Vijayadashami 10 Ashvin

Vijayadashami is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Indian subcontinent. In the south, east, northeast and some northern states of India, Vijayadashami marks the end of Durga Puja, recalling the victory of goddess Durga over the buffalo demon Mahishasura to restore and protect dharma.

In the northern, central and western states, the festival is synonymous with Dussehra (also spelled Dasara, Dashahara). In these regions, it marks the end of Ramlila and recalls the victory of the god Rama over Ravana. Alternatively, it marks a reverence for one of the aspects of Goddess Devi, such as Durga or Saraswati.

Vijayadashami celebrations include processions to a river or waterfront that involve carrying clay statues of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya, accompanied by music and chanting, after which the images are immersed in the water for dissolution and farewell.

Elsewhere, on Dasara, towering effigies of Ravana, symbolizing evil, are burned with fireworks, marking the destruction of evil. The festival also begins preparations for Diwali, the important festival of lights, which is celebrated twenty days after Vijayadashami.

Vijayādaśamī (विजयादशमी) est un composé des deux mots vijaya (विजय, ‘victoire’) et daśamī (दशमी, ‘dixième’), connotant la fête du dixième jour célébrant la victoire du bien sur le mal. Cependant, le même terme lié au festival hindou prend des formes différentes dans différentes régions de l’Inde et du Népal, ainsi que parmi les minorités hindoues trouvées ailleurs.

The word dussehra is the British English spelling of the Indo-Aryan tadbhava Dasahrā. It is derived from daśaharā (दशहरा), which is a Sanskrit compound word consisting of daśama (दशम, 'tenth') and ahar (अहर्, 'day').

Ravana kidnaps Sita and takes her to his kingdom in Lanka (now Sri Lanka). Rama asks Ravana to release her, but Ravana refuses; the situation escalates and leads to war. After performing severe penance for ten thousand years, Ravana receives a boon from the creator god Brahma; he could no longer be killed by gods, demons or spirits.

Lord Vishnu incarnates as human Rama to defeat and kill him, thereby circumventing the boon given by Lord Brahma. A deadly and fierce battle takes place between Rama and Ravana in which Rama kills Ravana and ends his evil rule. Finally, Dharma was established on Earth because of Rama's victory over Ravana. The festival commemorates the victory of Good over Evil.

In the Mahabharata, the Pandavas are known to have spent their thirteenth year of exile under hidden identity in the kingdom of Virata. Before going to Virata, they are known to have hung their celestial weapons in a Shami tree to keep them for a year. During their exile, Bhima kills Kichaka for harassing the Pandava woman, Draupadi.

On hearing of Kichaka's death, Duryodhana assumed that the Pandavas were hiding in Matsya. A mob of Kaurava warriors attack Virata, presumably to steal their cattle, but in reality, eager to pierce the Pandavas' veil of anonymity. Full of bravado, Virata's son Uttara attempts to take on the Kaurava army alone while the rest of Matsya's army has been lured to fight Susharma and the Trigartas.

As suggested by Draupadi, Uttar takes Arjun (in his disguise as Brihannala the eunuch) with him, as his charioteer. When he sees the Kaurava army, Uttara loses his temper and tries to flee. Then Arjuna reveals his identity and those of his brothers. Arjuna takes Uttar to the tree where the Pandavas have hidden their weapons. Arjuna takes his Gandiva after worshiping the tree, because the Shami tree protected the weapons of the Pandavas for this full year.

Arjuna re-knots Gandiva's thread, simply pulls it and releases it – producing a terrible twang. At the same time, the Kaurava warriors were eagerly waiting to spot the Pandavas. Talks took place between Karna and Drona.

Karna told Duryodhana that he would easily defeat Arjuna and did not feel threatened by Drona's words since Drona was intentionally praising Arjuna, as Arjuna was Drona's favorite student. Ashwathama supports his father by praising Arjuna. Then Arjuna arrives on the battlefield.