Dussehra Celebration

1. Vijayadashami also known as Dasara, Dashahara, Dussehra, Dashain (in Nepal), Navratri or Durgotsav is one of the most important Hindu festivals celebrated in various forms, across Nepal, India and Bangladesh.The name Dussehra is derived from Sanskrit Dasha hara literally means The sun will not rise (Dasha(sun) and Hara(defeat)) referring to Lord Rama victory over the ten headed demon king Ravana. The day also marks the victory of Goddess Durga .....

Significance

2. As the name suggests Vijayadashmi or Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of the month of Ashwin according to the Hindu lunisolar calendar which corresponds to September or October of the Gregorian calendar.The first nine days are celebrated as Maha Navratri(Devnagari nine nights ) or Sharada Navratri (the most important Navratri) and culminates on the tenth day as Dasara.In India, the harvest season begins at this time and so the Mother Godde .....

Victory of Lord Rama over Ravana

3. As per Hindu religion, on this day in the Treta Yug, King Rama, also called Shri Ram, the seventh avatar of Vishnu, killed the great demon Ravana who had abducted Rama wife Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. Rama, his brother Lakshmana, their follower Hanuman and an army of monkeys fought a great battle to rescue Sita.The entire narrative is recorded in the epic Ramayana, a Hindu scripture.Rama had performed Chandi Homa and invoked the blessings of .....

Victory of Durga Mata over Mahishasura

4. Some of the demons, or Asuras, were very powerful and ambitious and continually tried to defeat the Devas, or Gods, and capture Heaven. One Asura, Mahishasura, in the form of a buffalo, grew very powerful and created havoc on the earth. Under his leadership, the Asuras defeated the Devas. The world was crushed under Mahishasura tyranny, the Devas joined their energies into Shakti, a single mass of incandescent energy, to kill Mahishasura.A very .....

Homecoming of Durga Maata

5. Daksha, the Lord of the Earth, and his wife Prasuti, had a daughter called Sati. As a child, Sati started worshipping Lord Shiva as her would be husband. Lord Shiva was pleased with the Sati worship of him and married her. Daksha was against their marriage but could not prevent it. Daksha arranged a yagna to which everyone except Lord Shiva was invited. Sati, feeling ashamed of her father behaviour and shocked by the attitude meted towards her .....

End of Agyatawas of Pandavas

6. In the age of Dvapara Yuga, Pandavas the five acknowledged sons of Pandu (Sanskrit), by his two wives Kunti and Madri lost to Kauravas in a game of dice, and both spent twelve years of Vanawas, or exile to the forest, followed by one year of Agnyatawas. 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 Vijayadashmi, they recovered the wea .....

Kautsa Guru Dakshina

7. Kautsa, the young son of a Brahmin called Devdatt, lived in the city of Paithan. After completing his education with Rishi Varatantu, he insisted on his guru accepting Guru Dakshina, a present. The guru said, Kautsa, to give dakshina in return for learning wisdom is not appropriate. Graduation of the disciple makes the guru happy, and that is the real Guru Dakshina.Kautsa was not satisfied. He still felt it was his duty to give his guru somethin .....

Dussehra Celebrations

8. Dussehra is the culmination of Navaratis in India. Popularly known as Vijayadashmi, Dussehra is celebrated with great enthusiasm, all over India. It is observed differently in different parts of the country, depending upon the legend that is followed in each region. In North India, Ramlila forms the highlight of Dusshera, while in south India, it is the triumph of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura that is celebrated. Eastern state of West Bengal has .....

Dussehra The tenth day of celebration

9. Navaratri is replete with symbolism about vanquishing evil and wanton nature, and about having reverence for all aspects of life and even for the things and objects that contribute to our wellbeing. The nine days of Navaratri are classified as per the three basic qualities of tamas, rajas and sattva. The first three days are tamas, where the goddess is fierce, like Durga and Kali. The next three days are Lakshmi related gentle but materially or .....

Dussehra Puja

10. Since the celebrations of Dusshera are related to the Hindu mythology, hence the puja performed on Dussehra is performed strictly according to the Hindu traditions and culture. While both men and women can perform the puja, people usually call upon a priest to perform the ritual. After providing him with all the materials required, which may include cow dung, limestone, rice, flowers, kheer and other puja items like dhoop, incense sticks, deep et .....

Dasha Hara in Northern India

11. In Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and western Bihar, it is tradition to plant barley seeds in earthen pots on the first day of Navratri. On the day of Dasara, the nine day old sprouts (called noratras or nortas or of nav ratris or nine nights) are used as symbols of luck. Men place them in their caps or behind their ears.In most of northern India and some parts of Maharashtra, Dasha Hara is celebrated more in honour of Rama .....

Himachal Pradesh

12. Kullu Dussehra is celebrated in Kullu Valley of Himachal Pradesh. It is celebrated in the Dhalpur maidan in the Kullu valley. Dussehra at Kullu commences on the tenth day of the rising moon, i.e. on Vijaya Dashami day itself and continues for seven days. Its history dates back to the 17th century when local King Jagat Singh installed an idol of Raghunath on his throne as a mark of penance. After this, god Raghunath was declared as the ruling de .....

Southern India

13. Vijayadashami is celebrated in various ways in different parts of South India. It is seens as a day to express gratitude to everything that bring success in life. Celebrations can take many forms, ranging from worshipping the goddess Chamundeshwari (Durga) to exhibiting colorful toys , celebrated as Golu in Karnataka,Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu from Navratri onwards.There is a legend related to the exhibition of toys that is known as .....

Andhra Pradesh

14. Vijayadashami has great importance in the Telugu household. For life events such as starting a new business/ venture, or buying a new home or vehicle, rituals take place on this auspicious day. They perform Ayudha Puja where they sanctify vehicles and other new items. In the evenings, a procession is taken up in all major cities where people dress up as characters from the Ramayana and perform stage shows called Ramlila. Huge effigies of Ravana, .....

Karnataka

15. In Karnataka, Ayudha Puja, on the ninth day of Dasha Hara, is celebrated with the worship of implements used in daily life such as computers, books, vehicles, or kitchen tools. Buses, trucks and machines in factories are decorated.The effort to see the divine in the tools and objects one uses in daily life is central to this celebration, so it includes all tools that help one earn one livelihood. Knowledge workers go for books, pen or computers, .....

Mysore Dasara

16. The legend associated with the Shami tree finds commemoration during the renowned Mysore Dasara & Navratri celebrations at Mysore. The Mysore celebrations also strongly emphasize the Durga legend described above, as may be expected in the city built at the very site of the events of the Durga legend. On Vijaydashami day, at the culmination of a colourful 10 day celebration, the goddess Chamundeshwari is worshiped and then borne in a grand process .....

Kerala

17. The last three days of the Navratri festival, i.e. Ashtami, Navami, and Dashami are celebrated as Saraswati Puja. The celebrations start with the Puja Veypu (Offering for Worship). It consists of placing the books for Pooja on the Ashtami day.It may be in one own house, in the local Nursery School run by traditional teachers, or in the local temple. The books will be taken out for reading, after worship, only on the morning of the third day (Vij .....

Bengal

18. In Bengal, Dussehra is celebrated as Durga Puja. Deities of the goddess Durga are worshipped for five days, and on the fifth day (Vijaya Dashami) immersed in a river or pond. This is referred as Durga Bisarjan/Bhashaan. In Jharkhand, Bengal, Assam and Odisha, the goddess Kali, an appellation of Durga, is also worshipped as a symbol of Shakti (Power). .....

Dasain in Nepal

19. Vijayadashami or Dasain is the biggest festival of the year in Nepal that falls in September/October and is celebrated by Hindu and non Hindu Nepalis. Among the Newars, it is known as Mohani. The 10th day of Dasain is Vijayadashami, on which elders put Tika and Jamara on the forehead of younger members of the family. Jamara is sown on the first day of the festival which becomes greenish yellow of about 10 20 cm length which represent symbol of vi .....

Dussehra in Bangladesh

20. In Bangladesh, it is a five day long festival and is celebrated in mandaps (congregation). The largest festival is held at Dhakeshwari temple and Ramkrishna missionary in Dhaka. On the day of Dasha Hara, clay statues of the Goddess Durga are submerged in rivers. The pooja is performed with turmeric and other pooja items, which are added to the river in order to help the water yield better crops. .....

What Rituals are Perfrormed

21. Dussehra is considered to be an auspicious time to worship tools used to earn an income. Nowadays, this includes laptops and cars! According to the legend in the epic Mahabharata, Arjuna hid his weapons in a tree and when he returned a year later, on the day of Dussehra, he safely retrieved them. He then worshiped the weapons, along with the tree. .....

How is Dussehra Celebrated

22. In northern India, plays and dance performances known as Ramaleela, depicting the life of Rama, commonly take place in the lead up to Dussehra day. These shows are especially big in Varanasi and Delhi. Don t miss these 5 Popular Delhi Ramlila Shows.Then on Dussehra, huge effigies of the demon Ravana are burned all over India. See the Ravan effigies being made in Delhi.In Mysore, as well as cultural performances and fairs, the highlight of the 10 .....

What do people do

23. 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.Performances of the Ramlila (a short version of the epic Ramayana) in North .....

Legends of Dussehra

24. Dussehra is mainly associated with the story of Rama based on Ramayana, one of the two great Indian epics. Set around 1000 BCE in India, this epic attempts to establish the social ideals and explains the depth of human relationships. Lord Rama was the protagonist of the epic, while his wife Sita was its female lead. He has been idolized as the ideal son, husband and king, while she is the epitome of womanhood. Lord Rama was the eldest son of Dash .....

Dussehra Greetings

25. Dussehra is celebrated all over the country, to memorialize the victory of goodness over evil. The festival has now become symbolic of the message that truth always triumphs. It is celebrated in September October, according to the Gregorian calendar or you can say in the month of Aswin, according to the Hindu calendar. It aims to remind people that whatever be the situation, the supremacy of truth will always remain. It is also like an advice to .....

Dussehra Poems

26. Dussehra epitomizes the victory of good over evil. It is a very auspicious day and thus celebrated as a festive occasion throughout the country. It was the day when Ram killed the ten headed demon Ravana and saved the man kind from his brutal torture and established the faith of people into the power of truth and religion once again.Aa Gya Pawan DussheraPhir Hume Sandesh Dene,Aa Gya Pawan DussheraTum Sankaton ka ho ghanera Ho na aakul man ye mera .....

Facts of Dussehra

27. Why we celebrate Dussehra. Because ADHARM per DHARM,JHUT per SATYA, ANYAY per NYAY or BURAI per ACCHAI ki vijay ho. Happy Dussehra!May This Dassera Light up 4 U the Hopes of Happy Times & Dreams for a Year Full of Smiles .Wish U a Haapy Dassera!Pray this Dasara showers upon u.Shanti, Shakti, Saiyam , Sammaan , Saralta, Safalta , Samridhi ,Sanskaar , Swaasthya. Happy dasara!Burai par acchai ki jeet, Dussehra lata hai ek ummed.Ravan ki tarah hamar .....

Dussehra Wishes

28. Dussehra is celebrated with fun and fervor. The last day of Navratri, Dussehra, is observed as the triumph of goodness over the evil. It commemorates Lord Rama victory over demon Ravana and the assassination of Mahishasura by Goddess Durga. It is considered auspicious to start a new business or learn a new art and education, on the ceremonious occasion of Vijayadashmi (Dusshera). People take the day as the opportunity to get back to their long l .....

Dussehra Date

29. The festival of Dussehra, which marks the triumph of victory of good over the evil, is celebrated on the tenth day of the bright half (waxing moon) of the Hindu month of Aswiyuja. The festivities of Dussehra also mark the commencement of the winter season after a long, scorching summer. The occasion commemorates the victory of Rama over Ravana as well as the triumph of Goddess Durga over demon Mahishasura. Fairs, known as Ramlila, are organized o .....

Cultural programs

30. You can volunteer to organize a cultural program for the entertainment of adults & children in your neighborhood that could add up color and zest to the festival. .....

Make an effigy of RAVANA

31. You and your friends can make an effigy of Ravana. This time try to make a little modern Ravana that could become center of attraction in your locality on Dussehra day. .....

How to Dress Up

32. Traditional attire is best suited for such festivals. Females can dress up in bright lehanga choli, punjabi suits, sarees etc. whereas; males can wear dhoti kurta, kurta pyjama or sherwani, with a stylish stole around their neck. .....