As the name suggests Vijayadashmi or Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of the month of Ashwin according to the Hindi lunisolar calendar which corresponds to September or October of the Gregorian calendar. The first nine days are celebrated as Maha Navratri(Devnagari: नवरात्रि, 'nine nights') or Sharada Navratri (the most important Navratri) and culminates on the tenth day as Dasara.
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. Many people of the Hindu faith observe Dasara through social
gatherings and food offerings to the gods at home and in temples
throughout Nepal and India.
On this day in the Treta Yug, Rama, also called Shri Ram, the seventh avatar of Vishnu, killed the great demon Ravana who had abducted Rama's wife Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. Rama, his brother Lakshmana, 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.
Rama had
performed "Chandi Homa" and invoked the blessings of Durga, who blessed
Rama with secret knowledge of the way to kill Ravana. On the day of
Ashvin Shukla Dashami, Rama's party found Sita and defeated Ravana. Thus
it is termed as Vijaya Dashami. Based on the inferences from
Valmiki’s Ramayana, Kalidas’s Raghuvans, Tulsidas’s Ram Charit Manas,
and Keshavdas's Ram Chandra Yas Chandrika as well as common perception
in India, Rama, Sita, and of Lakshmana returned to Ayodhya on the 30th
day of Ashvin (19–20 days after Vijayadashmi). To mark the return of
Lord Rama, in the evening, the residents of Ayodhya lit their city with
millions of earthen lamps (called Deepak). Since then, this day is
celebrated in India as Deepawali or Diwali.
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