Dussehra 2016 - Some Unknown Facts

According to the Vedic calendar, Vijayadashmi or Dussehra Festival is celebrated on the tenth day of Shukla Paksha in the month of Ashvin i.e. September-October. It is basically the tenth day after the Navratri.  Dussehra originates from a Sanskrit word "Dasha-hara", which means the elimination of 10 evil qualities.

Dussehra is the celebration of the victory of good over evil while remembering the incident of Lord Rama's victory over the demon king Ravana to rescue his captured wife Sita. It is also celebrated by the farmers in some regions of India like Punjab because of the good harvest season.  On the first day of Navratri, people in Punjab sow pulses, cereals, barley and other grains and after nine days, the seeds sprout. On Vijayadashami, they immerse the seedlings in water. Farmers in Punjab generally harvest the kharif crop after the Vijayadashmi Festival.

Dussehra 2016 is arriving on the 11^th of October according to the Gregorian calendar. The reason why we celebrate Vijay Dashmi every year is to remove all the bad qualities within us and get inspired by the all the good qualities of ‘Maryada Puroshottam Shri Rama’, the Ideal Man.

Here are some important and less facts about Dussehra festival:

• Dussehra is called “Dashain”, in Nepal
  
• Dussehra or “Dasara” is the national festival of Nepal.
  
• In Himachal Pradesh, It is called “Kullu Dussehra”
  
• Dussehra is also known by the name of Vijayadashmi, which means victory on the tenth day.
  
• The Dussehra festival is celebrated only in India but also in countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and Malaysia with same amount of zeal and joy
  
• Large dummies of demon Ravana, Kumbhkarna and Meghnath is burnt on this day along with firecrackers.
  
• Dussehra celebrations started somewhere around 17th century in Mysore.
  
• It is believed that it was the day of Dussehra, when great Ashoka converted to Buddhism.
  
• Ravana had ten heads and each head represented his one evil so the ten evils are Jealousy, Anger, Pride, Ego, Lust, Selfishness, Infatuation, Greed, Attachment and Hatred. Moreover Dussehra is the festival to win over these evils.
  
• According to mythology, the Ram Setu (30 Km long bridge) was built by the monkey Gods (Vanaras). Lord Rama took this path to reach demon king Ravana in Lanka and killed him.
  
• It is the day of the Dussehra, when Devotees immerse the idols of Goddess Durga after the long celebrations of Durga puja which is known as Visarjan.
  

Dussehra includes three Muhurts or timings for the rituals. The Vijay Muhurt comprises the Shami puja for the Kshatriyas to do the puja of any Shami tree situated in the north-east of the region. Then comes the time of the Aprahna Puja where Devi Aparajita is worshipped to attain victory over anything. The best time to perform Aparajita Puja is Aparahna time as per Hindu division of the time, And finally the Dashmi Titthi or Seema Avalanghan.

This Dussehra 2016 date, the Muhurts for the rituals are as follows:

• Vijay Muhurta - 14:09 to 14:55
  

                  Duration: 46 Minutes

 

• Aparanha Puja Time - 13:22 to 15:41
  

                   Duration: 2 Hours 19 Minutes

 

• Dashmi Tithi Starts: 22:53 on October 10, 2016
  

                     Dashmi Tithi Ends: 22:28 on October 11, 2016