Durga Worship …in other parts of India

Like other festivals in the country, Dussehra / Durga Puja is an occasion for festivities on a grand scale, which emanate a genuine feeling of bonhomie and warmth.The gods called this goddess Durga, the invincible one. They armed her with their weapons – Varuna, the sea-god, gave her a rope; Indra, the god-king, gave her a thunderbolt; Vishnu gave her a discus; Kumara gave her a lance; Surya, the sun-god, gave her a bow and arrow; Chandra, the moon-god, gave her an axe; Yama, the god of death, gave her a mace; Brahma gave her a shield; Agni, the fire-god, gave her an axe; Vayu, the wind-god, gave her a conch; Shiva gave her a trident. Thus armed, Durga rode to the top of a mountain on a lion.

Dussehra (tenth day) is one of the significant Hindu festivals, celebrated with much joie de vivre in the entire country. The occasion marks the triumph of Lord Rama over the demon king, Ravana, the victory of good over evil. Brilliantly decorated tableaux and processions depicting various facets of Rama's life are taken out. On the tenth day, the Vijayadasmi day, colossal effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhkarna and son Meghnath are placed in vast open spaces. Rama, accompanied by his consort Sita and his brother Lakshmana, arrive and shoot arrows of fire at these effigies, which are stuffed with explosive material. The result is a deafening blast, enhanced by the shouts of merriment and triumph from the spectators.

It is significant that the Lord invoked the blessings of the divine mother, Goddess Durga, before actually going out to battle. In burning the effigies the people are asked to burn the evil within them, and thus follow the path of virtue and goodness, bearing in mind the instance of Ravana, who despite all his might and majesty was destroyed for his evil ways. It must be remembered that Ravana was a great scholar and an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, but the very powers that were bestowed on him for his steadfast devotion proved to be his undoing, due to his gross misuse of the same.

In northern India, the festival wears the colourful garb of Ramlila wherein various incidents from Rama's life are enacted, as is the destruction of Ravana and Bharat Milap, that is the reunion of Ram and his estranged brother Bharat, on the former's return to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. In the Kulu valley in Himachal Pradesh, the hill- folk celebrate Dussehra with a grand mass ceremony wherein village deities are taken out in elaborate processions. The Dussehra of Mysore, is also quite famous where caparisoned elephants lead a colourful procession through the gaily dressed streets of the city.