Dussehra means the Tenth Day, being the 10th day of the
bright half of Ashvin. This day is also known as Vijayadashmi, or Victory
Tenth, because of the Victory of Rama over Ravana.
 In North India it is Ram
Lila and consists of plays, recitations and music that recall the life
of the legendary hero, Ram. In Delhi, many amateur troupes perform plays
based on this epic story. On the tenth day, an elaborate procession leads
to the Ram Lila grounds where immense cracker-stuffed effigies of the
demon Ravana and his brother and son explode to the cheers of thousands
of spectators. In Kulu, the celebrations have a different flavor. Against
the backdrop of snow-covered mountains, villages dressed in their colorful
best, assemble to form procession of local deities while pipes and drums
make music.
In Mysore, it is celeberated with a pomp and pageantry
reminiscent of medieval times. In Bengal and other parts of eastern India,
Dussehra is celebrated as Durga Puja. Devotees wear new clothes and entertain
with music, dance and drama. On the last day, images of the warrior goddess
are taken out in procession immersed in a river or the sea. In the south,
the festival is celebrated as Navaratri. Dolls and trinkets are artistically
arranged in tiers by young girls. Friends and relatives visit each other's
homes to exchange greetings.
Ram's Victory over Ravan
On this day in the Treta Yug , Ram (7th incarnation
of Vishnu), killed the great demon Ravan who had abducted Ram's wife Sita
to his kingdom of Lanka. Ram, along, with his brother Lakshman follower
Hanuman, and an army of monkeys fought a great battle to rescue his lovely
wife Sita. The war against Ravan lasted for ten days and the story of
is recounted with affection and love in the great epic Ramayana.
Kautsa's Gurudakshina
Kautsa, the young son of Devdatt, a Brahmin, was living
in the city of Paithan. After learning under the guidance of the rishi
Varatantu, he insisted on his guru accepting a present, or "gurudakshina".
But the guru said, "Kautsa, to give 'dakshina' in return for the gift
of wisdom is not proper. The disciple has become learned, this makes the
guru happy, and this is the real gurudakshina."
Kautsa was not satisfied. He still felt it was his
duty to give his guru something. Finally the guru said, "Alright, you
insist on giving me dakshina, so give me 14 crore gold coins, one crore
for each of the 14 sciences I have taught you."
Kautsa went to king Raghu. Raghuraja was an ancestor
of Rama, famous for his generosity. But just at that time he had emptied
all his coffers on the Brahmins, after performing the Vishvajit sacrifice.
He asked Kautsa to give him three days' time. He immediately left to get
the gold coins from Indra. Indra summoned Kuber, the god of wealth. Indra
told Kuber, "Make a rain of gold coins fall on the "shanu" and "apati"
trees round Raghuraja's city of Ayodhya."
The rain of coins began to fall. King Raghu gave all
the coins to Kautsa, and Kautsa hastened to offer the coins to Varatantu
Rishi. But the guru had asked only 14 crores, so he gave the rest to Kautsa.
But Kautsa was not interested in money. In those days honour was considered
more valuable than wealth. He asked the king to take the remaining coins
back. But the king would not. Finally Kautsa lavishly distributed the
coins to the people of Ayodhya city. This happened on the day of Dussehra.
In remembrance of this event the custom is kept of looting the leaves
of the "apati" trees, and people present each other these leaves as "sone"
(gold).
War and Peace
In ancient times kings used the feast of Dussehra to
cross the frontier and fight against their neighbouring kingdoms. This
border crossing is known as "simollanghan". Dussehra marked the beginning
of the war season.
This was also the day to worship the weapons. According
to legend, Pandav went to dwell in the forest. On the way he hid his weapons
in the hole of a "shami" tree. After one year he returned from the forest
and on Dussehra day he took again his weapons and worshipped the shami
tree and the weapons. Hence the custom of worshipping weapons on this
feast.
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