Dussehra: The festival of the victory of virtue over evil

Lalit Garg

(The writer can be reached at lalitgarg11@gmail.com)

The festival of Dussehra is celebrated every year on the tenth day of Shukla Paksha in Ashwin month. This festival symbolizes the victory over evil. Over a period of time, this festival also comes to instill a new energy into the cultural consciousness and the sense of patriotism in the country. Even today, the need to enliven the culture of this inspirational and motivational festival has become all the more necessary in order to fight the forces of darkness. The question is: who should protect the culture? Who should lead the rise of ideals? Who should get his first name written on the foundation of life values? The process of fighting evil is very difficult. This practice of awakening brilliance and power is very difficult. It is very complex to give a high peak to self-existence and self-identity. After all, how to fight the evils hidden in our house when Ravana is taking birth in the courtyard of the house, be it in the form of corruption, be it in the form of political criminalization, be it in the form of those spreading communal hatred, be it in the form of anti-national elements? Be it in the form of terrorists who break the law or in the form of those who make education, medicine, and justice a business, Celebrating this festival every year, where strength is prayed for, attention is drawn towards various issues of national importance. This provides new inspiration, new freshness, new strength, new dreams, and new directions.

The festival of Dussehra, which follows Navratri, is a very special festival for Hindus; it comes 20 days before the festival of Diwali. Dussehra is celebrated to mark the victory of Lord Shri Ram over the demon king Ravana. People staged the war between Shri Ram and Ravana in the form of a drama for ten days prior to the arrival of Dussehra. This dramatic life depiction is called Ram-Leela in North India. People organise Ram-Leela by wearing masks and through various dance forms, which they enjoy, making it a medium of Hindu culture, following the verses of the Ramayana. They also make giant-sized effigies of the three great demons, namely Ravana, Meghnad, and Kumbhakarna, in which big firecrackers are filled, and when the effigies are made to burn, they turn out to be brilliant spectacles to watch. Lord Shri Ram is, thus, the symbol of truth, while his opponent, Demon King Ravana, is the evil incarnate. This great religious festival and custom is celebrated by the Hindus with the worship of Goddess Durga. The traditions and procedures for celebrating this festival are different across the country. Lord Ram was a devotee of the war goddess Maa Durga, who worshipped Maa Durga for nine days preceding the war and killed Ravana on the tenth day of war. After this, Shri Ram rescued His Divine consort Sita by fighting a big war in company with His brother Lakshman, devotee Hanuman, and an army of monkeys. Therefore, Vijayadashami is a very important day for the victory of good over evil, of truth over falsehood, and of light over darkness. On this day, along with the burning of Ravana, there is also a tradition of worshipping weapons and vehicles and worshipping Maa Durga, Lord Shri Ram, and Ganpati Devata. Therefore, Vijayadashami has also been called Vijaya Tithi. It is believed that this day is very auspicious to please Goddess Lakshmi.

Dussehra has a cultural aspect as well. It is also a festival to unify the cultural unity and integrity of the country. This year’s Vijayadashami festival has special significance because, with the positive revolutionary energy of this festival, not only a strong message has to be given to the negative and anti-national forces active in the nation, but also a challenge and caution against the misdeeds of neighbouring countries like Pakistan, China, etc. After celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav year of independence, the nation has to be strengthened for the Centenary Year, which is 2047. The new consciousness that has come to the country with the strengthening of fundamental beliefs, nationalism, is living evidence of a powerful leadership. The efforts being made in search of renewable sources of energy for nationalism, self-identity, patriotic sentiments, and Hindu culture are unprecedented. The contemporary environment in which the nation is being led in accordance with popular aspirations is extraordinary. Dussehra is also a festival of Shakti sadhana, karma, new creation, and worship. During the last eight decades, there have been continuous political moves to weaken the Hindu religion and culture. Actually, Hinduism is not a religion; it is an idea and a culture. Being a Hindu nation does not mean to be a theocratic state, but to embody the all-embracing spirit of Hindu culture. Hindu culture is the inherent sound of generosity because it is the only culture in the entire world that embraces pluralism, i.e., all religions, ideas, and cultures. This country also gave the title of Rishi to a materialistic philosopher-thinker like Charvak, who said that ‘Rinaam Kritva Ghritam Peevet’ i.e., whatever there is today, who has seen tomorrow; hence, today should be lived to the fullest, even if one has to take loans. If it has to be done, it should be done. Along with this, our other sages also gave us this advice: ‘Satyam Buryat Na Buryat Satyam Apriyam, i.e., speak the truth, but do not speak the bitter truth. The greatness and specialty of Hindu culture have been that it advocates the beloved truth but also asks for its prohibition when it becomes harsh.

The Hindu culture is that of non-violence, but it also talks about self-defence by taking up arms if necessary. The word ’Hindu’ itself gives the sense of ’Swarashtra’, which is a part of the larger form of Hindu culture. The Vijayadashami festival is a powerful medium to strengthen this ideology. Through this festival, everyone’s voice and objective are to destroy evil and encourage goodness. After Navratri, the last, i.e., tenth day of Dussehra, is Vijayadashami, which means that you have conquered all three gunas—Tamas, Rajas, or Satva. You passed through these three qualities, saw all three, and participated in all three, but you were not attached or tied to any of these three in any way; you overcame all three of them. This is Vijayadashami, the day of your victory. Indian culture is a worshipper of bravery and valour. The festival of Dussehra has been organised to display bravery in the blood of individuals and society. The festival of Dussehra provides good inspiration to give up ten types of sins: lust, anger, greed, attachment, jealousy, ego, laziness, violence, and theft. One who is full of hatred, full of anger, full of malice, full of jealousy, and full of greed is increasing fear. All these lead to fear and powerlessness. While celebrating the Dussehra festival of force and bravery, the biggest need is to burn these vices within us.

India never supported war or violence, but when somebody challenges us and creates war-like situations, the skill of Indian politics is to attack and defeat the enemy instead of waiting for his attack. Since the time of Lord Ram, this day has been a symbolic day of victory. Lord Ram had left for the war against Ravana on this day. Maratha Ratna Shivaji also protected Hinduism by leaving for war against Aurangzeb on this day. There are many examples in Indian history when Hindu kings used to march in victory on this day. The celebration of Dussehra symbolises the protection of religion, the display of power, and the coordination of power. Apart from this, Dussehra symbolises the victory of positive forces over negative forces.