Festival of India - Vijaya Dashami (Dussehra)

Vijaya Dashami literally means the celebration of righteousness over evil which is celebrated on the tenth day of the Hindu lunar month.Hindus celebrate this festival worldwide by observing social gatherings and offering sweets and gifts to relatives, friends and neighbours. The festivity also marks the beginning of the harvest season and prayers are said and rituals are observed to invoke blessings from Mother Earth for a good harvest, peace and prosperity to all.

The Victory of Lord Ram - Vajayadashami also celebrates the victory of Lord Ram over Ravana as cited in the epic Ramayana. This is when Lord Ram rescues his wife Sita who was abducted by Ravana and imprisoned in Lanka. Effigies of Ravana are burnt to mark the victory of good over evil. This marks the celebration of Dussehra all over India.

Vijayadashami also known as Dashahara, Dussehra, Dashain (in Nepal), Navratri or Durgotsav is one of the most important Hindu festivals celebrated in various forms, across Nepal, India and Bangladesh.

As per Hindu religion, on this day in the Treta Yug, Rama, also called Shri Ram, the seventh avatar of Vishnu, killed the great demon Ravana who had abducted Rama's wife Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. Rama, his brother Lakshmana, 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, Sita, and of Lakshmana returned to Ayodhya on the 30th day of Ashvin (19–20 days after Vijayadashmi). To mark the return of Lord Rama, in the evening, the residents of Ayodhya lit their city with millions of earthen lamps (called Deepak). Since then, this day is celebrated in India as Deepawali or Diwali.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. There are outdoor fairs and large parades with effigies of Ravana (a mythical king of ancient Sri Lanka), his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghanad. The effigies are burnt on bonfires in the evening. After Dasara, the hot summer ends, especially in North India.The onset of cold weather is believed to encourage infections. The burning of the effigies, filled with firecrackers containing phosphorus, supposedly purifies the atmosphere, while the temples perform Chandi Homa or Durga Homa, with the same intent.Vijayadashami has great importance in the Telugu household. For life events such as starting a new business/ venture, or buying a new home or vehicle, rituals take place on this auspicious day. They perform Ayudha Puja where they sanctify vehicles and other new items.

In the evenings, a procession is taken up in all major cities where people dress up as characters from the Ramayana and perform stage shows called Ramlila. Huge effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Indrajit or Meghanada are burned, signifying victory of Lord Rama.Vijayadashami(विजयादशमी) or Dasain is the biggest festival of the year in Nepal that falls in September/October and is celebrated by Hindu and non-Hindu Nepalis. The 10th day of Dasain is Vijayadashami, on which elders put Tika and Jamara on the forehead of younger members of the family. Ramkrishna missionary in Dhaka. On the day of Dasha-Hara, clay statues of the Goddess Durga are submerged in rivers.

In Bangladesh, it is a five-day long festival and is celebrated in mandaps (congregation). The largest festival is held at Dhakeshwari temple and The Ambedkarite people in India celebrate this festival as Ashok Vijayadashmi, since the Mauryan Emperor Asoka is believed to have converted to Buddhism on this day.

Some of the demons, or Asuras, were very powerful and ambitious and continually tried to defeat the Devas, or Gods, and capture Heaven. One Asura, Mahishasura, in the form of a buffalo, grew very powerful and created havoc on the earth. Under his leadership, the Asuras defeated the Devas. The world was crushed under Mahishasura's tyranny, the Devas joined their energies into Shakti, a single mass of incandescent energy, to kill Mahishasura.
A very powerful band of lightning emerged from the mouths of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and a young, beautiful female virgin with ten hands appeared. All the Gods gave their special weapons to her. This Shakti coalesced to form the goddess Durga. Riding on a lion, who assisted her, Durga fought Mahishasura. The battle raged for nine days and nights. Finally on the tenth day of Ashvin shukla paksha, Mahishasura was defeated and killed by Durga.

Text Source : http://en.wikipedia.org

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.