|| Shubh VijayaDashami || to all…

May MahishAsur-mardini, MA DurgA give us strength, courage and power to slay the evil demons that continue to plague Bharat…

VijayAdashami celebrates the victory of Shakti over MahishAsura and of ShriRAmChandra over RAvana. It is celebrated on the tenth day (dashami) of Ashvin (lunar month) and is associated with numerous rituals such as Vishwakarma PujA, Shastra PujA, VyAs PujA, Semmalanghan (Maharashtra), Shami PujA, gifting of aapta tree leaves as “sona” (gold) leaves  etc

In the north, Dussehra (or Dasha-hara) is celebrated by burning effigies of Ravana (along with KumbhaKarna and MeghnAd).  This ritual may have something to do with the intent of purifying the atmosphere and reduce infections that accompany the onset of cold weather (pl also see this post on Athirathram for effect of yagya/yajnam on the environment). Many temples have Chandi (Durga) Homa in the days preceding VijayaDashami.  VijayaDashami is the culmination of the nine auspicious days of “Navaratri”  and considered to be a very auspicious day to start a new venture.  This is also the day of Bisorjan Jatras (“Durga Puja Visarjan“) in the eastern parts of India.

Courtesy Wikipedia, below are some of the stories associated with VijayAdashami (RAvana-vadh, MahishAsur-mardan, Homecoming of Durga MA and Kautsa’s GurudakshinA):

Victory of Prabhu Ramachandra over Ravana

Rama had performed “Chandi Homa” and invoked the blessings of Durga, who blessed Rama with secret knowledge of the way to kill Ravana. On the day of Ashvin Shukla Dashami, Rama’s party found Sita and defeated Ravana. Based on the inferences from Balmik’s Ramayana, Kalidas’s Raghuvans, Tulsidas’s Ram Charit manas, and Keshavdas’s Ram Chandra Yas Chandrika as well as common perception in India, Ram, Sita, and Lakshman returned to Ayodhya on the 30th day of Ashvin (19–20 days after Vijay Dashmi). To mark the return of Lord Ram, in the evening, the residents of Ayodhya lighted their city with millions of earthen lamps (called Deepak). Since then, this day is celebrated in India as Deepawali or Diwali.On this day in the Treta Yug, Rama, also called Shri Ram, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, killed the great demon Ravana who had abducted Rama’s wife Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. Rama, his brother Lakshman, their follower Hanuman and an army of monkeys fought a great battle to rescue Sita. The entire narrative is recorded in the epic Ramayana, a Hindu scripture.

During the ten days of Dasha-Hara, effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghanad are erected and burnt by enthusiastic youths at sunset.

After Dasha-Hara, the hot summer ends, especially in North India. The coming cold weather is believed to encourage infections. The burning of the effigies, filled with firecrackers containing phosphorus, supposedly purifies the atmosphere, while the temples perform Chandi Homa or Durga Homa, with the same intent.

Many people perform Aditya Homa as a Shanti Yagna and recite Sundara Kanda of Srimad Ramayana for nine days. These Yagna performances are thought to create powerful agents in the atmosphere surrounding the house that will keep the household environment clean and healthy. These rituals are intended to rid the household of the ten bad qualities, which are represented by ten heads of Ravana as follows: Kama vasana (Lust), Krodha (Anger), Moha (delusion), Lobha (Greed), Mada (Pride), Matsara (Jealousy), Manas (Mind), Buddhi (Intellect), Chitta (will), Ahankara (Ego).

Some householders perform Yagnas thrice daily along with Sandhya Vandana, which is also called Aahavaneeya Agni, Grahapatya Agni or Dakshina Agni. In addition, the Aditya Homa is performed with the Maha Surya Mantras and the Aruna Prapathaka of the Yajurveda. These mantras are believed to keep the heart, brain and digestive functions in balance in the absence of adequate sunlight in the winter months.

Victory of Durga Mata over Mahishasura

Some of the demons, or Asuras, were very powerful and ambitious and continually tried to defeat the Devas, or Gods , and capture Heaven. One Asura, Mahishasura, in the form of a buffalo, grew very powerful and created havoc on the earth. Under his leadership, the Asuras defeated the Devas. The world was crushed under Mahishasura’s tyranny, the Devas joined their energies into Shakti, a single mass of incandescent energy, to kill Mahishasura.

A very powerful band of lightning emerged from the mouths of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and a young, beautiful female virgin with ten hands appeared. All the Gods gave their special weapons to her. This Shakti coalesced to form the goddess Durga. Riding on a lion, who assisted her, Durga fought Mahishasura. The battle raged for nine days and nights. Finally on the tenth day of Ashvin shukla paksha, Mahishasura was defeated and killed by Durga.

Hence Dasha-Hara is also known as Navaratri or Durgotsav and is a celebration of Durga’s victory. Durga, as Consort of Lord Shiva, represents two forms of female energy – one mild and protective and the other fierce and destructive.

Homecoming of Durga Mata

Daksha, the Lord of the Earth, and his wife Menaka, had a daughter called Sati. As a child, Sati started worshipping Lord Shiva as her would-be-husband. Lord Shiva was pleased with the Sati’s worship of him and married her. Daksha was against their marriage but could not prevent it. Daksha arranged a yagna to which everyone except Lord Shiva was invited. Sati, feeling ashamed of her father’s behaviour and shocked by the attitude meted towards her husband, killed herself. Lord Shiva was anguished when he discovered this. He lifted Sati’s body on his shoulders and started dancing madly. With the supreme power dancing with wrath, the World was on the verge of destruction.

Then Lord Narayana came forward as a saviour and used his Chakra to cut Sati’s body into pieces. Those pieces fell from the shoulders of the dancing Shiva and scattered throughout the world. Shiva was pacified when the last piece fell from his shoulder. Lord Narayana revived Sati. The places where the pieces of Sati fell are known as the Shakti Piths or energy pits centres. Kalighat in Kolkata, Kamakshya near Guwahati and Vaishnav Devi in Jammu are three of these places.

In her next birth, Sati was born as Parvati or Shaila-Putri (First form of Durga), the daughter of Himalaya. Lord Narayana asked Shiva to forgive Daksha. Ever since peace was restored, Durga, with her children Saraswati, Lakshmi, Kartikeya, Ganesh and her two `sakhis` – Jaya and Vijaya – visit her parents each year during the season of `Sharatkal` or autumn when Durga-Puja is celebrated.

End of Agnyatwas of Pandava

In the age of Dwapar Yuga, Pandava – the five acknowledged sons of Pandu (Sanskrit: पांडु), by his two wives Kunti and Madri – lost to Kauravas in a game of dice, and both spent twelve years of Vanawas, or exile to the forest, followed by one year of Agnyatawas. The brothers hid their weapons in a hole in a Shami tree before entering the Kingdom of Virat to complete the final year of Agnyatwas. After that year, on Vijayadashmi, they recovered the weapons, declared their true identities and defeated Kauravas, who had attacked King Virat to steal his cattle. Since that day, Shami trees and weapons have been worshipped and the exchange of Shami leaves on Vijayadashmi has been a symbol of good will and victory.

Kautsa’s Gurudakshina

Kautsa, the young son of a Brahmin called Devdatt, lived in the city of Paithan. After completing his education with Rishi Varatantu, he insisted on his guru accepting Guru Dakshina, a present. The guru said, “Kautsa, to give ‘dakshina’ in return for learning wisdom is not proper. Graduation of the disciple makes the guru happy, and this is the real Guru Dakshina.”

Kautsa was not satisfied. He still felt it was his duty to give his guru something. The guru said, “All right, if you insist on giving me dakshina, so give me 140 million gold coins, 10 million for each of the 14 sciences I have taught you.”

Kautsa went to King Raghu. Raghuraja was an ancestor of Lord Rama, famous for his generosity. But just at that time he had spent all his money on the Brahmins, after performing the Vishvajit sacrifice. King Raghu asked Kautsa to return three days. Raghuraja 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 “Aapati” trees round Raghuraja’s city of Ayodhya.”

The rain of gold coins began to fall. King Raghu gave all the coins to Kautsa, and Kautsa hastened to offer the coins to Varatantu Rishi. Guru had asked only 140 millions, so he gave the rest back to Kautsa. Kautsa was not interested in money, considering honour to be more valuable than wealth. He asked the king to take the remaining gold coins back. But the king refused, as kings do not take back the daan (gift).

Finally Kautsa distributed the gold coins to the people of Ayodhya on the day of Ashvin shukla dashami. In remembrance of this event, there has been a custom of looting the leaves of the Aapati trees, and people present these leaves to one another as gold.

Below are some of the rituals associated with this day (some of them dating back to millenia and before):

The ritual of Vidyarambha is widely practiced in South India and sees little children getting ceremonially initiated into the learning of alphabets.

In West Bengal, Dussehra is the final day of the ten day Durga Puja celebrations and is known as Vijaya Dashami. Beautiful clay idols of Goddess Durga and her children – Ganesh, Kartik, Laxmi and Saraswati are set up inside grand makeshift marquees known as pandals and worshipped from the sixth day onwards. On the tenth day, Vijaya Dashami, these are taken out in grand processions through the streets in the accompaniment of songs and loud drumbeats and immersed in the holy water of the Ganges or in the water of a nearby lake or pond. The immersion of the idol of Goddess Durga and her offsprings signify the Goddess’ return to her husband Lord Shiva’s home in Mount Kailash along with her children. Elsewhere in the country, this ritual is known as Durga Nimajjan or Durga Visarjan and is the last and concluding event of Durga Navarathri. It is also the day when married women play with vermilion (Sindur), an act known as Sindur Khela which is observed only in Bengal. It is an occassion when friends and relatives exchange visits thus building up an atmosphere of cordiality.

The Dussehra ritual of Sindur Khela is particular only to the state of West Bengal. It has married Bengali women playing with vermilion (Sindur) among themselves. For the members of the Bengali community, it is an occasion when friends and relatives exchange visits thus building up an atmosphere of cordiality.

In the Southern parts of India, Dussehra is known as Dasara and is celebrated on the occasion of Navaratri. On this day, people worship the idol of Durga with utmost devotion. They pray to the Goddess for peace and prosperity in their families. The puja (worship) is done in the morning in the puja room (worship chamber) and no specific decoration is required, but if one likes, one can make a chowk on the floor.

In some parts of India, it is a custom to look for a “khaujan” or wagtail (motacella alba) on Dussehra day. The search for the wagtail is fraught with omen. If the wagtail is found taken, near lotus flowers or among elephants, cows, horses or snakes, it forebodes conquest and good luck; if however on ashes, bones or refuse, evil may follow and the gods must be propitated – Brahmans must be fed and a medicinal bath taken.

Everyone wears good clothes with zari and gota as on all festive occassions. It is said that if one wears a set of new clothes on this day, one shall get ten sets of new clothes in the coming year. There is no compulsory wearing of the chunri, but there is no taboo on donning it either. A chonp on the forehead is a must.

A well-known Dussehra tradition is to worship all weapons, tools, instruments, pens and pencils, because they are the means of fighting injustice, ignorance and evil. These items are placed in front of the gods. A foolscap paper is decorated all around the edges with ‘aipun’ and a ‘swastik’ is placed on the top of this paper that is reminiscent of the Aryan origin of the inhabitants of India. The eldest member of the family then writes on this paper:

Uttar ka ghoda, Dakshin ka neer
Paschim ka varda, Purav ka cheer

The foregoing couplet is about the famous things obtained from the four corners of India and it focuses children’s attention onto them. The names of all those assembled are then added onto the paper. It would be better if everybody present signed it, as it is a record of the people present during the puja that year. The month, date and year are added to the paper and it is glued on with atta(dough) near the gods.

On Dussehra, usually a big lunch or dinner is arranged for the sons-in-law and the daughters of the family. The daughter brings a ‘teeka’, which is akin to Raksha Bandhan or Bhai Dooj observances except that in Dussehra there is no presentation of money by the brothers. This is a day of family get-togethers and feasting with no restriction on serving meat and hard drinks. It is a time for total, unrestricted enjoyment.

On this day, all articles that are used for progress and prosperity of mankind are worshipped. For artisans across North India, it is the time to polish the instruments of their profession. All vehicles like cars, trucks and buses are also worshipped by the individuals using them. On Dussehra morning, drivers clean and polish their vehicles with great solemnity and patience, and then perform the puja of the vehicles. A symbol of the swastik is drawn with roli, aipun and rice on the already cleaned and polished vehicle. The ritual is observed even in the armed forces, police and paramilitary organisations.

In Northern India, it is widely believed that Lord Rama vanquished the demon king Ravana on a similar Dussehra day about 10,000 years ago and the festival is henceforth celebrated in commemoration of this event. A few of the outstanding events of the epic are dramatized in the form of a pantomime called “Ram Lila”. The performance ends with the burning of effigies of Ravana often along with similar structures of his son Meghnada and his brother Kumbhakarna (stuffed with firecrackers) amidst great cheer and rejoicing. The “Ram Lila” is a highly popular Dussehra tradition observed across the states of North India.

In parts of Uttar Pradesh, the day is associated with the ancient legend of the young Brahmin boy Kautsa’s act of distributing gold coins among the poor people on the day of Dussehra. As a commemoration, people in Uttar Pradesh collect leaves of the apati trees(Banni leaves), euphemestically calling them “sone” (gold) and using them to greet their friends and relatives as a ceremonial gift reminiscent of the actual gold distributed by Kautsa.

In Kullu, the capital town of the Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh, Dussehra witnesses exuberant week-long festivities. The rituals observed at the end of the Kullu Dussehra celebrations consist of the sacrifice of a buffalo, a rooster, a lamb, a fish and a crab.

Here’s wishing you and your loved ones Shubh VijayaDashami!!. Enjoy the day and stay safe. Image Courtesy: Wikipedia

Related Category of Posts: Hindu Festivals