Dusshera

Dussehra is also known as "Vijayadashmi". It is one of the most fascinating festivals of India. It is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm for around ten days. Dussehra actually means "The Tenth Day". This day also forms the end of the nine days of Navratri. Nine days are spent for the worship of goddess Durga and all these nights are known as Navaratri. This festival is celebrated in the Hindu month of Ashwin.

The tenth day of Dussehra is also celebrated in honor of Durga. Vijayadashami is considered to be an auspicious day for the Indian householder, on which he worships, protects and preserves 'Shakti' (power). By worshipping the 'Shakti' according to the methods as written in the scriptures, on these nine-days the householders attains the threefold power i.e. physical, mental and spiritual, which helps him to progress in life without any difficulty.

Celebrations:

People decorate the entrances of their houses & shops with flowers, which are strung together called 'Toran'. At night, huge figures of Ravana, Kumbhakaran and Meghanad are filled with crackers and set alight to mark their destruction. This is an enjoyable sight because of the beautiful fireworks on the ground.

This festival like many other Hindu festivals is thought of as the 'Victory of Good over Evil'. It also marks the return of Rama from exile. Because dussehra is considered auspicious, people inaugurate their new vehicles, machineries, and tools by asking god to bless them.

Dussehra is celebrated differently in different parts of India. In Bengal the festival is based on Durga Puja. In Tamil Nadu, goddesses Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Shakti are worshipped.

Dussehra is the festival, which concludes the immersion of Durga idols that are worshipped for nine days. In some traditional families it is also the day when formal education for children is started. The Dussehra celebrations in Mysore are very popular and are celebrated with great enthusiasm.

Legend:

Some nine lakh years ago Sri Ram had proceeded on his mission of killing Ravan, after attaining powers by the worship of goddess Shakti for nine days. The world knows that Sri Ram became victorious in this battle and Ravan was killed along with his whole clan. The victory of Sri Ram over Ravan symbolizes the victory of virtuosity and morality over unrighteousness and immorality the victory of justice over injustice.

Hindus remember the great deeds of Sri Ram even today in the form of Ramleela and by burning the effigies of Ravan. By burning the effigies of Ravan the Hindus show to the world that no matter how powerful an immoral person is, it gets destroyed ultimately.

Hinduism is a widely followed religion of India. No matter which part of the country Dussehra is celebrated as a day of victory of good over evil.