DUSSEHRA / VIJAYA DASHAMI

2nd October 2025

Hindu

The festival of Dussehra, usually falls on the last day of the Durga Puja celebrations, which is also the tenth day after the start of Navratri. It is observed throughout India to commemorate the victory of Lord Rama over the ten-headed demon Ravana. He, Ravana, was the king of Lanka who had abducted Rama’s wife, Sita, and was subsequently vanquished in battle. Large effigies of him are burnt as the sun goes down. This day is celebrated as the ‘Victorious Tenth’ (Vijaya Dashami) and huge figures of Ravana alongside his son, Meghnada, and his brother, Kumbhakarna, are filled with fireworks and set on fire in public parks. In the UK some temples carry this out, even if on a smaller scale.

On this day, Hindus worship the goddess Durga, who, pleased with Rama’s devotion, gave him the secret knowledge of how to kill Ravana. By using this, he was able to defeat Ravana and rescue his abducted wife, Sita. On this last day of the festival, young men and small boys, dressed as Rama, as Lakshman, his brother, as Hanuman, Rama’s chief supporter, and as Ravana, the demon, proceed through the streets of the community as part of an elaborate float. Rama and Ravana engage in battle; Ravana is defeated. At the end of the day, images of Ravana are placed in lakes and rivers to symbolise his defeat.

Then at sunset Rama fires an arrow into giant sized images of Meghnada and Kumbhakarna, stuffed – as is the effigy of Ravana – with crackers and explosives; finally an arrow is shot into Ravana’s effigy also, to the encouraging shouts of ‘Ramchandra ki jai’, ‘Victory to Rama’, and large explosions ripple through the sky.

Dussehra also symbolises the triumph of the warrior goddess Durga over the buffalo demon, Mahishasura. The story relates how asuras or demigods had become powerful and tried to defeat the devas and capture heaven. The goddess Durga came to the rescue and took up the form of Shakti to kill Mahishasura. Riding on a lion, she fought him for nine days and nights. On the tenth day, she killed him. Thus, in both legends, the festival tells a story of the victory of good over evil.

Dusshera is celebrated with excitement and fervour across the country. People revel in the festivities by wearing new clothes, exchanging gifts, preparing delicacies, watching Ramlila plays and burning huge effigies of Ravana in the evening. However, every state in India has its own story behind the festivity and its own unique way of celebrating it. Dusshera is celebrated not just in India, but in other countries as well including Nepal, Bangladesh and many others. It is a time when Hindus all over the world visit their relatives and friends.

For the nine days of Navaratri, people fast and perform religious rites so as to sanctify themselves and take a step towards purity, piousness and prosperity. On the tenth day, they burn everything that is evil in them, hatred, maliciousness, greed, anger and violence (symbolically represented by the burning of effigies of Ravana, Meghnath and Kumbhakaran) and so they emerge as better individuals filled with a sense of gratitude, devotion and reverence.

Though there are several legendary tales behind the festival and its celebration, all culminate by marking the rise of goodness over evil, of positivity over negativity. In burning the effigies people attempt to burn away all their selfishness, and then follow the path of truth and goodness. According to Hindu Scriptures, by worshipping the ‘shakti’ on these nine-days, householders attain the threefold powers, (physical, mental and spiritual), which help them live their lives as the gods direct.

The festival of Dusshera is noteworthy for both its moral and its cultural significance. People, irrespective of their creed, culture or religion, gather to vanquish all evil and unpleasant things and imbibe the goodness around them. The essence of the festival lies in its message: with devotion to the goddess it is possible to overcome all obstacles and emerge victorious and successful.