The festival of Vijayadashami or Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of Shukla Paksha of Ashwin month. This day is considered a very important day in Hinduism.

This year, the festival falls on October 5, 2022.

The word ‘Dussehra’ signifies the meaning of the festival itself. The word is formed from two words – Dus and Ahara. ‘Dus’ means ten and ‘Ahara’ means day, so tenth day. Another meaning comes from the mythology of the festival where ‘Dus’ signifies the ten heads of Ravana or bad or evil and ‘hara’ means to defeat or removal. In the northern and western states of India Dussehra is celebrated in the honour of Lord Rama who was an avatar of Lord Vishnu. Plays based on Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas called Ramlila are performed at outdoor fairs by theatre troupes. Dussehra is also celebrated as Vijayadashami and also signifies the killing of demon Mahishasura by Goddess Durga on the tenth day of Navratri.

Dussehra related to Lord Rama

According to Hindu mythology, Ravana was a demon king of Lanka, a territory to the south of India who desired Lord Rama’s wife Sita. Ravana kidnapped Sita and took her to his kingdom Lanka where he held her captive. Lord Rama traveled to Lanka with an army of monkeys and with the support of his brother Lakshman and Lord Hanuman he killed Ravana on the tenth day of the battle. The first nine days are celebrated as Navratri and the tenth day when Ravana is killed Dussehra is celebrated. The Navratri festival is concluded by burning huge and gigantic effigies of the demon Ravana. The killing of Ravana signifies the triumph of good over evil.

Vijayadashmi related to Goddess Durga

In another mythology which is prevalent in the eastern and northern states of India, Goddess Durga kills the demon Mahishasura to bring peace to Earth. The festival of Navratri is celebrated because here also the battle between the Goddess and the demon spans ten days. On the tenth day, the Goddess Durga kills Mahishasura and the day are celebrated as Vijayadashmi meaning the ‘victory that was attained on the tenth day’. Each of the preceding nine days of Vijayadashami is dedicated to a specific powerful manifestation of Goddess Durga and people in Northern and Western parts of the region fast while worshipping the nine forms of the Goddess. The eastern and north-eastern parts of India do not fast during Durga Puja as it is a celebratory time for them and they enjoy the festival with much pomp and fervour. Goddess Durga is worshipped for five days in eastern and northeastern parts of the country and on the tenth day, the idol is immersed in water bodies marking the end of festivities.

Dussehra or Vijayadashami or even Bijoya (as Bengalis call it) is one of the most popular and fervently celebrated festivals in India. People play dandiya and garba during the nine days of Navratri while praying to the Goddess. Dussehra and Vijayadashami both celebrate the win of good over evil and signify the man’s need to overcome fear, greed and negative thinking and move towards positive thoughts and deeds.

Homecoming of Parvati

Parvati was Sati in her previous birth. Sati was a great devotee of Shiva and prayed for getting Shiva as her husband. Being pleased with her worship, Shiva married her. Sati’s father was against this marriage but couldn’t prevent it.

Dasksh arranged a Yagna in which he invited everyone except Shiva. Being ashamed of by his father’s act and seeing the insult of her husband by father Dasksh, she jumped in the fire of Yagna and killed herself. Lord Shiva was anguished when he came to know this. He lifted Sati’s body on his shoulders and started dancing. As the supreme power was dancing with wrath, the world was on the verge of destruction. Then Lord Vishu came forward as a savior and used his Chakra to cut Sati’s body into pieces. Those pieces fell from the shoulders of the dancing Shiva and scattered throughout the Indian subcontinent. Shiva was pacified when the last piece fell from his shoulder. In her next birth, Sati was born as Parvati, the daughter of Himavat, ruler of the Himalayas. Lord Vishnu asked Shiva to forgive Daksha. Ever since, peace was restored and Parvati visits her parents of previous birth each year during the season of Sharatkal or autumn, when Durga-Puja is celebrated.

End of Agyatawas of Pandavas

In the age of Dvapara Yuga, Pandavas lost to Kauravas in a game of dice, and spent twelve years of Vanawas, or exile to the forest, followed by one year of Agnyatawas(exile incognito).

The brothers hid their weapons in a hole in a Shami tree before entering the Kingdom of Virat to complete the final year of Agnyatawas .After that year, on “Vijaya Dashami”, they recovered the weapons, declared their true identities and defeated Kauravas, who had attacked King Virat to steal his cattle. Since that day, Shami trees and weapons have been worshiped and the exchange of Shami leaves on Dussehra has been a symbol of good will and victory.

Celebrations

A precursor to Diwali, people celebrate Dussehra with all fanfare and full religious zeal. Hindu devotees in North India organise Ramleela – a theatrical enactment of Lord Ram’s life story – in the days leading to, and on Dussehra. On Dussehra, massive effigies of Ravan, sometimes along with his son Meghand and brother Kumbhkaran, are set ablaze in open grounds.

In West Bengal, people celebrate the occasion as Durga Puja festival to mark the Goddess’s victory over demon Mahishasur. Devotees worship Durga at various theme-based pandals. In Gujarat, people celebrate the festival through garba – the famous folk dance of the state. Both during Navratri and on Dussehra, people wear colorful clothes and celebrate the festival to the max. In South India, people bring home idols of Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Married women also visit each other’s houses and exchange gifts like coconut, betel nuts and even money.