Dussehra 2021: Celebrating the Victory of Good Over Evil

Dussehra celebrates Lord Ram's victory over the demon king Ravana and the triumph of good over evil. The epic Ramayana tells the story of Lord Ram whose lovely Sita is taken by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Ravana plays an important role in the Ramayana. Ravana had a sister known as Shoorpanakha. She fell in love with the brothers Rama and Lakshaman and wanted to marry one of them. Lakshamana refused to marry her and Rama could not as he was already married to Sita.

Shoorpanakha threatened to kill Sita so that she could marry Rama. This angered Lakshaman who cut off Shoorpanakha's nose and ears. Ravana then kidnapped Sita to avenge his sister's injuries. Lord Ram and Lakshaman later fought a battle to rescue Sita, in which they were helped by Lord Hanuman and his huge army of monkeys.

The Mahabharata is another series of Hindu stories that play a role in the Dussehra festival. The Pandavas were five brothers who fought evil forces with a set of distinctive weapons. They abandoned their weapons and went into exile for one year. They hid their weapons in a Shami tree and found them at the same place when they returned from exile. They then worshipped the tree before going to a battle, which they won. This epic is also commemorated during Dussehra.

One of the most prominent symbols or the way Dussehra is celebrated is by burning effigies of Ravana. These effigies are stuffed with firecrackers and sometimes they measure up to hundreds of feet, and burning and watching these effigies burn is often a public spectacle in northern India. Dussehra is always celebrated with much fervor and fanfare, and you can also find Ram Lila - a theatrical play - based on Lord Ram’s life being organized across cities.