Hindu festival celebrated to commemorate the victory of good over evil
For other uses, see Vijayadasami (disambiguation) and Dasara (disambiguation).
Vijayadashami
Vijayadashami reveres Durga's and Rama's victory over evil depending on the region.[1]
Also called
Dashain, Dussehra, Dasara
Observed by
Hindus
Type
Religious, Cultural
Significance
Celebrates the victory of good over evil
Celebrations
Marks the end of Durga Puja and Navaratri
Observances
Pandals
plays
community gathering
recitation of scriptures
puja
fasting
immersion of idols or burning of Ravana
Date
Ashvin Shukla Dashami
2023 date
24 October[2]
2024 date
12 October[3]
Explanatory note
Hindu festival dates
The Hindu calendar is lunisolar but most festival dates are specified using the lunar portion of the calendar. A lunar day is uniquely identified by three calendar elements: māsa (lunar month), pakṣa (lunar fortnight) and tithi (lunar day).
Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz. amānta / pūrṇimānta. If a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa.
A lunar year is shorter than a solar year by about eleven days. As a result, most Hindu festivals occur on different days in successive years on the Gregorian calendar.
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Vijayadashami (Sanskrit: विजयादशमी, romanized: Vijayadaśamī), more commonly known as Dussehra,[a] and also known as Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated every year at the end of Durga Puja and Navaratri. It is observed on the tenth day of the month of Ashvin, the seventh in the Hindu lunisolar calendar.[6][7][8] The festival typically falls in the Gregorian calendar months of September and October.
Vijayadashami is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Indian subcontinent.[1][9][6] In the southern, eastern, northeastern, and some northern states of India, Vijayadashami marks the end of Durga Puja, commemorating goddess Durga's victory against the buffalo-demon Mahishasura to restore and protect dharma.[6][10][11] In the northern, central, and western states, it marks the end of Ramlila and commemorates the deity Rama's victory over the demon-king Ravana.[12] Alternatively, it marks a reverence for one of the aspects of goddess Devi, such as Durga or Saraswati.[1][7][8]
Vijayadashami celebrations include processions to a river or ocean front that involve carrying clay statues of Durga,[13] Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, and Kartikeya, accompanied by music and chants, after which the images are immersed in the water for dissolution and farewell. In other places, towering effigies of Ravana, symbolising evil, are burnt with fireworks, marking evil's destruction. The festival also starts the preparations for Diwali, the important festival of lights, which is celebrated twenty days after Vijayadashami.[14][15][1]
^ abcdFuller, Christopher John (2004). The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India. Princeton University Press. pp. 108–109. ISBN 978-0-69112-04-85.
^December 17, 2021UPDATED (27 December 2021). "When is Dussehra in 2022: Date, time, history and significance". India Today. Retrieved 7 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^"Dussehra 2023 - Calendar Date".
^"Dussehra 2020 Date, Time & Significance – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
^"Vijayadashami 2020: Vijay Muhurat date, timings and Sindoor Khela". Zee News. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^ abcEncyclopedia Britannica 2015.
^ abLochtefeld 2002, pp. 212–213, 468–469.
^ abEncyclopedia Britannica Dussehra 2015.
^Lochtefeld 2002, p. 751.
^Lochtefeld 2002, pp. 468–469.
^"Dussehra 2020 (Vijayadashami): Story, Ram Setu, Lord Rama & True God". S A NEWS. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^Bhalla, Kartar Singh (February 2005). Let's Know Festivals of India. Star Publications. ISBN 978-81-7650-165-1.
^"Dussehra 2020: Date, Puja Timings, History, Significance and Importance". The Indian Express. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
^Gall, Susan B.; Natividad, Irene (1995). The Asian-American Almanac. Gale Research. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-8103-9193-2.
^Singh, Rina (2016). Diwali. Orca. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-1-4598-1008-2.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
Vijayadashami (Sanskrit: विजयादशमी, romanized: Vijayadaśamī), more commonly known as Dussehra, and also known as Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival...
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women smear each other with sindur on Vijayadashami, the last day of the Durga Puja. On the day of the Vijayadashami after the conclusion of the ritual worship...
and Evil, the Ramlila celebrations climax in the Dussehra (Dasara, Vijayadashami) night festivities where the giant grotesque effigies of Evil such as...
during the Emergency. In 2014, When Doordarshan broadcast a 70-minute Vijayadashami speech by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Mohan Bhagwat...
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh (for the Vijayadashami and Diwali markets) states of India. In Ukraine, chornobryvtsi (T. erecta...
companies, carved out of OFB, dedicated to the Nation on the occasion of Vijayadashami". Ministry of Defence (India). Press Information Bureau. 5 October 2021...