Dassehra!

Today is Dassehra or Vijayadashmi.... I realized as I wrote this, most of Indian holidays have two or more names... That is due to the fact that most of the names are regional and change according to the language of the state...

So what is Dassehra, Dasara or Vijayadashmi?

Vijayadashami is a festival celebrated in varying forms across India,Bangladesh and Nepal . It is also called Dasara, Dashahara, Navaratri and Durgotsav(Marathi: विजयादशमी, Bengali: বিজয়াদশমী,Oriya :ବିଜୟାଦଶମୀ, Kannada: ವಿಜಯದಶಮಿ, Malayalam: വിജയദശമി, Nepali :विजया दशमी,Tamil: விஜயதசமி, Telugu: విజయదశమి). It is also known as Dasara (also written Dussehra) Bengali: দশেরা, Kannada: ದಸರ, Malayalam: ദസറ, konkani: दसरो , Marathi: दसरा,Oriya:ଦଶହରା Telugu: దసరా) and Dashain in Nepali.

Vijayadashami is celebrated on the tenth day of the Hindu autumn lunar month of Ashvin, or Ashwayuja which falls in September or October of the Western calendar, from the Shukla Paksha Pratipada, or the day after the new moon which falls in Bhadrapada, to the Dashami, or the tenth day of Ashvin. It is the culmination of the 10-day annual Navaratri (Sanskrit: नवरात्रि, 'nine nights') festival. It is the largest festival in Nepal, and celebrated by Hindu and non-Hindu Nepalis.

In India, the harvest season begins at this time and so the Mother Goddess is invoked to start the new harvest season and reactivate the vigor and fertility of the soil. This is done through religious performances and rituals which are thought to invoke cosmic forces that rejuvenate the soil. In Bangladesh it is a five day long festival and is celebrated in mandaps (congregation).The largest festival is held at Dhakeshwari temple and Ramkrishna missionary in Dhaka. On the day of Dasha-Hara, clay statues of the Goddess Durga are submerged in rivers. The pooja is performed with turmeric and other pooja items, which are added to the river in order to help the water yield better crops.

Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Hindawi (Hindu) Swarajya - Maratha Empire worshipped Lord Shiva and the goddess Durga in her Bhawani form before engaging in military expeditions.

Dasha-Hara is the festival of Victory of Good over Evil. Buses, trucks and machines in factories are decorated. Dasha-Hara is also Vishwakarma Divas - the National Labor Day of India. Veda Vyasa is considered the foremost guru and Vijayadashami is also celebrated as Vyasa puja. Shastra pooja, or the worship of the weapon Shastra/Astra used by Goddess Durga, are worshipped on this day.

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.

For more information, head over to wikipedia...

I suddenly realized that I use wikipedia so often that when i start typing wik my IE automatically takes me to wikipedia... LOL...

So many many wishes for a Happy Dassehra to you all!!! May the goodness in all conquer the evil in the community!!! I believe that there are a lot more good people out there than evil!!!