Dusshera Festival in India

Dusshera is a popular Indian festival, also known as Vijaydashmi (vijay means victory and dashmi means the tenth day). Dusshera is celebrated all over the country by almost every religion, and its the special festival for the Hindus. There is a mythological story behind the celebration of the festival as it is believed that on this day Lord Rama returned from 14 years of exile after killing the demon Ravana and rescued his wife Sita.

Dussehera is the festival that actually signifies the triumph of the good will. When we will see the celebration in the country then we can find that the festival is celebrated in different ways. Like I am taking up Northern India, here huge dummies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarana and Meghanath is placed in the vast ground and in that fireworks and crackers are placed inside the dummies.

Similarly if we see the parts of Eastern part of India this day is celebrated as the Durga Puja. The day is celebrated as the end of Durga Puja. The ten days celebrations of Durga Puja is named as Navaratri. This eastern part of the country the day of Vijaydashmi is dedicated to the goddess of strength that is Durga which is said to be the combined manisfestation of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh and from all other gods who created Durga to kill the demon Mahishasura and freed the world from terror. On this day of Vijaydashmi the idols of goddess is created. Similarly in the Southern part of India in Tamil Nadu and Kerela Vijaydashmi has the special significance. Although the day is celebrated in different ways in the country but the motive behind every celebration in this day is the same- to spread good will and to celebrate victory over the evil.

When it is Celebrated?
Dussherra is celebrated on the 10 th day of the famous Navratri festival, celebrated for nine days, according to the Hindu calendar 'Ashvin' (September- October). The festival is dedicated to the goddess Durga and to her nine forms. The last three days of Navratri is believed to be very auspicious and holy as goddess Laxmi and goddess Saraswati is worshiped along with goddess Durga.

Religious Significance of Dusshera:

The Dusshera festival has a special significance in the country. As India is diverse country therefore, the festival is celebrated in various ways. The northern part , involves the Ram Lila along with Navratra Puja, a drama that depicts the life of Lord Rama. On the tenth day of Ram Lila huge number of crackers are burnt and the dummies of Ravana and the two brothers Kumbhakarana and Meghanath is also burnt.


The country celebrates the festival in various ways as in West Bengal the day is celebrated as Durga Puja, and is celebrated in five days across the state. Devotees wear new clothes and celebrates the day with great enthusiasm. The cultural programmes, which takes place during the festival are popularly known as Dandiya Raas and Garba Raas, and people also observe Jaagran (waking through the night).

Legends of Dussehra:
As we all know that the festival has the various types of legends connected with them. In Hindu mythology the Lord Rama has killed the demon Ravana who has abducted his wife Sita with the help of his brother Laxman and his follower Hanuman and came home after the 14 years of exile. Therefore, the victory of Lord Rama is celebrated as Vijaydashmi.