” Rama can give up the kingdom at the drop of a hat. He can leave on a whim. He can give up something mere moments prior to potentially receiving it. Like a leader of a company about to hand you a million dollar bonus check, only to change their mind when the envelope is inches from your fingers, Rama had to abruptly shift from preparing to take the throne to giving up all His possessions for life in the forest.

The king went along with the decision. Kaikeyi did not budge. Rama was set to depart. Rama was taking Sita with Him. As the devoted wife, she refused to remain at home. The same applied to Lakshmana, who was the devoted younger brother. It seemed like a lot of people really liked Rama. It was as though there was something special about Him. Anyone who knew Him was automatically drawn to Him. Not due to something they could receive in return, but just for the association itself.

न तं पश्याम्यहं लोके परोक्षमपि यो नरः
स्वमित्रोऽपि निरस्तोऽपि योऽस्य दोषमुदाहरेत्

na taṃ paśyāmyahaṃ loke parokṣamapi yo naraḥ
svamitro’pi nirasto’pi yo’sya doṣamudāharet

“I do not find in this world any man who can describe a fault in Him, even in His absence, be it an adversary or someone defeated.”  (Lakshmana, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 21.5)

The people of Ayodhya decided to follow suit. The wives of the households led the charge. If Ayodhya was going to be missing the presence of Rama, then the people would recreate Ayodhya wherever Rama went. To that end, they followed Rama and company into the forest. On one particular night, Rama noticed those people sleeping outside. It is because they had been following, without appropriate planning. Think of it like going camping without bringing a sleeping bag or tents.

The people were suffering, and all because of Rama. He then decided to trick the people. He made a run for it, as they say. Early in the morning, He ordered the charioteer to make it look like the group was returning to Ayodhya, when they really weren’t. By the time the people would wake up, they would be going in the wrong direction, and Rama would be long gone, with His whereabouts untraceable.

Bearing in mind your experience with your child, you take issue with this approach. How could Rama do that to the people? How could God insert illusion into the proposal? The Sanskrit word is mohana. Rama intentionally tricked the citizens of Ayodhya. They were not doing anything wrong. They were following. They were devoted to Him, and spontaneously, at that. Isn’t God supposed to be compassionate?

One explanation is that the Supreme Lord never intends for devotees to suffer needlessly. In the corporate world, and even in modern politics, we see the leaders cause needless suffering to the subordinates. They might force a relocation to a new office, only to implement mass layoffs shortly thereafter. They might fire employees simply because the leaders can hire labor from overseas for a lower cost, using black market channels. The politicians pass one set of rules to suppress the economic activity of the citizens, to force them to remain home and take experimental medication. Meanwhile, the same politicians never have to live by those rules. They exempt themselves from the suffering. They never cover their faces and they make closed restaurants open up to serve them.

Shri Rama is not like that. He is the ideal leader, in that He will assume the burden of discomfort in order to establish truth. He does not require everyone else to accept the same responsibility. He is the kindest person, in fact. There is a reason He is worshiped to this day. There is a reason those people eventually understood what happened and did not hold anything against Rama. Rather, the women of the households wondered why the husbands weren’t so eager to follow Rama. They wondered how life could go on knowing that something so horrible was taking place.

किं नु तेषां गृहैः कार्यं किं दारै: किं धनेन वा
पुत्रैर्वा किं सुखैर्वापि ये न पश्यन्ति राघवम्

kiṃ nu teṣāṃ gṛhaiḥ kāryaṃ kiṃ dārai: kiṃ dhanena vā
putrairvā kiṃ sukhairvāpi ye na paśyanti rāghavam

“Of what use are wealth, comforts and pleasures, home, wives, and sons if one is not able to see Shri Rama?” (Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 48.7)

In Closing:

Something so horrible to take place,
How husbands of calm and normal face?

Yes, surely that prince did deceive,
But to avoid punishment to receive.

Not burden on citizens to exact,
This key quality to extract.

That Rama most compassionate of all,
On appearance day fondly to recall.