Dussehra: Hindu Festival -Mocomi Kids Dussehra - This day celebrates the victory of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana. http://mocomi.com/dussehra/

1. Dusshera

2. Copyright 2011 Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.©
Dusshera
Dussehra (Vijayadashami, Durgotsav) is a Hindu
festival that marks the culmination of a 9 day
period of festivities called navratri (nine nights),
with Dussehra being the 10th. Generally speaking,
Dussehra is a celebration of the triumph of good
over evil but is also the beginning of the harvest
season in India and so people invoke the Mother
Goddess to watch over the new harvest season
and rejuvenate the fertility of the soil.

3. Copyright 2011 Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.©
Dusshera
This festival is celebrated in all regions of
India but different communities choose to
observe it in different ways. The dates of this
festival are determined according to the lunar
calendar and hence it falls on a different date
of the Gregorian calendar every year.

4. Copyright 2011 Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.©
Dusshera
Ancient Hindu mythology extensively deals with the strug-
gle between good and evil, that is the struggle between the
asuras (daemons) and devas (gods). The navratri story is of
one such asura called Mahishasura, who invaded heaven de-
feating Indra and driving the devas out of heaven. The gods
decided to combine all their powers to create a powerful
being that would be able to destroy Mahishasura. The pow-
erful being they created was called Durga and they be-
stowed upon her their super-weapons. Navratri is said to be
the 9 days of battle between Durga and Mahishasura where
the goddess finally destroyed the daemon on the 10th day.

5. Copyright 2011 Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.©
Dusshera
It is also believed that on this day Ram, along with
Hanuman and an army of vanaras (monkey-like
humanoids) defeated the daemon Ravana. They
waged this battle in order to rescue Ram’s wife
Sita, whom the evil rakshasa had cunningly kid-
napped and imprisoned in his palace on the
island fortress of Lanka.

6. Copyright 2011 Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.©
Dusshera
Durga Puja is a prayer service offered to the goddess
Durga and is the primary form of how this festival is
celebrated. The largest celebrations of Durga Puja
happens in Bengal where worshipers set up elabo-
rate pandals and install an effigy of the goddess
within it. During the 6 days preceding Dussehra,
people give offerings in the form of prayers, and
flowers. On the 7th day these idols are submerged in
a water body to symbolise the return of Durga to her
husband Shiva, who lives in the Himalayas.
Dandiya Raas is another way in which
people celebrate Dussehra. Dandiya is
a traditional dance played by men and
women who wield short sticks in each
hand, hitting them together to the
beat of a dhol. It is nicknamed ‘the
sword dance’ because this dance form
is a mock-staging of the battle be-
tween Mahishasura and Durga. It origi-
nated in the state of Gujarat but has
become popular all over India.

7. Copyright 2011 Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.©
Dusshera
Project :
The gods from all ancient religions have super-weapons.
Find out the names of super-weapons wielded by gods from other
ancient religions and what their special powers are.
In most parts of northern India and some parts of
Maharashtra, a popular way of observing Dussehra is
a re-enactment of the Ramayana called the Ramlila.
Since the Ramayana is an epic, only the highlights of
theRam’s life is featured and is timed such that the
battle scene between Ram and Ravana, with the ulti-
mate defeat of evil occurring on Vijayadashami. On
the last and final day of Dussehra tall effigies of
Ravana, along with his son and brother are burned
with much pomp and show.