Dussehra
Vijayadashami is a festival celebrated in various forms across India, Bangladesh and Nepal. It is also called Dasara,Dashahara, Navaratri and Durgotsav and Dashain in Nepali.
Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of the Hindu autumn lunar month of Ashvin, or Ashwayuja which falls in September or October of the Western calendar, from the Shukla Paksha Pratipada, or the day after the new moon which falls in Bhadrapada, to the Dashami, or the tenth day of Ashvin. It is the culmination of the 10-day annual Navaratri (Sanskrit: नवरात्रि, ‘nine nights’) festival. It is the largest festivalin Nepal, and celebrated by Hindu and non-Hindu Nepalis.
History
On this day in the Treta Yug, Rama, also called Shri Ram, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, killed the great demon Ravana who had abducted Rama’s wife Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. Rama, his brother Lakshman, their follower Hanuman and an army of monkeys fought a great battle to rescue Sita. The entire narrative is recorded in the epic Ramayana, a Hindu scripture.
Rama had performed “Chandi Homa” and invoked the blessings of Durga, who blessed Rama with secret knowledge of the way to kill Ravana. On the day of Ashvin Shukla Dashami, Rama’s party found Sita and defeated Ravana. Based on the inferences from Balmik’s Ramayana, Kalidas’s Raghuvans, Tulsidas’s Ram Charit manas, and Keshavdas’s Ram Chandra Yas Chandrika as well as common perception in India, Ram, Sita, and Lakshman returned to Ayodhya on the 30th day of Ashvin (19–20 days after Vijay Dashmi). To mark the return of Lord Ram, in the evening, the residents of Ayodhya lighted their city with millions of earthen lamps (called Deepak). Since then, this day is celebrated in India as Deepawali or Diwali.
-Other story
The Mahabharata is another series of Hindu myths that play a role in the Dussehrafestival. The Pandavas were five brothers who fought evil forces with a set of distinctive weapons. They abandoned their weapons and went into exile for one year. They hid their weapons in a Shami tree and found them at the same place when they returned from exile. They then worshipped the tree before going to a battle, which they won. This epic is also commemorated during Dussehra.
Dussehra Celebrations in INDIA
In Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it is traditional to plant barley seeds in earthen pots on the first day of Navrathri. On the day of Dussehra, the nine-day old sprouts (called noratras or nortas) are used as symbols of luck. Men place them in their caps or behind their ears.In most of northern India and some parts of Maharashtra,Dasha-Hara is celebrated more in honour of Rama. During these 10 days many plays and dramas based on Ramayana are performed. These are called Ramlila.
-Durga Puja
Bengalis celebrate Dusshera as a part of their main festival – Durga Puja. This day marks the end of Durga Pooja celebrations, the preceding nine days being collectively referred to as ‘Navratri’. Vijayadashmi is dedicated to Mother Goddess Shakti, who incarnated in the form of Goddess Durga, a combined manifestation of the divine energies of the Holy Trinity – Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh and all the other devatas, when they summoned her to kill the mighty demon known as Mahishasura and freed the world from his terror.
On Vijayadashmi, the idols of Goddess Durga are immersed into water, after the nine days of festivities. It is said that the people of the earth in the eastern state of West Bengal adopted Durga as their daughter and thus, she visits the home of her parents every year, during the last four days of Navratri, along with her sons Ganesha and Kartikeya, and daughters Lakshmi and Saraswati. She finally leaves for her husband’s place on Vijayadashmi. Similar customs are seen in Orissa and Assam. In the North-eastern state of Tripura, huge fairs are conducted and effigies of Ravana, Meghnath and Kumbhkarna are burnts at Ramlila maidans.
In the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Vijayadashmi holds special significance. The day is considered auspicious for starting education or any form of art, such as dance and music. Saraswati Puja is conducted on the day, when the formal commencement of education of small kids takes place. It is called ‘Vidya aarambham’ (the beginning of Vidya, meaning education). In Karnataka (especially Mysore) andAndhra Pradesh, Dusshera is celebrated with fanfare. Huge processions can be witnessed in both the States. Although Dussehra is celebrated in different ways across India, the motive remains the same – to spread good cheer and celebrate the victory of good over the evil.
Dussehra Celebrations in Nepal and Mauritius
Vijayadashami is the biggest festival of the year in Nepal. The 10th day of Dashain is Vijaya Dashami, on which elders put tika and jamara on the forehead of younger members of the family. It is on this day that the only Hindu Monarch on the Planet, the King of Nepal, puts tika on the foreheads of the people.
Vijayadashami, as the last day of Navarathri, is celebrated in Mauritius as one of the largest and most popular Hindu festivals on the island nation.
Dussehra Picture Gallery
Importance of Dussehra
Signifies the victory of good over evil. On this day you pray to Mother Durga to destroy all your impurities, your vices, your defects. She is to fight with and annihilate the baser animal qualities in the spiritual aspirant, the lower, diabolical nature in you. Once you have accomplished your task on the negative side, that of breaking down the impure propensities and old vicious habits, the next step is to build up a sublime spiritual personality, to acquire positive qualities in place of the eliminated demoniacal qualities.
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