Vijayadashami signifies the day of victory, ‘Vijaya’ means victory and ‘Dashami’ means day. Vijayadashami is also known as Dussehra or ‘Dasara’ which is celebrated to mark the victory of Lord Rama over the Ravana demon. The festival of Dussehra is a very important Hindu festival and the name signifies ‘Dus’ which means ten and ‘ Hera’ means defeat. This auspicious day is also celebrated to mark the triumph of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasur who was a buffalo demon. This year Vijayadashami or Dussehra 2022 will be celebrated on 5th October 2022. It is celebrated on the 10th day after the long nine days of Maa Shakti during Navratri and after the five days of Maa Durga. In West Bengal, Dussehra is known as ‘Durga puja’, in Mysore as ‘Dasara’, and in Gujarat as ‘Navaratri’.
Significance of Dussehra 2022
The festival of Dussehra is celebrated to mark the victory of Lord Rama over the ten-headed demon of Ravana Lord Rama is the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu who killed Ravana and his complete army. It is a festival of goddesses, in different states, different goddesses are worshiped, and essentially the feminine goddess or feminine divinity. Dussehra is a festival full of dance, and fairs and is a celebration of good over evil. It has a great cultural significance for all the people living in this country despite their caste, creed, and religion. This day is celebrated with joy and happiness.
Dussehra Puja timings
The auspicious festive day of Dussehra is celebrated annually on the tenth day of Ashwin month in the Hindu religion. The Dussehra or Vijayadashami puja can be performed between 02:07 pm to 02:57 pm on the 5th of October 2022 as per the Hindu calendar.
Vidhi of Vijayadashami puja
Dussehra represents the light over darkness as the celebration of Lord Rama defeating the ten-headed demon Ravana who flew away Lord Rama’s wife goddess Sita. This day is celebrated by worshiping the ‘Astra’ that is weapons. Along with Shri Ram, his brothers Lakshaman, Bharat, and Shatrugan are prayed. During the puja, coins, rice, flowers, jaggery, fruits, and roli are offered to the deity, and diyas, dhoop, and agarbatti are lit up as an element of the pooja. It is a good day for performing many pooja rites.
On the occasion of Dussehra, one should wake up early in the morning, bathe early and make four round vessels from cow dung and keep it in your courtyard. In these four vessels, place wet paddy and silver in these vessels after covering them with a cloth. The pooja will be flowers, and incense, and pray to god with pure heart and intentions. After the worship, feed some Brahmans and poor people with food and after feeding them food, you can also eat.
How is Dussehra celebrated?
The key element of the Dussehra festival is ‘Ramlila’ which is religiously performed every year and is like a play or scene-oriented performance from the Ramayana. Ramlila is an interactive art form full of songs, dialogues, and action. Ramlila is significant due to some specific narration of Ramayana such as scenes of the Lanka battle and dialogues between gods. People volunteer for different roles and tasks from everything up on stage, costume designing, mask designing, and the creation of effigies.
Bonfires and fireworks are there all around the time of Dussehra everywhere from the residential colonies to the public spaces with big gatherings. The burning of the effigies of Ravana along with Kumbkaran and Meghnath is a massive and spectacular event.
Dussehra 2022 celebrations across the country
The festival of Dussehra or Vijayadashami is celebrated at a grand level in different parts of the country like Kullu in Himachal Pradesh, Mysore, and Delhi. The celebrations of Vijayadashami in Kullu are such a massive event that people from all over the place come and visit the fair at Dhalpur. Dussehra is celebrated for around 7 days on Kullu’s Dhalpur ground. There is joy and happiness all over that can only be experienced after seeing it yourself.
In Mysore in Karnataka, the Vijayadashami is celebrated with great fanfare. The complete city is decorated beautifully with large elephants decorated and possessions carried out. The celebrations start with a pooja at Chamundeshwari temple where a massive crowd of people gathers and do the worship of Maa Chamundeshwari ( another name for Maa Durga) of Chamundi Hills who killed the demon named Mahishasura.
Dussehra celebrations in Delhi are something worth seeing and enjoying. It is very unique and special with large statues of Raavan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnath made and burnt on Ramlila grounds. The vibes are magnificent to be seen and enjoyed. Big pandals are set up in the Ramlila community and community puja pandals are growing.
This day is celebrated as the day of new beginnings, the establishment of novel things in society, and freedom from the evil and negativity that stays within us. This liberates us from the present-day demons we are struggling with and living inside us and the present around us unseen. Along with this, it is also believed that rituals performed with Maa Durga will bless you and protect you from all malefic forces.
Visarjan- The farewell of Maa Durga
On the day of Vijayadashami, the idols of Maa Durga and other effigies are carried to the local river and immersed in the river to mark the departure of the goddess and provide blessings. The idols are biodegradable and made up of clay soil, straw, and wood. The pandals are also beautifully decorated with big statues and idols of goddesses and then after the celebrations, everything is cleared.
The victory of good over evil is the main ethos of the festival of Dussehra and Vijayadashami along with the Navratri. On this day, people pray for prosperity and good health and enjoy the day with their family by enjoying a delicious feast. People enjoy the festival by wearing new clothes, preparing traditional food, and enjoying meals with their friends and family. It is celebrated with great devotion and dedication.