About Dussehra
Dussehra falls on Dashami, the tenth day of the bright half of Ashwin, right after the nine nights of Navratri. Two stories meet on this day. In one, Rama, with Lakshmana, Hanuman and his army, defeats the ten-headed Ravana in Lanka and rescues Sita. In the other, the Goddess Durga ends her long battle with the buffalo demon Mahishasura. Vijaya means victory, and the day is traditionally seen as a good one to begin something new.
Across North India, the Ramlila performances of the past nights end with Ravan dahan. Tall effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad, filled with fireworks, are set alight at dusk in open grounds as crowds cheer. In Kullu in Himachal Pradesh, a week-long Dussehra begins on this day, with village deities brought in procession.
In Maharashtra and Karnataka, people worship the shami tree, and in Maharashtra leaves of the apta tree are exchanged with friends and elders as 'gold', with good wishes for the year ahead. Aparajita, the unconquered Goddess, is worshipped in the afternoon, and many keep the Vijay muhurat of the afternoon to start work, a journey or studies. In Mysuru, the Dasara festival ends with the grand Jamboo Savari, a procession carrying the Goddess Chamundeshwari on a decorated elephant through the city.
In Bengal the day is Bijoya Dashami. Married women play sindoor khela, touching vermilion to the Goddess and to each other, before the images are taken for visarjan in the river. People then visit elders, touch their feet and share sweets with wishes of 'Shubho Bijoya'. In Kerala, Vijayadashami is the day of vidyarambham, when small children are introduced to letters by writing their first syllables in rice or sand, guided by an elder, and books and tools rested on Navami are taken up again.
The day is set by Dashami in the afternoon, the time of Aparajita puja and the Vijay muhurat.
