History
The story of the Ramayan, written by the ancient sage and Sanskrit poet Valmeeki, is a classic, eternal, universal message of good over evil.
Once, there was a king Dasharatha of Kosal kingdom situated on the banks of river Sarayu. Ayodhya was the capital of the kingdom Kosal. King Dasharatha had three wives, Kausalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi, but had no children. He was suggested by the great sage Vasistha to perform Putra Kamesti Yagna, the holy ritual carried to obtain an offspring, to fulfill his desire for a child. With King Dasharatha's consent, the great sage Maharshi Rushya Shringa performed the ritual.
At that time the Lanka was ruled by king Ravana. He had obtained the boon from Brahma that he would never die in the hands of all the creations of Brahma, except humans. With his great power, Ravana was terrorizing the whole universe. So the gods requested Vishnu for help. Vishnu agreed to go to earth and help them in the guise of Rama, the son of king Dasharatha and queen Kausalya.
In Ayodhya, after performing yagna, king Dasharatha was given a bowl of payasa (kheer – a sweet dish prepared with milk, rice, and jaggery) by the Yagnashewara (god of yagna) and asked to distribute between his wives. He offered payasa to his all three wives. On Chaitra Shuddha Navami noon queen Kausalya gave birth to Rama who was the incarnation of Vishnu. In due time queen Kaikeyi gave birth to Bharat and queen Sumitra to Laxmana and Shatrugna.
It was a joyous occasion in Ayodhya centuries ago when Rama was born, and Rama Navami is a festival that celebrates the birth of Rama.