Festival · 2027
Sita Navami 2027 — Friday, 14 May 2027
Sita Navami, also called Janaki Navami or Janaki Jayanti, celebrates the appearance of Sita, found by King Janaka in a furrow of the earth, at midday on Vaishakha Shukla Navami.
In 2026
Saturday, 25 April 2026
- Tithi
- Shukla Navami: 24 Apr, 7:22 PM – 25 Apr, 6:28 PM
- Lunar month
- Vaishakha
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:45 AM / 6:52 PM
- Madhyahna moment
- 12:19 PM
| Puja muhurat | 11:00 AM – 1:37 PM |
|---|---|
| Madhyahna | 11:00 AM – 1:37 PM |
Rule: Vaishakha Shukla Navami prevailing at madhyahna; if on both days, the first.
In 2027
Friday, 14 May 2027
- Tithi
- Shukla Navami: 13 May, 9:18 PM – 14 May, 7:39 PM
- Lunar month
- Vaishakha
- Sunrise / sunset
- 5:31 AM / 7:04 PM
- Madhyahna moment
- 12:17 PM
| Puja muhurat | 10:56 AM – 1:38 PM |
|---|---|
| Madhyahna | 10:56 AM – 1:38 PM |
Rule: Vaishakha Shukla Navami prevailing at madhyahna; if on both days, the first.
Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar
What is Sita Navami?
Sita Navami falls on the ninth day of the bright half of Vaishakha, exactly one lunar month after Ram Navami, which falls on the ninth day of the bright half of Chaitra. The two days mirror each other: Rama is remembered as born at midday on Chaitra Shukla Navami, and Sita as appearing at midday on Vaishakha Shukla Navami. For devotees of Rama and Sita, the month between them is a season of the Ramayana.
The story of Sita’s birth is told in the Valmiki Ramayana, in the Bala Kanda, by King Janaka himself. Janaka, the king of Videha, was ploughing a field to prepare the ground for a sacrifice when a baby girl rose from the earth in the furrow cut by his plough. He raised her as his daughter and named her Sita, which means “furrow”. She is therefore also called Bhumija, daughter of the earth, Janaki, daughter of Janaka, and Maithili and Vaidehi, after the land of Mithila or Videha. Later tellings add other details, and in several traditions she is revered as a form of Lakshmi.
The Ramayana presents Sita as a person of great steadiness and dignity: she chooses to follow Rama into the forest, endures captivity in Lanka without yielding, and in the end returns to the earth from which she came. Many readers today also see in her story questions of justice and of how a society treats women, and the festival is an occasion to reflect on her strength as well as her devotion.
On Sita Navami, devotees, and especially married women, keep a fast and worship Sita with Rama. Temples of Rama hold special services, the Ramayana is read, and in Mithila, the region she is remembered as coming from, the day is kept with particular affection. Sitamarhi in Bihar and Janakpur in Nepal, both linked in tradition with her birth and childhood, draw pilgrims for the day.
How it is observed
- A fast through the day, kept especially by married women, often ended after the midday worship or in the evening.
- Worship of Sita with Rama at madhyahna, the middle of the day, with flowers, sindoor, a lamp, fruit and sweets.
- Reading the Bala Kanda of the Ramayana or the Ramcharitmanas, and singing bhajans of Sita and Rama.
- Special services and decoration at Rama temples, and at the Janaki temple in Janakpur and the Sita shrines of Sitamarhi.
- In some homes, a symbolic worship of the earth or of a plough, recalling how Sita was found.
- Giving food and gifts in charity, particularly to women and girls.
How the date is fixed
Sita Navami is kept on Vaishakha Shukla Navami, the ninth lunar day of the bright half of Vaishakha. Because Sita is remembered as appearing at midday, our calendar takes the day on which Navami prevails at madhyahna, the middle fifth of the daylight. If Navami is present at madhyahna on two consecutive days, the first of the two is taken. The date and the madhyahna window shown above are worked out this way for the place you choose, and the midday worship is usually timed within that window.
Where practice differs
Sita Navami is kept most warmly in Mithila, across north Bihar and the Terai of Nepal, where Sita is remembered as the region’s daughter, and at Janakpur and Sitamarhi, as well as in Ayodhya and in Rama temples everywhere. Some traditions, particularly in parts of western and northern India, keep Janaki Jayanti on a different day, Phalguna Krishna Ashtami in the north (Magha Krishna Ashtami in amanta calendars), following another reckoning of her birth; families usually follow the day their own tradition keeps. The Vaishakha Shukla Navami day is the same month in both northern and amanta calendars, since it is in the bright half.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
Why is Sita Navami celebrated?
It celebrates the appearance of Sita, who according to the Valmiki Ramayana was found by King Janaka in a furrow while he ploughed a field. Devotees worship Sita with Rama, remember her steadfastness and dignity, and many married women keep a fast for the wellbeing of their families.
What is the difference between Sita Navami and Janaki Jayanti?
Both names refer to Sita’s birth. Many keep it on Vaishakha Shukla Navami as Sita Navami or Janaki Navami, while some traditions keep Janaki Jayanti on Phalguna Krishna Ashtami. The difference comes from different traditional reckonings, not from different persons.
Where was Sita born?
Tradition places her appearance in Mithila, the kingdom of Janaka. Sitamarhi in Bihar and Janakpur in Nepal are both revered as places linked with her birth and childhood, and pilgrims visit both on Sita Navami.
How far apart are Ram Navami and Sita Navami?
Exactly one lunar month. Ram Navami is Chaitra Shukla Navami and Sita Navami is Vaishakha Shukla Navami, so they usually fall about four weeks apart, and both are fixed by the Navami at midday.