Rāma Navamī · Caitra · the ninth bright tithi
What is Rāma Navamī?
Rāma Navamī is an annual Hindu festival commemorating the birth of Rāma. It occurs during the bright half of the lunar month Caitra and is marked through forms of prayer, recitation, music, storytelling, fasting, procession, service, or community celebration that vary by region and tradition.
The tithi is contained in the name
Navamī means the ninth tithi.
The Sanskrit lunar month used by this annual festival condition.
The bright, waxing half of the lunar month.
The ninth tithi: the ninth step in this half of the Moon–Sun cycle.
The Caitra Śukla Navamī festival commemorating Rāma's birth.
Put together, Caitra Śukla Navamī means the ninth lunar day of the bright fortnight in the month Caitra.
Rāma and the festival
The day remembers the birth of Rāma.
Rāma is a central figure of the Rāmāyaṇa and is revered as an avatāra of Viṣṇu in many Hindu traditions. Communities may read or recite passages connected with Rāma, sing kīrtana or bhajana, undertake vrata, offer pūjā, visit a temple, organize a procession, or gather for a shared meal or service activity.
These are examples of participation. Rāma traditions, local histories, performance forms, and household practices differ.
Official references: Ministry of Tourism Utsav, Rāma Navamī · Supreme Court of India 2026 calendar
How Open Pañcāṅga identifies the date
These are the rules we use to identify Rāma Navamī.
The application first calculates the madhyāhna midpoint, halfway between local sunrise and sunset. It asks whether Śukla Navamī prevails at that moment and whether the named amānta lunar-month calculation gives regular Caitra. When both rules match, Open Pañcāṅga shows Rāma Navamī.
The midday circle in the illustration is a visual analogy for this controlling time: as the Sun crosses the daytime sky, a vertical stick's shadow becomes shortest near the middle of the day. The report uses calculated sunrise and sunset times rather than asking anyone to look directly at the Sun.
This madhyāhna assignment is an explicitly named provisional method and remains under source review. A regional or traditional pañcāṅga may apply a more detailed way of using madhyāhna or another lunar-month system and may therefore select a nearby date.