Also known as: Vijayadashami, Dasara, Dashain, Bijoya Dashami · Observed: Across India and Nepal
Significance of Dussehra
Dussehra, also called Vijayadashami, the tenth day of victory, follows the nine nights of Sharad Navaratri. It celebrates two great victories of dharma: Lord Rama's defeat of the ten-headed Ravana, and Goddess Durga's slaying of the buffalo demon Mahishasura. The name Dussehra is often explained as the removal of the ten heads, standing for the ten vices such as lust, anger, greed, pride and jealousy that the festival invites people to overcome.
Vijayadashami is also one of the most auspicious days of the year for beginnings. Children start their education, artists begin new work, and traders open new accounts, in the belief that any effort begun on this day will meet with success.
Legends of Victory
In the Ramayana, Rama, with Lakshmana, Hanuman and the vanara army, fought Ravana in Lanka to rescue Sita. Before the final battle, Rama worshipped the Goddess for her blessing, and on the tenth day he killed Ravana. In the Devi Mahatmya, Durga's nine-day battle with Mahishasura ended on the tenth day with his death. The Mahabharata adds another story: at the end of their thirteen years of exile, the Pandavas retrieved the weapons they had hidden in a shami tree and Arjuna, revealing himself, defeated the Kaurava army that had attacked King Virata's cattle. For this reason the shami tree is worshipped on Vijayadashami.
How Dussehra Is Celebrated
In North India, the Ramlila, a dramatic re-enactment of the Ramayana held over the preceding nights, culminates on Dussehra with the burning of giant effigies of Ravana, Meghanada and Kumbhakarna stuffed with fireworks, watched by large crowds. The Ramlila of Ramnagar near Varanasi and the celebrations in Delhi are famous. In Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, the week-long Kullu Dussehra brings hundreds of village deities in procession to honour Raghunath. In Mysuru, the royal Dasara ends with the Jamboo Savari, a grand procession with the image of Goddess Chamundeshwari carried on a caparisoned elephant.
In Bengal, Bijoya Dashami is the day of farewell to Durga. Married women smear each other with vermilion in Sindoor Khela, the images are immersed, and people embrace and exchange sweets. In Maharashtra and Karnataka, apta or shami leaves are exchanged as symbolic gold, and in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh families worship the jammi (shami) tree and look for the palapitta (Indian roller bird) as a good omen. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Vidyarambham initiates small children into learning by writing their first letters in rice or sand, and Ayudha Puja on the previous day honours tools and books. Nepal celebrates the same festival as Dashain, with elders placing tika and jamara on the foreheads of younger relatives.
How the Date Is Determined
Vijayadashami falls on Ashwin Shukla Dashami, the tenth tithi of the bright fortnight of Ashwin. The festival is fixed by the tithi prevailing in the aparahna, the afternoon, which contains the Vijaya muhurta considered ideal for setting out on journeys and beginning undertakings. If Dashami prevails in the afternoon on two days, the first is generally chosen, and the presence of Shravana nakshatra is considered especially favourable. Navaratri's Navami falls on the previous day.
Rituals and customs
- Burning effigies of Ravana, Meghanada and Kumbhakarna
- Shami puja and exchange of shami or apta leaves
- Immersion of Durga images and Sindoor Khela in Bengal
- Vidyarambham initiation of children into learning
- Ayudha Puja of tools, vehicles and books
- Starting new ventures in the Vijaya muhurta