Dussehra (Vijayadashami) Countdown

Dussehra, also called Vijayadashami, is a major Hindu festival marking the triumph of good over evil. Falling on the tenth day that closes the nine nights of Navratri, it is observed across India and by Hindu communities worldwide, most famously through the burning of towering effigies of the demon king Ravana.

History

The name Vijayadashami joins the Sanskrit words vijaya, meaning victory, and dashami, the tenth, marking the tenth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Ashvin. Two great narratives meet on this day. In the tradition of the Ramayana, it recalls the moment the prince Rama defeated the ten-headed king Ravana of Lanka to rescue his wife Sita. In the tradition of the Devi Mahatmya, it remembers the goddess Durga slaying the buffalo demon Mahishasura at the close of a nine-night battle, an event that gives her the epithet Mahishasura Mardini. The festival has been kept for centuries and long enjoyed royal patronage. Foreign visitors to the Vijayanagara Empire, among them the Portuguese traveler Domingo Paes around 1520, described splendid Dasara ceremonies of processions, music and ritual display. From the early seventeenth century the Wadiyar rulers of Mysore developed the grand Mysore Dasara, still celebrated with an illuminated palace and a procession of caparisoned elephants. The tenth day was widely regarded as auspicious for beginning new ventures, and many performed Shastra Puja, the worship of weapons and tools of one's craft. Across the regions the day took on distinct forms. In much of northern India it crowns the Ramlila, a community dramatization of the Ramayana staged over preceding days, culminating as towering effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and his son Meghanada, packed with fireworks, are set ablaze at dusk. In eastern India, especially Bengal, it is kept as Vijaya Dashami, when images of the goddess Durga are carried in procession for immersion. Carried abroad by the Indian diaspora, these observances are now shared by Hindu communities worldwide.

Meaning

At its heart, Dussehra celebrates the victory of righteousness over wrongdoing, of light over darkness. Whether the story is told through Rama's triumph over Ravana or Durga's defeat of Mahishasura, the lesson is the same: virtue, courage and truth ultimately prevail over arrogance and cruelty. The effigy of Ravana consumed by fire becomes a vivid yearly reminder that ego and vice, however towering they seem, are destined to fall. The day also carries themes of renewal and auspicious beginnings. Counted among the most favourable days of the Hindu calendar, it is traditionally chosen for starting studies, journeys and new work, and for honouring the tools of one's craft. For families and communities it is a joyful close to the Navratri season, marked by blessings, shared sweets and festivity.