Further north, in the Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh, one can also witness large fairs and parades as a part of the celebrations. The legend of the Ramayana is brought to life as well through theatrical enactments of the epic called Ram Leela. In various parts of northern India, to mark the end of evil, huge colourful effigies of the demon king Ravana, his son Meghanada, and his brother Kumbhakarna are set on fire with the help of a flaming arrow. Another trend is the immersion of idols, commonly practised across the nation.
Since the festival marks the triumph of good over evil, Dussehra is considered an auspicious day to begin a new venture or start a new investment. Celebrations Illustration: ACK Design Team People worship the goddess along with their instruments of trade. In other parts of the country, Dussehra is celebrated as the festival of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. Thus, the day became popular as “Vijaya Dashami”. Arjuna was also called Vijaya – the one who is ever victorious. Arjuna and SaraswatiĪccording to the Mahabharata, Dussehra also marks the day when Arjuna single-handedly put the huge Kaurava army to sleep by invoking the Sammohan Astra. This is why Navaratri celebrations are nine days long, with each day dedicated to one of the nine avatars of Durga, culminating with Durga Puja celebrations on the tenth day. She challenged the demon and fought with him in a nine-day long battle, ultimately slaying the powerful asura on the tenth day. That’s when goddess Durga came to their rescue. Soon, with his newfound strength, he started wreaking havoc in the three worlds, terrifying even the gods themselves. The deeply prejudiced Mahishasura was extremely confident that no woman was strong enough to slay him. However, when Lord Brahma told him that wasn’t possible, the arrogant demon altered his request, instead, wishing that if he were to be killed, it had to be by a woman. According to the Puranas, Mahishasura performed severe penance to be immortal.
In many other states of India, the festival is dedicated to the victory of goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. Therefore, when combined, ‘Dussehra’ stands for the day when the ten evil faces of Ravana were destroyed by Lord Rama. The word ‘Dussehra’ is made up of two Hindi words, ‘dus’ meaning ten and ‘hara’ meaning annihilated. Rama, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, circumvented the boon and managed to kill the demon king in a fierce battle on this day. After several years of penance, Ravana had received a boon from Lord Brahma which made him indestructible. According to the Ramayana, Ravana kidnapped Rama’s wife, Sita.
Most of the northern states of India see this festival as the day when Rama killed the ten-headed king of Lanka, Ravana. Rama VS Ravana Illustration: Arijit Dutta Chowdhury However, this is not the only story in Indian mythology that is tied to Dussehra. The festival is the culmination of the nine-day long Navaratri celebrations. Observed on the tenth day in the month of Ashvin or Kartik (September-October), the most popular legend associated with it is the triumph of Vishnu’s Rama avatar over the demon king of Lanka, Ravana, who abducted Rama’s wife, Sita. Whatever the name, one has to agree that the festival of Dussehra is one that unifies the nation celebrating the victory of good over evil. It’s called Dasha-Hara in the north, Vijayadashami in the south, and Durgotsava in the east.
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