Wednesday
, 5 October
Dussehra is one of the major Hindu festivals that marks the end of Navratri. The festival is celebrated as the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana. It also celebrates the triumph of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura.
Vijayadashami also known as Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year in India and Nepal. In some parts of India, Dussehra is associated with the victory of the god Rama over the demon-king Ravana. In northern India the Ram Lila (“Play of Rama”) is the highlight of the festival.
It may be known in some regions as Vijayadashami and in parts of southern India, it is known as Dasara.
It is said that it was on this day that Durga defeated Mahishasura after a fierce battle lasting for more than nine days. As per another mythology, Dussehra is celebrated to mark the victory of Rama over ten-headed demon king of Lanka, Ravana.
In Kolkata (or wherever Durga Puja is celebrated), Dussehra is known as Vijaya Dashami. It marks the final day of Durga Puja when the idols of Goddess Durga and her four children are taken to the river for immersion.
The festival of Dasara is also known as Dashahara, Dussehra which originates from Sanskrit words ‘Dasha’ and ‘Hara’. ‘Dasha’ here means ‘Ravana who had ten heads’ and ‘Hara’ means ‘The one who is defeated’. Hence the word signifies Lord Rama’s victory over the ten headed demon, Ravana.
The festival of Dasara is also known as Vijayadashami. This title of the festival has two words ‘Vijaya’ and ‘Dashami’ meaning ‘Victory’ and ‘Tenth day’ respectively. The term thus literally stands for ‘Victory on the tenth day’.
The word Durga and related terms appear in the Vedic literature, such as in the Rigveda hymns 4.28, 5.34, 8.27, 8.47, 8.93 and 10.127, and in sections 10.1 and 12.4 of the Atharvaveda.
Durga, in fact, is the most popular of all incarnations of the militant mother-goddess. In India, she is worshipped during the autumn festival of Dussehra over a long nine-day period across different avatars. Goddess Durga easily eclipses all other Goddesses in Hinduism in terms of aura and invincibility.
In Hinduism, the goddess Durga, also known as Shakti or Devi, is the protective mother of the universe. She is one of the faith's most popular deities, a protector of all that is good and harmonious in the world. Sitting astride a lion or tiger, the multi-limbed Durga battles the forces of evil in the world.
Devi Durga is considered as the feminine epitome of strength. She is depicted in variety of Vedic literature as a goddess having feminine prowess, power, determination, wisdom and punishment much beyond this material world.
There are some Shiva temples where Ravana is worshiped. The Kanyakubja Brahmins of the Vidisha district worship Ravana; they personify him as a symbol of prosperity and regard him as a saviour, claiming that Ravana was also a Kanyakubja Brahmin.
Ravana had only Two wives - Mandodari and Dhanyamalini.
1. Ravana was half-Brahmin and half-demon. His father was Vishwashrava, a rishi belonging to the Pulastya clan, and mother Kaikasi belonged to a demon clan.
Ravana had acquired a boon from Lord Brahma by beseeching that no god, demon, kinnar or gandharva could ever kill him. He was granted this boon, little knowing that he did not seek the boon for protection from human beings. It was Rama, as a human, who ultimately slayed Ravana.
'Ravana lost battle with Lord Rama for his wife's betrayal'
Lord Rama can be simply described as a man who displays perfect moral as well as social behaviour. Lord Rama, in the words of Swami Vivekananda, is “the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband and above all, the ideal king”. He is a symbol of the victory of right over the evil.
