What is the importance of celebrating the festival of Dusshera?
Significance of Celebrating Dussehra
Dussehra is one such festival that the country celebrates with great zeal and enthusiasm. But before jumping to the importance of Dussehra, let us first learn why and how Dussehra is celebrated generally.
Dussehra is one of the most important festivals in the Hindu tradition. It signifies the victory of good over evil. A very long time ago, King Dashratha was the king of Koshada. He had three wives- Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra and four sons- Rama, Bharata, Lakshman, and Shatrughna. Since Rama was the eldest of all, King Dashratha wanted to crown him as the King of Ayodhya. Everyone in the kingdom was happy about this decision, but Queen Kaikeyi wanted her son Bharata to be the king of Ayodhya.
Years back, King Dashratha had granted Kaikeyi two boons that she could grant anytime afterward. So, on the eve of the ceremony, she decided to claim those two boons by asking King Dashratha to send Rama to exile for fourteen years and also demanded Bharata to be the king of Ayodhya. King Dashratha had no option but to cede her these boons.
Lord Rama, Sita, and Lakshman had to sacrifice all the royal luxuries for all this time. They had successfully spent thirteen years in the forests, but in the last year of their exile, a Rakshasi by the name of Supranakha tried to seduce the two brothers but in vain.n but then tried to kill Sita but failed. She returned to her brother Ravana, king of Lanka, after all this humiliation. He then abducted Sita. When Rama and Lakshman learned about this, they took the help of Hanuman and progressed towards Lanka.
A huge fight ensued between both of their armies where eventually Rama and his army won and successfully reunited with Sita. The fight went on for ten days, and on the tenth day, Lord Rama finally killed Ravana, signifying that the power of goodness and humanity is above everything.
Therefore, it is said that Dussehra is celebrated to commemorate the victory of good over evil. In the Northern and the western states, Dussehra is celebrated as the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana, whereas, in the southern and eastern states, three different Goddesses are worshipped- Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Durga- all Goddesses of power and strength.
– Written By Tanya Bajaj
The central idea of celebrating the grand festival of Dussehra is to glorify the victory of good over evil, the righteousness of truth over lies, and establish dharma. It is one of the most important festivals of the Hindu community, celebrated with great pomp and show. The day marks the return of Lord Rama after a long 14 years of exile. It is believed and written in the Hindu mythology Ramayana that the whole of Ajodhya enlightened diyas for welcoming Lord Rama, along with brother Laxman and wife Sita. Lord Rama was sent to exile when King Dasharatha, the emperor of Ajodhya, decided to crown Rama as the king of Ajodhya as he was his eldest son, but Queen Kaikayi plotted to crown his son and made Dasharatha send Ram to exile for a long period of 14 years.
The festival also signifies that no matter how much educated you are or how much worship you do nothing will pay off your wrong deeds. As we all know, the ten-headed Ravana was a great worshiper of lord Shiva and was a genius. He knew Vedas and was considered the king of demons. But his wrong deeds made him pay at the cost of his life and finally believe in truth.
– Written by Anushree Ray
