Sita Navmi 2025: Date, timings, significance, fasting rituals, and all one needs to know

Sita Navmi, also known as Janaki Navmi or Sita Jayanti, is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Mata Sita, the wife of Lord Ram, the ideal daughter, wife, and mother, and one of the most respected women in Indian beliefs. If Lord Ram is Maryada Purushottam, Maa Sita is the epitome of love, devotion, and respect. This festival falls in the Hindu month of Vaishakha, which is basically between April and May, and is one of the ninth day of Shukla paksha.
And for Indians all over the world, Sita Navmi is the day to honour her birth, her attributes, her life, and much more.

In 2025, Sita Navmi will be celebrated on May 5, Monday. And according to Drik Panchang, “Sita Navami - Monday, May 5, 2025
Sita Navami midday auspicious time -From 10:58 A.M. 01:38 PMDuration - 02 Hours 40 MinutesSita Navami midday moment -12:18 PMNavami tithi starts -May 05, 2025 at 07:35 AMNavami date ends -May 06, 2025 at 08:38 AM”

According to Hindu scriptures, Maa Sita was not born in the conventional way, but rather was found in ‘Bhoomi’ or Mother Earth. It is said that when King Janak was tilling the Earth for the new harvest and wished to organise a Yagya, he found her in a golden basket, a beautiful little baby girl, who would soon become one of the greatest warriors and be admired and respected around the world.
King Janak raised her as his daughter, and because she was found in the earth, she is also known as Bhumi Devi’s daughter.

Sita Navami is celebrated with devotion and adherence to rituals by both men and women, but is said to be especially beneficial for married or unmarried women. It is said that keeping a fast (vrat) on Sita Navmi and praying to Mata Sita helps unmarried women have a husband like Lord Ram, righteous, kind, and respectful, and when unmarried women keep a fast on Sita Navmi they are blessed with the devotion and qualities of Mata Sita. It is also believed that if married women have any kinds of problems in their life, relating to their husband, Maa Sita blesses them with problem-solving abilities, a happy and calm married life, and more.

The rituals for Sita Navmi are similar to any other fasting or auspicious day, and devotees start the day early, preferably in the Brahma Muhurat, and cleanse themselves with a bath and Gangajal. Then the home temple is cleaned and the idols and murtis of the Gods and Goddesses are also cleansed with water.
In many homes, the idol of Mata Sita is not kept alone, but rather with Lord Ram, and thus both of them are worshipped together.

In temples, people offer flowers, fruits, milk, kumkum, and more to Mata Sita, and one can hear bhajans, chants, mantras, and more, dedicated to Mata Sita.

Just like any other Hindu festival, on Sita Navmi too people fast and ask for blessings. Some devotees, especially women (married or unmarried) keep a Nirjala vrat on this day, which means they do not consume any water or food for the entire day, and only break the fast after their afternoon puja.
People who cannot keep a Nirjala vrat abstain from eating any grains or foods that are heavy and indulgent in nature, and eat light foods like fruits, milk, dry fruits, and the like.

The celebration of Sita Navmi has one more important part, and while it is not a traditional ritual, it is still incorporated into lives today. On Sita Navmi, people read about Maa Sita, her heroics, her behaviour, her nature, her warrior spirit, her notion of an ideal wife, and more, and see her as more than just Lord Ram’s wife.
Mata Sita is thus regarded as the epitome of dharma, and her conduct, be it leaving the life of a palace to enduring the time in Lanka, is seen as a mix of grace and strength. Maa Sita’s inner strength, as we saw in the Ramayan, shows her resolve and how she remained calm through the ordeals in Lanka. And while unmarried women pray to her for a husband like Lord Ram, and her qualities of a warrior princess, married women see her as a ‘Pativrata’, a devoted wife, with an unwavering love and loyalty to Lord Ram.