Significance Of Dussehra – The auspicious nine days of worship of Maa Durga in Navratri ends in the festival of Dussehra. This day is the dashmi tithi of ashwin month in the shukla paksha and it is celebrated as Vijayadashami. It signifies the winning of good over the bad or evil.
In 2023 this year, the day of Dusshera will be celebrated on 24th October 2023. After this, we will have just 20 days for Diwali. The Hindu scriptures and mythology opine that Lord Rama achieved victory over Ravana and killed him on Dussehra, the dashmi tithi and freed his beloved wife Sita from his imprisonment. It is a victory over oppression and evil. Maa Durga also killed Mahishasur on this day. In this way, we celebrate the prevalence of dharma and truth over the bad.
Dussehra is the day when Navratri ends finally and people say goodbye to the idol or image of Maa Durga by immersing it in rivers and water bodies. The festival is very auspicious. It is the best time to purchase new articles, property, and cars. Buyers don’t need any muhurat for this. Anything you buy will bring good luck to your home. People worship Shri Rama, Devi Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha, and Lord Hanuman. There is also a custom of reading holy books like Ram Raksha strotra and Sundarkand on Dussehra.
Local fairs are hosted on Dussehra and the actors organize the epic Ramayana as a stage play that ends in burning the artificial idol of Ravana made with grass, straw, and paper. Crackers are burst. Idols of Kumbhakarana and Meghnad are also burnt. The entire story of Lord Rama from his birth to the killing of Ravana is staged by local artists.
People of Kolkata and West Bengal celebrate Dussehra to mark the victory of Maa Durga over Mahishasur, the demon king that she achieved with a long fight. The immersion of Durga idol is organized with pomp and show. It is said that with this, Maa Durga goes to Kailash Parvat to her husband, Lord Shiva’s house after she has killed Mahishasur. The festival gives the message of shunning the evil and adopting the good.
The festival of Dussehra signifies an end of monsoons in India. We can say the day removes the ill fate in our destiny. People end the fasting of Navratri. Buying cars, land, and cars is considered very auspicious.
If you eat pan, give it to others, and offer it to Lord Hanuman, it will give you the blessings of God, respect, health, love, and victory. After you burn the effigy of Ravana, you should eat paan. It also helps in preventing infections due to a change of seasons after Navratri.
Seeing the Neelkanth bird is auspicious on this day. The bird represents Lord Shiva and Lord Rama sought darshan of Neelkanth bird with a desire to kill Ravana. If you see the bird on Dussehra, you will get the benefit of dawn of your luck or bhagya, happiness, and wealth.
The auspicious day of Dussehra is a sarvasiddhi tithi, in which all types of manglik or auspicious works can be done. Any work started on this day definitely gives success to you. Fairs are organized in many places on Dussehra. Artists stage Ramlila. The effigy of Ravana is burnt and people gather to see it.
The day is suitable for hosting shubh karya like an introduction to alphabets for small children, construction of house or shop, grah pravesh, mundan, ann prashan, the namkaran ceremony for newborn babies, piercing of ears, and yagyopaveet ceremony. However, hosting a wedding is to be avoided on Dusshera. The warrior class people or the kshatriyas worship their weapons on this day.
