Essay on Dussehra: Dussehra marks the last day of Durga puja, i.e. the 10th day marks the end of Demon Ravana by Lord Rama. It is the victory of good over evil. People celebrate the occasion with great enthusiasm, pomp & show. Ram Leela & Ravana Dahan are two of the main attracts of this occasion.
Essay on Dussehra 500 Words in English
Below we have provided Dussehra Essay in English, written in easy and simple words for class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 school students.
Dussehra is the most significant festivals celebrated in the Hindu community. It falls after Navratri in October or November. It is a festival that denotes triumph over wicked. The word Dussehra also means ten evil faces were beheaded in order to maintain peace and harmony. The celebration of the festival originated from the below-mentioned stories from Mahabharata, Ramayana and assassination of Demon Mahishasura. These stories are meant to be the most prevalent and widespread.
Ramayana: Dussehra celebrates the success of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana. The Ramayana narrates the tale of Lord Rama who marries Sita at the bridegroom tournament. After Rama is banished from his kingdom, he retreats to the forest along with his brother Lakshmana and his wife Sita to spend fourteen years in the woods. King Ravana plays a prominent role in Ramayana. His sister Shoopranakha fells in love with both the brothers and wishes to marry them. But Lakshmana refuses to marry her and Rama could not marry her because he is already married.
On hearing this, she gets infuriated and threatens to kill Sita and rushes towards her. At that moment, Lakshmana cuts off her nose. She cries in pain and leaves to tell her brother. To avenge his sister’s distress, Ravana abducts Sita and carries her off to his kingdom named as Lanka. Rama and Lakshmana get help from monkey God Hanuman to save Sita. A fierce battle is fought between Ravana and Rama. Thus Ravana is beheaded and gets defeated, and Sita is rescued.
Mahabharata: As per the tale from the epic Mahabharata, the Pandavas lose their kingdom in the game of gambling against Kauravas. So, they are exiled from their territory and had to spend twelve years in the forest and one year in disguise. Since nobody can see them and know their identities, they hid their holy and powerful weapons under the Shami tree. After the year ended, they arrived back and took their weapons and worshipped Goddess Durga. They used these weapons in the war against Kauravas and emerged victoriously.
Demon Mahishasura: Mahishasura was known to be an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. So, to please him, Mahishasura observed meditation for many years. Lord Shiva was pleased by his devotion and granted him magical and superpowers which were unbeatable. But, Lord Shiva told him that he would be killed only by a woman. The demon started feeling invincible and harassing people who worshipped other Gods besides him. The gods were terrified and pleaded the trinity of God-Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh to find a solution.
Hence they created Goddess Durga to kill the demon. Her beauty was divine and angel-like that’s why the devil madly fell for her and wished to marry her. She accepted his proposal under one condition that he has to win a battle against her. He agreed. The battle lasted for nine days, and o tenth day he was killed by Goddess Durga.
Dussehra Celebrations
The festival is celebrated in various parts of India uniquely as it holds multifaceted importance in India’s culture.
North India: In Northern India, the festival holds a great significance as it signifies good over evil. The Ramayana is depicted through stage plays, drama and theatre ten days before the festival. Professional theatre actors perform in cities, villages and suburbs. Huge effigies of Ravana and Kumbhakarna are put up and lit on the day of the festival amidst the carnival-like surrounding.
South India: In Tamil Nadu, the nine days are considered to be holy and prosperous. The entire nine days is dedicated to the three principal deities. Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped for the first three days to bless them with wealth. Goddess Saraswati is worshipped the next three days to seek knowledge and art, and lastly, Goddess Durga is worshipped to seek Shakti (energy). In states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka miniature dolls are set up in homes known as ‘Bommai Kolu’.
Eastern India: Goddess Durga is commemorated and worshipped by the devotees. It is believed that she subdued the demon and killed him. Therefore, the day signifies the victory of Goddess Durga. Furthermore, the festival is also named as Vijayadashmi. Pandals are set up where the idol of Goddess is installed followed by Aarti in the evening.
Western India: In Maharashtra, the leaves of Bauhinia (Apta leaves) is exchanged as gold along with sweets. The idol of Goddess Durga is immersed on Dussehra. To sum up, people forget their worries and celebrate the festival. It is also believed that Dussehra brings happiness and new beginnings.