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History, Importance, Significance

FE Online, September 29, 2017: Financial Express

Dussehra 2017: History, Importance & Significance of this Festival

Dussehra which is also known as Vijayadashami is a major festival which is celebrated at the end of Navratri every year.

Dussehra which is also known as Vijayadashami, is a major festival which is celebrated at the end of Navratri every year. It is a celebration of the victory of good over evil. Every year as per Hindu calendar, this important festival is celebrated on the tenth day of the month Ashvin. The festival is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Indian subcontinent. People all over the country participate in the occasion in their own way, with great zeal and enthusiasm.

The day marks the victory of the seventh incarnation of Vishnu – Lord Rama when he killed the ten-headed demon Ravana and thereafter handed over the throne of his kingdom Lanka to his brother Vibhishana. The word ‘Dussehra’ is derived from two Sanskrit words – ‘dasha’ and ‘hara’ – that mean defeating the ten, reported India.com. The day also marks the end of Durga Puja, where people remember goddess Durga’s victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasur, to help restore Dharma.

Durga led a battle against Mahishasur and it lasted for nine days and nine nights. Durga killed Mahishasur on the tenth day. Therefore, different manifestations of goddess Durga are worshipped during the nine-day long Navratri festival each year. Wherein the tenth day is dedicated to Durga as Vijaydashmi. The feminine power is worshipped and celebrated during the festival of Navratri. Navratri celebration culminates with Dussehra on the tenth day, when the idol of goddess Durga is immersed in a river or a lake.

People celebrate the festival in different ways across the country. In North India, various colorful fairs are organised. Plays based on the story of Ramayan, which is known as Ramleela are performed. On the day of Vijaydashmi, huge effigies of Ravan, Meghnad and Kumbhakarn are also set on fire. Whereas in places like Odisha and West Bengal, as per the report, the idol of the goddess is immersed in a river or a lake on the day of Vijaydashmi.

Meaning of Dussehra

One Theory

• Dasha Hara is a Sanskrit word which means removal of ten bad qualities within you*:

• Ahankara* (Ego)

• Amanavta* (Cruelty)

• Andhkaar (darkness)

• Anyaaya* (Injustice)

• Kama vasana* (Lust)

• Krodha* (Anger)

• Lobha* (Greed)

• Mada* (Over Pride)

• Matsara* (Jealousy)

• Moha* (Attachment)

• Swartha* (Selfishness)

Hence, also known as *'Vijaydashami'* signifying *”Vijaya”* over these ten bad qualities.

Victory over evil

The Times of India, Oct 22 2015

B K Brijmohan  The festival of Dussehra or Vijaya dashami celebrates the victory of good over evil, symbolised in Indian mythology by the slaying of the demon king Ravana by Rama, and by the killing of the monster Mahishasura by Goddess Durga. Every year, effigies of Ravana are burnt on Dussehra, which falls on the 10th day of the month of Ashwin in the Hindu lunar calendar. Ravana is the personification of evil ­ a learned scholar who gave in to lust, anger, greed and ego. Rama is the personification of virtue, the Marayada Purush. Vijayadashami marks the victory of virtue over vice.

We celebrate Dussehra every year, but are we really becoming free of vices, or are the celebrations just another empty annual ritual? When we look at the world, we find that far from overcoming vices, people are becoming slaves to them.Increasing corruption, immorality and materialism indicate a growing void that is being sought to be filled with possessions and physical pleasures. The increasing influence of vice in our lives is unwittingly reflected in the size of the Ravana effigies built for Dussehra, which grow taller each year.

Simply burning wood and straw effigies is not going to bring us victory over evil. That can be achieved only by spiritual effort. The story of the Ramayana is a parable of how God, personified by Rama, and humans represented by monkeys, together can rid the world of negative tendencies.

The battle described in the Ramayana is an allegory for the struggle that goes on in the mind between our higher Self and our weaknesses. God helps us in this struggle by giving us the strength to resist evil and the wisdom to avoid deceptions created by ignorance of our true identity.

When we forget that we are spiritual beings, or souls, we begin to define ourselves in terms of our body and the labels that come with it ­ of race, religion, nationality and gender, for example.We also measure our worth, and that of others, in terms of personal and professional roles, responsibilities, possessions, appearance and social and financial status. Such identification with the physical not only begets attachment but also brings sorrow when our gross identity suffers due to ageing, declining social, financial or professional positions. It also makes us vulnerable to vice, the cause of suffering.

We need to remove veils of ignorance from the intellect, by becoming aware of our true identity as souls innately possessing divine qualities of peace, love and cooperation. This awareness needs to be awakened to dissipate and sublimate acquired demonic traits, through the subtle fire of Raja Yoga meditation.With the collective practice of spiritual knowledge and meditation, not only our negative proclivities but even the pollu ted elements of nature can be purified.

Raja Yoga connects us to Divinity and empowers the soul to resist negative influences, sorrows and sufferings. It is the ultimate stage of a yogi as described in the Gita ­ one who remains unmoved by victory or defeat, fame or notoriety , loss or gain. Such self-mastery is not only the prerogative of saints and sages, but can be easily attained by any householder with a little awareness and effort.

To make our celebration of Vijayadashami meaningful, we must resolve on this occasion to take at least one step towards conquering our weaknesses, so that each year we move closer to attaining victory over them. This is the only way we can sublimate the negative propensities of Ravana living in our minds.

Customs

Bengal

(From the group ‘77 Revived’)

Vijaya Dashami or Bijoya Dashami as we Bengalis say, is a joyous day tinged with a little bit of sadness as it marks the end of the Durga Puja for the year. On this day Bengalis meet elders, relatives and acquaintances and wrap their arms around them in friendship. Every visitor is met with a box of sweets and the words Subho Bijoya..

Shami leaves

(From the group ‘77 Revived’)

In some parts of the country there is a tradition today to worship weapons and to exchange Shami leaves ( शमी / आपटें ची पानें / Scientific Name -Prosopic cinerania from Fabaceae Family ) as a symbol of good will . It was started after the Pandavs completed their 12 year exile and before they defeated the Kauravs in the War .

Legal issues

HC slams SDMC for treating effigy-makers as encroachers

Where will the effigy makers go: HC to SDMC, September 21, 2017: The Hindu

How will Dussehra be celebrated if there are no effigies, the Delhi High Court asked the SDMC while pulling it up for calling effigy-makers encroachers of public land.

An HC bench observed the authorities allow construction of buildings for "rich" people but remove the "poor", calling them encroachers.