Story
In India, the festival of ‘Dussehra’ also known as ‘Vijaya Dashami’ is celebrated every year symbolizing the “victory of good over evil.”
The legendary story behind celebrating Dussehra is related to the epic ‘Ramayana’. One of the incidents of this epic states how Lord Rama (the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu) along with his wife Goddess Sita, went to serve a period of 14 years of exile as per the orders of Lord Rama’s father. During this period, the great demon and King of Lanka, Ravana kidnapped Goddess Sita and took her to his kingdom of Lanka. Lord Rama, along with his brother Lakshman, his devoted follower Hanuman and an army of monkeys fought a great battle to rescue his wife Goddess Sita. The war against Ravana was fought in the Satya Yug and lasted for ten days. Since then, this day is celebrated to commemorate Lord Rama’s victory over demon King Ravana. This festival is known as ‘Dussehra’, also interpreted as ‘Dasa-Hara’, which literally means the cutting of the ten heads of Ravana by Lord Rama.
Traditional Celebrations
Dussehra is celebrated throughout the country at the same time following different rituals. The ‘Ramlila’ – an enactment of the life of Lord Rama, is held during the nine days celebrations preceding Dussehra. On the tenth day (Dussehra or Vijay Dashami), large effigies of Ravana, his son Meghnadh and brother Kumbhakarna are set to fire. The theatrical enactment of this dramatic sequence is held throughout the country. The effigies of Ravana are burnt to symbolize the victory of good over evil.
In the state of West Bengal this festival is celebrated with equal zeal & enthusiasm. Bengalis call it “Durga Puja” where they worship goddess Durga and celebrate this occasion for ten days. Durga Puja symbolizes the triumph (victory) of warrior Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon, Mahishasura. The festival of Durga Puja is identified by different regional names throughout the country. The various regional names of this festival are- Navratri Puja, Mysore Dussehra, Kullu Dussehra, Saraswati Puja, Ayudha Puja etc. Amongst the aforesaid names, Mysore Dussehra and Kullu Dussehra are comparatively more famous than the other.
The “Mysore Dussehra” is held in the city of Mysore,Karnataka. In this festival, people worship the Goddess Durga, also known as Chamundeshwari or Mahishasura Mardini, who killed the demon Mahishasura.
Also, the “Kullu Dussehra” is celebrated in the Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh with equal enthusiasm. In Kullu, the Rath Yatra of the idol of Lord Ragunath is led by the Kullu Raja and village deities, which is known as the running of the Gods.
It is believed that this day is very auspicious for the children to take a step forward in the field of education-both academics and arts. Owing to this reason, Saraswati puja is conducted on Dussehra.
This year Dussehra will be celebrated across the country on 13th of October (Sunday).
How to celebrate Dussehra at home?
- Decorate your home using bright colourful lights.
- Narrate historic stories about legend Rama to your children and teach them that truth always wins.
- Encourage them to dress up in traditional clothes to enact any sequence from the Ramayana, which they can perform in the locality or school.
- Involve your children in making small effigies of Ravana to be burnt on the festival day.
- Take your children to the local fairs to watch the Ramlila.
Use the aforesaid mentioned tips to celebrate the victory of good over evil.
Wishing a Happy Dussehra to one and all!
