Dussehra, or Vijayadashami, is the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Ashwin. In the north it is the day Rama killed Ravana. As the sun goes down, towering effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and his son Meghnad, stuffed with fireworks, are set alight by an arrow from an actor playing Rama, and the Ramlila that has run for ten nights is over.
The story
Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka, had carried off Sita. Rama crossed the sea with an army of monkeys and bears and fought him for days; each head he struck off grew back, until Vibhishan revealed that the nectar of immortality lay in Ravana's navel. The name Dussehra is read as "the taking away of the ten heads".
It is also the day the Pandavas, their year in disguise over, took their weapons down from the shami tree where they had hidden them. Leaves of that tree are still exchanged as "gold".
रावनु रथी बिरथ रघुबीरा । देखि बिभीषन भयउ अधीरा ॥
Ravana rode a chariot; Rama stood on the ground. Seeing it, Vibhishan lost heart
Tulsidas, Ramcharitmanas, Lanka Kand: Rama answers that his chariot is courage and truth
How it is kept
- Ravan DahanThe burning of the effigies at dusk, in every maidan from the village to the capital.
- Shastra pujaWeapons, tools, vehicles and account books are worshipped.
- Shami and aparajitaThe shami tree is worshipped and its leaves given as gold.
- NeelkanthSighting the Indian roller, the blue-throated bird, is counted lucky on this day.
- JalebiEaten hot on the way home from the maidan, with fafda further west.
Why this date
Dussehra is the Dashami of the bright fortnight of Ashwin, kept on the day it prevails in the afternoon (aparahna), the time of the victory worship.
Dussehra in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tuesday | |
| 2027 | Saturday | |
| 2028 | Wednesday | |
| 2029 | Tuesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday | |
| 2031 | Saturday |
More North Indian festivals
8 OctoberMaha Navamiमहा नवमी
18 OctoberKarwa Chauthकरवा चौथ
29 OctoberDiwaliदीपावली
7 OctoberDurga Ashtamiदुर्गा अष्टमी
4 SeptemberGanesh Chaturthiगणेश चतुर्थी
4 NovemberChhath Pujaछठ पूजा
Where to see Dussehra
In North India
- Ramlila Maidan, DelhiDelhiThe capital's old Ramlila grounds, where the effigies are among the tallest in the country.
- Ramnagar, VaranasiUttar PradeshThe Ramlila here ends not with fireworks but with the old pageantry of a princely state.
- KotaRajasthanA Dussehra fair that lasts nearly a month on the banks of the Chambal.
- BastarChhattisgarhA seventy-five-day festival that has nothing to do with Rama: the tribes honour the goddess Danteshwari.
Across India
- KulluHimachal PradeshThe festival begins on this day, when hundreds of village gods are carried down to the valley.
- MysuruKarnatakaThe Jamboo Savari, a procession of caparisoned elephants.
- KolkataWest BengalBijoya Dashami: the images of Durga go to the river.