Dusshera, Dasara or Dashain

Wishing you a Dussehra filled with sweet moments and cherished memories. Celebrate with love and happiness!

Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami, Dasara, or Dashain) is a Hindu festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. It is a gazetted holiday in India, which is marked on the 10th day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the month of Ashvin (Ashwayuja), according to the Hindu calendar.

What Do People Do?

Many people of the Hindu faith observe Dussehra through special prayer meetings and food offerings to the gods at home or in temples throughout India. They also hold outdoor fairs (melas) and large parades with effigies of Ravana (a mythical king of ancient Sri Lanka). The effigies are burnt on bonfires in the evening. Dussehra is the culmination of the Navaratri festival.

There are many local celebrations in some areas in India that can last for up to 10 days. Local events include:

• Performances of the Ramlila (a short version of the epic Ramayana) in Northern India.
• A large festival and procession including the goddess Chamundeshwari on a throne mounted on elephants in the town of Mysore in the state of Karnataka.
• The blessing of household and work-related tools, such as books, computers, cooking pans and vehicles in the state of Karnataka.
• The preparation of special foods, including luchi (deep fried flat bread) and alur dom (deep fried spiced potato snacks), in Bengal.

Many Hindus also believe that it is lucky to start a new venture, project or journey on Dussehra. They may also exchange gifts of leaves from the Shami tree (Prosopis spicigera) as a symbol of the story of the Pandavas brothers’ exile in the Mahabharata stories.

Public Life

Government offices, post offices and banks are closed in India on Dussehra. Stores and other businesses and organizations may be closed or have reduced opening hours. Those wishing to use public transport on the day may need to contact the local transport authorities to check on timetables.

Background

Dussehra celebrates the Hindu god Rama’s victory over the demon king Ravana and the triumph of good over evil. The epic Ramayana tells the story of the Lord Rama who wins the lovely Sita for his wife, only to have her carried off by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka.

Ravana plays an important role in the Ramayana. Ravana had a sister known as Shoorpanakha. She fell in love with the brothers Rama and Lakshamana and wanted to marry one of them. Lakshamana refused to marry her and Rama could not as he was already married to Sita.

Shoorpanakha threatened to kill Sita, so that she could marry Rama. This angered Lakshamana who cut off Shoorpanakha’s nose and ears. Ravana then kidnapped Sita to avenge his sister’s injuries. Rama and Lakshamana later fought a battle to rescue Sita. The monkey god Hanuman and a huge army of monkeys helped them.

The Mahabharata is another series of Hindu stories that play a role in the Dussehra festival. 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.

Symbols

Symbols seen throughout the Dussehra/Vijaya Dashami celebrations include:

• Bonfires and fireworks
• Paper and wood effigies of Ravana.
• Red spots (tika) painted on people’s foreheads.

The effigies of Ravana are often burnt on the bonfires

Vijayadashami also known as  Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain

is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year in India and Nepal. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu calendar month of Ashvin, the seventh month of the Hindu Luni-Solar Calendar, which typically falls in the Gregorian months of September and October.^[5][6][7]

Vijayadashami is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in Nepalese and Indian parts of Indian subcontinent.^[8][1][9][5] In the southern, eastern, northeastern, and some northern states of India, Vijayadashami marks the end of Durga Puja, remembering goddess Durga‘s victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura to restore and protect dharma.^[5][10][11] In the northern, central and western states, the festival is synonymously called Dussehra (also spelled Dasara, Dashahara). In these regions, it marks the end of Ramlila and remembers god Rama‘s victory over Ravana. Alternatively, it marks a reverence for one of the aspects of goddess Devi, such as Durga or Saraswati.^[1][6][7]

Vijayadashami celebrations include processions to a river or ocean front that involve carrying clay statues of Durga,^[12] Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya, accompanied by music and chants, after which the images are immersed in the water for dissolution and farewell. Elsewhere, on Dasara, towering effigies of Ravana, symbolising evil, are burnt with fireworks, marking evil’s destruction. The festival also starts the preparations for Diwali, the important festival of lights, which is celebrated twenty days after Vijayadashami.

Dussehra Observances

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Note: During a gazetted holiday, government offices and most businesses are closed so people have a day off work.

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