Sita (Janaki)
Sita Navami
The appearance day of the earth's own daughter — Janaki of the furrow.
Tithi: Vaishakha Shukla Navami
In the simplest words
Sita Ma's birthday — found as a baby in a furrow of the earth, she grew into the quiet strength at the heart of the whole Ramayana.
The story & purpose
As King Janaka ploughed the yajna field at Mithila, the furrow — sita — yielded a radiant infant, and the childless king knew the earth had given him a daughter. Exactly one lunar month after Rama Navami, tradition keeps his bride's appearance.
Sita is bhumi-ja — earth-born — and everything in her story keeps the earth's dignity: patience that is not weakness, steadfastness through exile, and a final return to her mother the earth on her own terms. Married women keep this vrat for the household's wellbeing, as Sita is Lakshmi herself.
What is done
Sita-Rama puja
Janaki worshipped beside Rama with yellow flowers, akshata, and kheer.
Vrat & katha
A day's fast with the reading of her prakatya katha from the Ramayana.
Bhumi-vandana
Samudra-vasane devi — the morning verse asking the earth's forgiveness — takes on its fullest meaning today.
Rama jaap
Shri Rama Jaya Rama, or the Rama Gayatri, 108 times.
Best timings
Puja at midday, the hour of her appearance in the furrow.
Exact muhurat varies by city and tradition — for the precise hour, consult a local panchang for your location.
Worth knowing
Sitamarhi in Bihar and Janakpur in Nepal both claim her birthplace and keep grand melas today.
Valmiki calls her Vaidehi, Maithili, Janaki — daughter of a land, a kingdom, and a sage-king.
Sita — 'the furrow' — is already a goddess in the Rig Veda's ploughing hymn: 'Sita, be gracious to us' (4.57.6).
Mantras of this festival
श्री राम जय राम जय जय राम
Shri Rama Jaya Rama — the thirteen-syllable jaap
Begin jaap →ॐ दाशरथये विद्महे सीतावल्लभाय धीमहि । तन्नो रामः प्रचोदयात् ॥
Rama Gayatri
Begin jaap →समुद्रवसने देवि पर्वतस्तनमण्डले । विष्णुपत्नि नमस्तुभ्यं पादस्पर्शं क्षमस्व मे ॥
Samudra Vasane — greeting the Earth
Begin jaap →रामाय रामभद्राय रामचन्द्राय वेधसे । रघुनाथाय नाथाय सीतायाः पतये नमः ॥
Ramaya Ramabhadraya
Begin jaap →Note: Some panchangs observe 15 May 2027 by tithi-at-midday rules. Follow your family's panchang.