Dasara 2009
All over India giant fairs of Dussehra are organized, where effigies of Ravana are burnt & people get the moral of “Good always wins”.Dussehra is the last day of Navratri; it falls on the 10th day of the waxing moon during the Hindu month of Ashvin (around September or October).
Dussehra is a popular & widely celebrated Hindu festival. It is believed that on this day, Lord Rama killed the demon king Ravana & rescued his wife Sita.Dussehra, also known as Vijaya Dashami is the tenth day of Navratri festival. Bengalis call this day as Durga Puja & Worship goddess Durga.
The festival of Dussehra, also known as Vijayadashmi, is four of the fascinating festivals of India & is celebrated with joy & enthusiasm. According to the great Hindu scripture, the Ramayana, Lord Rama performed chandi-puja (holy prayer). This was carried out in order to invoke the blessings of Durga Maa for the killing of Ravana, the ten-headed demon king of Sri Lanka who had abducted Seeta, wife of Lord Rama.
Dussehra in 2009 is on Monday, the 28th of September.
Durga Maa divulged the secret to Rama on how he could slay the great Ravana. Hence on vanquishing the demon Ravana, Lord Rama with Sita & younger mother Laxmana, returned victorious to his kingdom of Ayodhya on the day which is called ‘Diwali’. Revelers across northern India reenact the legend at sundown in a performance called the Ramlila, featuring actors dressed as Rama shooting flaming arrows at effigies stuffed with firecrackers.
Dassera day is considered a most auspicious day. It is a time-honored belief that if any new venture is started on this day, it is bound to be successful. Hence, all the undertakings be it laying-in of foundation of a new building, opening of a new commercial establishment or even initiating a child into the world of learning- are started on this day. Also on this day implements of agriculture, manufacturer’s machines, the intellectuals pens, the household articles, the children’s school books are placed before the idol of Durga & worshiped.
Significance Of Dasara
In Southern India, Eastern India & Western India, the festival of Navaratri which culminates with Vijayadashami commemorates the legend in which the Goddess Durga, also known as Chamundeshwari or Mahishasura Mardini, vanquishes the demon Mahishasura, an event that is said to have taken place in the vicinity of the present day city of Mysore in Karnataka.
In Northern India, the same 10-day festival commemorates the victory of Rama, prince of Ayodhya in present-day Uttar Pradesh, over Ravana, the ruler of Lanka, who according to the Ramayana had abducted Sita Devi, the wife of the former, & held her captive in his realm.
Legend of the Shami Tree
Here is another & little-known legend associated with this festival, four associated with the Mahabharata. For reasons impossible to delineate here, the Pandavas underwent a period of exile, being 14 years of dwelling in the forest followed by a year of exile incognito. Disguise being indispensable during the latter period, the Pandavas found it necessary to lay aside, for the length of that year, the lots of divine & distinctive weapons that they possessed. These they secreted in a ‘Shami’ tree in the vicinity of their selected place of incognito residence. At the finish of a year, they returned to the spot, found their weaponry intact, & worshipped in thanksgiving both the Shami tree & the Goddess Durga, presiding deity of strength & victory. Meanwhile, the Kauravas had invaded that area, suspecting the residence of the Pandavas there. On finishing their devotions, the Pandavas made straight to battle, & won the contest comprehensively. The day that all these events occurred on has since been known as “Vijayadashami”, where “Vijaya” is the Sanskrit word for “Victory”.
The fact of the comprehensive success of the Pandavas in their endeavour has been extrapolated to the everyday ventures of the common man today. Even to this day, people exchange Shami leaves & wish each other victory in their own ventures & efforts.
Celebration Of Dasara
In Northern India, the festival commemorates the victory of Rama, prince of Ayodhya & avatara of Vishnu, over Ravana, the ruler of Lanka who had abducted Rama’s wife, Sita Devi. The festival is celebrated with much gusto. Crackers are burnt, & giant melas or fetes are organised. The Ramlila – an abriged dramatization of the Ramayana – is enacted with much public fervour all over northern India during the period of the festivities. The burning of the effigies of Ravana on Vijayadashami, signifying the victory of lovely over sinister, brings the festivities to a colourful close. Some non-Hindus also go to the festival for the novelty of the costumes & reenactments.
The legend associated with the Shami tree finds commemoration during the renowned Navaratri celebrations at Mysore, which otherwise strongly emphasizes the Durga legend described above, as may be expected in the city built at the site of the events of the Durga legend. On Vijaydashami day, at the culmination of a colourful 10-day celebration, the goddess Chamundeshwari is worshipped & then borne in a Golden Ambari or elephant-mounted throne, in a grand procession, through the city of Mysore, from the historical Mysore Palace to the Banni Mantapa. Banni is the Kannada word for the Sanskrit Shami, & Mantapa means “Pavilion”.
In Karnataka, Ayudh Puja, the ninth day of Dasara, is celebrated with the worship of implements used in daily life such as computers, books, vehicles, kitchen tools etc.
It is an effort to see the divine in the tools & objects four uses in daily life. Simply it includes all tools that help four earn one’s livelihood. So knowledge workers go for books, pen or computers, plough & other agricultural tools by the farmer, machinery by industrialists & cars/buses/trucks by transporters are decorated with flowers & worshiped on this day invoking God’s blessing for success in coming years. It is believed that any new venture such as beginning of business or purchasing of new household items on this day is bound to succeed.
In Madikeri Dasara is celebrated in a different style.Madikeri Dasara has an history of over 100 years. Here Dasara starts of with Kargas from three Mariamma Temples. There will be a procession of 10 Mantapas from 10 Temples on the night of Vijayadashami.
At night, effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakaran & Meghanad are stuffed with firecrackers & set alight. Babies enjoy seeing this because of the beautiful fireworks on the ground. The festival, which is thought of as the “Victory of Lovely over Evil” & “Return of Rama from Exile” is celebrated in grand style. Because the day is auspicious, people inaugurate new vehicles, machines, books, weapons & tools by ceremonially asking god to bless the new items.
Rama was asked to go on exile because his stepmother, Queen Kaikeyee was tricked into asking King Dasaratha to exile him for 14 years. Rama’s wife Sita, & his mother Lakshmana went with him willingly.
History Of Dasara Vijayadashami
This day marks the triumph of Lord Rama over Demon king Ravana. On this day, Rama killed Ravana.
News of Rama staying at an ashram while on exile spread rapidly. A demon, Shoorpanakha found her way there & demanded that Rama or Lakshmana marry her. When both brothers rejected her, he threatened to kill Sita, so that Rama would then be single again. Lakshmana then cut off her ears & nose.
Shoorpanakha’s mother was the demon King Ravana. Ravana was incensed to hear what happened to his brother, & kidnapped Sita to avenge the insult.
The Ramayana chronicles Rama’s travels & deeds as he searched for his wife, & defeated sinister.
Variations Of Dasa Across South Asia
Dussehra is celebrated in various ways in different parts of South Asia. In Bengal, the festival is celebrated as Kali Puja or Durga Puja, while in Tamil Nadu, the festival incorporates worship of the goddesses Lakshmi, Saraswati, & Shakti.
Some people feel that Dussehra & Dasara are not simply different transliterations of the same word, but four different festivals.
Dasara is the festival marking finish of Navratri & the immersion of Durga idols which are worshipped for nine days prior to Dussehra. Dussehra is also the day when lots of families start formal education of their babies. The practise has been so elderly, that in some parts of Kerala, even after conversions to Christianity, some members of the community continued this tradition. In 2004, lots of churches in Kerala formally adopted the same tradition of introducing young babies to education on Dussehra day.
The Dasara celebrations in Mysore are popular with tourists, & are conducted with great pomp. Dasara is celebrated in Nepal by the name of Dashain.
