Importance And Celebrations Of Dussehra Festival In Different Countries

As you know Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami, Dasara, or Dashain) is a Hindu celebration that praises the triumph of good over fiendishness. It is one of the most popular festivals in India and it is celebrated with equal fervour in several parts of the subcontinent. I have posted an article on what are the top 8 famous places to celebrate Dussehra festival in India.


Significance of Dasara:

Dussehra has epic of Ramayana and Mahabharatha.

From Ramayana: The epic Ramayana recounts the account of the Lord Rama who wins the dazzling Sita for his better half, just to have her carted away by Ravana, the evil spirit ruler of Lanka. Ravana had a sister called Shoorpanakha, she wants to marry Rama and Lakshmana, Lakshmana refuses to marry her and Rama is already married to Sita. So, she menace to kill sita, so that she can marry Rama. Lakshmana gets angry on Shoorpanaka over her actions on Sita and cut off her nose and ears. Then Ravana abduct Sita as her sister avenge. Rama and Lakshmana later battled a fight to safeguard Sita.

From Mahabharata: The Mahabharata is another epic that plays role in Dasara festival. The Pandavas were five siblings who battled insidious powers with an arrangement of unmistakable weapons. They relinquished their weapons and went into outcast for one year. They concealed their weapons under shami tree and found their weapons at the same place when they get back from outcast. Before going to the battle they adored the tree and won. Likewise this epic started during Dasara.

Dussehra celebrates in different countries:

You must be wondering how popular festivals of the country are celebrated in other parts of the subcontinent, namely Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and other countries.

Dashain is the name of the festival or Bijaya Dashami when it is celebrated in Nepal. The Durga Puja or Dashain is celebrated in Nepal by the Hindus and other ethnic people in areas like Assam, Darjeeling and Sikkim. Dashain is also celebrated by the Lhotshampa people in Bhutan and Burmese Gurkhas living in Myanmar. This is also considered as the most auspicious festival contained in the Bikram Sambat and Nepal Sambat annual calendar for Nepalese people. The festival is extensively celebrated in Bhutan and Burma as well. People usually return from all parts of the world to their hometown during this time. The festival starts from Shukla Paksha in the month of Ashwin and concludes on Purnima.

In Sri Lanka, Dussehra is celebrated in a big way, more so, because Ravana was a Lankan King. Dussehra is one time in Sri Lanka when everyone comes out to celebrate, effigies of Ravana are burnt, gifts are given to each other, several gods are worshipped and devotional music is also played. There are several Hindu temples situated in Chillaw, Nuwara Eliya and Puttalam which have grand Dussehra celebrations that tourists often fly down to witness in Sri Lanka.

Some people also note Ram Dahan in Sri Lanka which is another activity albeit a little-known one. Visiting any of these famous temples will help you get up close with the locals of Sri Lanka as they celebrate Dussehra with an unmatched passion of their own. Ramleela-esque processions and plays are also held in Sri Lanka where people play the roles of various characters. Thereafter, the actor who plays Rama, burns the Ravana effigy by shooting it with a flaming bow and arrow. This is truly one sight that you should behold by all means!

Apart from Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka along with Myanmar, Dussehra is also celebrated in Pakistan. Pakistan has a population of Hindus who have effigies of Ravana burnt in this period. There are a few temples where these celebrations usually take place and amongst the Pakistani Hindus, it is really a big affair, complete with exchanges of gifts, celebrations, feasting and lots more. For Bangladesh, there is Dasha Hara or Vijaya Dashami which is celebrated with equal fervour across several mandaps. The festival is widespread across the entire subcontinent and this can be seen through its popularity amongst non-resident Indians as well who reside in these areas.

Many people believes that it’s a fortunate festival to start new business.

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