Sita Navami
Appearance day of Mata Sita.
Festival reminders are on for this device. Manage all reminders
Beta Rules awaiting automated Jyotish review
This festival's date rule is applied exactly as documented, but it has not yet passed the platform's Jyotish review (an automated review against the classical texts and published Panchangs). Regional Panchangs may differ; confirm with your family priest or local temple.
- CategoryJayanti
- DeityMata Sita
- Defining tithi / momentShukla Paksha Navami: to
- Lunar monthVaishakha Shukla Paksha (same name in Amanta and Purnimanta)
Timings on Friday, 14 May 2027
- Madhyahna to 2 h 36 min · 14/05/2027 (Fri)
Rule applied: Smarta — The tithi covers the required time on this day only.
About Sita Navami
Significance
Sita Navami, also called Janaki Navami or Sita Jayanti, marks the appearance of Sita, the daughter of King Janaka of Mithila and the consort of Rama. In the Valmiki Ramayana (Bala Kanda, sarga 66) Janaka himself tells how, as he was ploughing a field for a sacrifice, the girl rose from the furrow, and he named her Sita, the furrow; she is therefore called ayonija, not born of a womb, and Bhumija, daughter of the Earth.
Tradition honours Sita as the embodiment of steadfastness, dignity and devotion, and in Vaishnava theology as Lakshmi. The epic closes her story where it began: in the Uttara Kanda, asked to prove her purity once more, she calls on the Earth, who receives her back. Sita Navami falls a month after Ram Navami, on the same tithi of the bright fortnight, and many devotees keep the two days as a pair.
How and where it is observed
The day is kept with special devotion in Mithila: at Sitamarhi in Bihar, where Punaura Dham is revered as the place of Sita’s appearance, and at Janakpur in Nepal, as well as at Ayodhya and in Rama temples across North India. Some traditions keep a separate Janaki Jayanti or Sita Ashtami on Phalguna Krishna Ashtami (Purnimanta), which is Magha Krishna Ashtami in the Amanta calendar.
Rituals
Married women in many families keep a fast and worship Sita and Rama together, often with Janaka, Sunayana and the Earth, offering flowers, sindoor and items of married life. Temples hold abhisheka and midday aarti, devotees recite the Janaki stotra or the Sita episodes of the Ramayana and the Ramcharitmanas, and in Mithila the day is kept with songs and community feasts.
How the date is fixed
Sita Navami is Vaishakha Shukla Navami, the same month name in the Amanta and Purnimanta calendars. Like Ram Navami, it is fixed by midday: the day is the one on which Navami prevails during Madhyahna, the third of the five equal parts of the daytime. If Navami covers part of Madhyahna on two days, the day with the greater coverage is taken; if it covers Madhyahna on neither, the day on which it prevails longest.
Sources
- Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kanda, sarga 66 (Janaka’s account of Sita rising from the furrow)
- Valmiki Ramayana, Uttara Kanda (Sita’s return to the Earth)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Rama
Customs differ between regions, communities and families; this description is background, not a prescription. The date above is calculated by the rule shown on this page.
How the date is determined
- The date is Vaishakha Shukla Paksha Navami; the month name is the same in the Amanta and Purnimanta systems.
- It falls on the day when this tithi prevails during Madhyahna — the third fifth of the daytime, around midday.
- If the tithi prevails at that time on two consecutive days, the day on which it covers more of that period is taken.
- If the tithi does not touch that period on any day (a kshaya tithi), the Hindu day on which the tithi prevails longest is used.
- In a year with an Adhik month of the same name, it is observed in the regular (Nija) month.
Traditional variation
This is the date given by the rule shown above for the selected place. It is not the only valid date: regional Panchangs, family customs and sampradayas may observe it on a different day.
Rule source: Tithi–kaal rule of the Dharmashastra digests (Nirnaya Sindhu / Dharma Sindhu), as applied by modern drik-ganita (computed) Panchangs
Traditions may vary by region and Panchang convention. Times are shown for the selected place, time zone and calculation profile.
Calculated with engine 1.4.2 · rules rules-2026-10-21-2ab12b5d · profile north-lahiri-calibrated v1 · ayanamsa lahiri_drik_compat · astronomy-engine@2.1.19 · Asia/Kolkata
Dates in 2026
| Date | Defining tithi / moment | Time windows | Decision notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25/04/2026 (Sat)
Vaishakha Shukla Paksha (same name in Amanta and Purnimanta) |
Shukla Paksha Navami: to |
|
Standard rule applied |
Dates in 2027
| Date | Defining tithi / moment | Time windows | Decision notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14/05/2027 (Fri)
Next
Vaishakha Shukla Paksha (same name in Amanta and Purnimanta) |
Shukla Paksha Navami: to |
|
Standard rule applied |