Talk:Dasara

Dasarā (‘[festival of] ten days’) Festivals and sacred days, which are the popular manifestations of any religion, are legion in Hinduism. One of the major festivals observed throughout India is the Dasarā festival. It is celebrated from the Āśvayuja śukla pratipad to the daśamī (the bright half of the month Āśvayuja or Āśvina, generally falling in September-October), for nine days (Navarātri, festival of nine nights) or ten days (dasarā = daśa + ahar = ten days). This festival takes many forms. In Bengal, Bihar and Orissa it is celebrated as the Durgāpujā, worship of the Divine Mother Durgā, usually in a clay image. In Uttar Pradesh and some other northern States it is observed as Rāmalilā, a re-enactment of the Rāma story. In Karnataka, it is a multifestival, comprising Sarasvatīpujā on the saptamī, Durgāpujā on the aṣtamī and Āyudhapujā (worship of weapons and implements) on the navamī days. The tenth day known as Vijaya- daśamī, again, is observed as the day for immersion of the Durgā images after the Durgāpujā, wherever it is observed. Where Rāmalilā is enacted, Vijaya- daśamī is celebrated as the day of victory of Rāma over Rāvaṇa, the demon-king. It is also the day on which kings used to start on expeditions of victory or conquests for expansion. Worship of the śamīvṛkṣa (Prosopis spicigera) and the royal weapons like the sword, as also the royal horse and the elephant were part of the Vijayadaśamī festival. As per the account of various foreign travellers like Abdur Razak (A. D. 1413- 1482), Domingos Paes (A. D. 1520) and Fernao Nuniz (A. D. 1536), the Dasarā was being celebrated in all pomp and glory as a State festival with the king being given the prime place, in Vijayanagara, the capital of the Vijayanagara empire. After the fall of the empire, it was taken up by the kings of Mysore State, and celebrated in a grand manner.