The story behind Dussehra (Vijayadashami)
The Ramleela tradition — performances of the Ramayana spanning the nine nights of Navratri — culminates on Vijayadashami with the burning of giant effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna, and his …
The Ramleela tradition — performances of the Ramayana spanning the nine nights of Navratri — culminates on Vijayadashami with the burning of giant effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna, and his son Meghnad. Cities across North India — particularly Delhi, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and the Ramleelas of UP — host massive public effigy-burnings as the climax of the season. In Mysore, the Mahanavami procession with its decorated elephants and the Mysore palace illuminated for the festival is a visual icon of South Indian Vijayadashami. In Bengal, Vijayadashami is the day Devi Durga is given final farewell — the immersion (visarjan) procession of her clay idols closes the five days of Durga Puja.
The day is also traditionally the start of new ventures: artisans worship their tools, students worship books and instruments (Ayudha Puja), warriors traditionally worshipped weapons. The Pandavas are said to have begun their year of agyatvas (incognito exile) by hiding their weapons in a Shami tree — and recovered them on Vijayadashami before the war of Kurukshetra. To this day, devotees worship the Shami tree on Dussehra and exchange its leaves as symbols of victory.