Dussehra: The Victory of Good Over Evil

On the evening of Dussehra, in open grounds across North India, crowds wait in front of a figure of bamboo, paper and cloth that can be three storeys tall. Children sit on their fathers’ shoulders. On a stage nearby, the actor playing Rama draws his bow, and as the arrow flies the effigy of Ravana, packed with firecrackers, goes up in flames. Here is when Dussehra falls, what it marks and how differently it is kept from Kullu to Kolkata to Mysuru.

Dussehra Ravan effigy burning celebration

When is Dussehra?

Dussehra, also called Vijayadashami, falls on the tenth day (dashami) of the bright fortnight of Ashvin, the day after the nine nights of Navratri. It usually lands in late September or October. In 2026 it fell on Tuesday, 20 October.

Diwali follows about twenty days later, which is why many families treat the two as a single festive season.

What does Dussehra mean?

The name comes from Sanskrit: dasha means ten and hara means defeat or removal. Together they point to the defeat of the ten-headed one, Ravana, king of Lanka. The other name, Vijayadashami, means “the victory of the tenth day”.

The day marks two victories. In the Ramayana, Rama kills Ravana. In the Devi tradition, Durga kills the buffalo demon Mahishasura at the end of her nine-night battle. North India celebrates mainly the Rama story, Bengal and eastern India the Durga story, and the south keeps elements of both.

The story of Rama and Ravana

Most Indian children know some version of it. Rama, crown prince of Ayodhya, is exiled to the forest for fourteen years with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana. Ravana carries Sita off to Lanka. Rama, helped by the vanara king Sugriva and by Hanuman, builds a bridge across the sea, crosses to Lanka and defeats Ravana in battle.

Popular tradition places Ravana’s death on Vijayadashami and Rama’s return to Ayodhya on Diwali, about twenty days later. Dussehra is the battlefield victory; Diwali is the homecoming.

Ramlila and the burning of the effigies

In the days before Dussehra, towns across North India stage Ramlila, a retelling of the Ramayana as a play over several evenings. Delhi, Varanasi and Ayodhya have some of the best attended, and some local Ramlila committees have been staging their shows for more than a hundred years. UNESCO added the Ramlila tradition to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.

On Dussehra night the play reaches Ravana’s death. As Rama’s arrow is shot, the giant Ravana effigy is set alight, usually with two smaller ones of his brother Kumbhakarna and his son Meghnad. The fireworks inside go off as the figures burn.

The best known is the Ramlila at Ramnagar, across the Ganga from Varanasi, which has been supported by the royal family of Kashi since the nineteenth century. It runs for about thirty-one days and moves between different spots in the town, so the audience walks with the actors from one scene to the next.

How Dussehra is celebrated across India

Mysuru, Karnataka

Mysuru Dasara is a state festival with royal roots going back over four hundred years, to the Wadiyar kings. On Vijayadashami, a procession of decorated elephants, the Jamboo Savari, carries the image of the goddess Chamundeshwari in a golden howdah through the city. During the festival the Mysuru Palace is lit every evening with close to a hundred thousand bulbs.

Kullu, Himachal Pradesh

Kullu Dussehra starts on Vijayadashami, when other places are finishing. Hundreds of village deities are carried down from their temples on decorated palanquins to the Dhalpur maidan to pay their respects to Raghunath, the presiding deity of the valley. The gathering lasts seven days.

West Bengal

Here the day is Bijoya Dashami, the last day of Durga Puja. The goddess’s image is taken in procession to the river and immersed. Before that, married women play sindoor khela, smearing vermilion on each other’s faces and on the goddess. Afterwards families visit relatives, touch elders’ feet and share sweets.

The south

In Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and especially Kerala, Vijayadashami is the day to begin learning. Small children are introduced to letters (Vidyarambham in Kerala), and students of music and dance start new lessons. Tools, books and instruments are worshipped on the day before, Ayudha Puja.

Maharashtra

Families exchange leaves of the apta tree on Dussehra, calling them “sona” (gold), with greetings and sweets. The day is also one of the sade teen muhurta, the three and a half most auspicious days in the Marathi calendar, and many people choose it to buy gold, a vehicle or a house, or to start a business.

Food on Dussehra

After nine days of Navratri fasting, many families mark Dussehra with a festive meal. In Gujarat, fafda and jalebi are the classic Dussehra breakfast, bought hot from farsan shops that open before dawn for the day. In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, pua and kheer are common. In Bengal, Bijoya is a day of sweets: every visit to a relative’s house comes with a plate of them, and the festive meals of the puja days carry on.

In Karnataka, a festive meal might include bisi bele bath, obbattu, kesari bath and chitranna. In Maharashtra, the exchange of apta leaves is usually followed by sweets and a family meal.

What the effigy stands for

Many people read the burning of Ravana as burning the bad habits in ourselves: pride, anger and envy, Ravana’s ten heads turned into ten faults. Others point out that Ravana was also a scholar and a devotee of Shiva, and in a few places, such as parts of Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, he is honoured rather than burnt. Which reading is closer to the Ramayana itself is a question worth taking to Valmiki’s text, where Ravana is a more complicated figure than the effigy suggests.

If you like the regional side of Indian festivals, read our guides to Basant Panchami, the spring festival of learning, and Lohri and Makar Sankranti, India’s winter harvest festivals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dussehra the same as Vijayadashami?

Yes. Dussehra is the common North Indian name, Vijayadashami the Sanskrit name used across the country, and Bijoya Dashami the Bengali name for the same day.

Is Dussehra a good day to start something new?

Yes. Vijayadashami is considered one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu year for starting education, a business or a creative practice.

Where can you see the biggest Dussehra celebrations?

Mysuru for the elephant procession, Kullu for the gathering of village deities, Kolkata for Bijoya Dashami immersions, Ramnagar near Varanasi for the month-long Ramlila, and Delhi for the large Ravana Dahan grounds.