Sunday , April 18th is Sri Rama Navami, the appearance day of Lord Sri Ramacandra

[krsna]

Rama Navami

 

Rama Navami , the appearance anniversary of Lord Rama, is very popular in India where many people are devotees of Lord Ramacandra. Similarly in ISKCON temples where Lord Rama is worshipped many people will gather to celebrate.

Lord Rama is the incarnation of Lord Krishna as the perfect monarch. He enacts His lila, or pastime, of killing Ravana and establishing virtue, by personal example, throughout His kingdom. The epic story of His transcendental adventures is told in the scripture Ramayana in which one reads of His unfailing devotion to His wife Sita and Their affectionate dealings with Lord Rama's many family members, particularly His devoted Brother, Laksmana.

 

Other festivals are also held to celebrate different events in the life of Lord Ramacandra, such is His vast popularity and fame.

 

 

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

Download from canto 9 about Lord Ramacandra:

 

http://www.prabhupadavani.org/Bhagavatam/SBaudio4/sb9_10.asx

 

http://www.prabhupadavani.org/Bhagavatam/SBaudio4/sb9_11.asx

 

http://www.prabhupadavani.org/Bhagavatam/SBaudio4/sb9_12.asx

[krsna]

LORD RAMACHANDRA IS THE IDEAL KING FOR MAINTAINING AND PROTECTING THE HIGHEST CULTURE OF HUMANITY

 

The Supreme Personality of Godhead incarnated Himself as Sri Rama, accepting the sonhood of His pure devotee Maharaja Dasaratha, the King of Ayodhya. Lord Rama descended along with His plenary portions, and all of them appeared as His younger brothers. In the month of Caitra on the ninth day of the growing moon in the Treta-yuga, the Lord appeared, as usual, to establish the principles of religion and to annihilate the disturbing elements. When He was just a young boy, He helped the great sage Visvamitra by killing Subahu and striking Maricha, the she-demon, who was disturbing the sages in their daily discharge of duties. The brahmanas and ksatriyas are meant to cooperate for the welfare of the mass of people. The brahmana sages endeavor to enlighten the people by perfect knowledge, and the ksatriyas are meant for their protection. Lord Ramachandra is the ideal king for maintaining and protecting the highest culture of humanity, known as brahmanya-dharma. The Lord is specifically the protector of the cows and the brahmanas, and hence He enhances the prosperity of the world. He rewarded the administrative demigods by effective weapons to conquer the demons through the agency of Visvamitra. He was present in the bow sacrifice of King Janaka, and by breaking the invincible bow of Shiva, He married Sitadevi, daughter of Maharaja Janaka.

 

After His marriage He accepted exile in the forest for fourteen years by the order of His father, Maharaja Dasaratha. To help the administration of the demigods, He killed fourteen thousand demons, and by the intrigues of the demons, His wife, Sitadevi, was kidnapped by Ravana. He made friendship with Sugriva, who was helped by the Lord to kill Vali, the brother of Sugriva. By the help of Lord Rama, Sugriva became the king of the Vanaras (a race of gorillas). The Lord built a floating bridge of stones on the Indian Ocean and reached Lanka, the kingdom of Ravana, who had kidnapped Sita. Later on Ravana was killed by Him, and Ravana's brother Vibhisana was installed on the throne of Lanka. Vibhisana was one of the brothers of Ravana, a demon, but Lord Rama made him immortal by His blessings. On the expiry of fourteen years, after settling the affairs at Lanka, the Lord came back to His kingdom, Ayodhya, by a flower airplane. He instructed His brother Shatrughna to attack Lavanasura, who reigned at Mathura, and the demon was killed. He performed ten Ashvamedha sacrifices, and later on He disappeared while taking a bath in the Sharayu River. The reputation of the reign of Maharaja Ramachandra and that of the kings who followed in the footsteps of Maharaja Ramachandra, like the Pandavas and their descendants, are never to be forgotten because in their kingdom offenseless and honest living beings were never in trouble.The great epic Ramayana is the history of Lord Rama's activities in the world, and the authoritative Ramayana was written by the great poet Valmiki.

(SB 1.12.19, 1.17.13)

 

Lord Ramachandra's spotless name and fame, which vanquish all sinful reactions, are celebrated in all directions, like the ornamental cloth of the victorious elephant that conquers all directions. Great saintly persons like Markendaya Rsi still glorify His characteristics in the assemblies of great emperors like Maharaja Yudhisthira. Similarly, all the saintly kings and all the demigods, including Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma, worship the Lord by bowing down with their helmets. Let me offer my obeisances unto His lotus feet.

 

(Srila Sukadeva Goswami- SB 9.11.21)