Essay on Dussehra

The Great Indian Festivals : Dussehara

Dussehra is the one of the major festival of India which is celebrated around 20 days before the festival of Diwali. The festival of Dussehra is a grand celebration which is accompanied with large fairs and burning of large effigy of Ravana symbolizing the victory of good over evil.  

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Essay on Dussehra in English for Children and Students

Writing essay on festival is a very common topic in schools. We have provided a short essay on Dussehra within 500 words which will be very useful for young children. You can also use this dussehra essay while writing short paragraph on dussehra, short speech on dussehra as well as while writing an article on indian festival etc.

Introduction

Dussehra or Vijayadashami is a major festival of Hindus, it is celebrated on the tenth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Ashwin. This festival is celebrated with great pomp in every state in different ways. It is celebrated as on this day Lord Rama killed Ravana the evil king of Lanka and also Goddess Durga conquered Mahishasura, the devil, after Navratri and 10 days of war. That is why the festival is known as Vijayadashami.

Why do we celebrate Dussehra

Dussehra is a festival of devotion. Devotees worship nine different forms of Goddess Durga with devotion during Navaratri. Kali, Shailputri, Brahmacharini, Karnaghanta etc are some forms of Goddess Durga. The nine forms of Durga are worshiped each day and it is believed that on Dussehra, Goddess Durga killed devil Mahishasura and showcased the triumph of good over evil.

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Grand idols of Mahishasur Mardini Maa Durga is installed in the provinces of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh etc. During the 9 days, the environment is filled with devotion and festivity and people recite devotional songs, bhajans and worship Godess Durga.

The second reason of celebrating Dussehra is that on the day of Vijayadashami, Lord Rama killed Ravana, the evil King of Lanka.

Ravana was tyrannical and arrogant king, who kidnapped Rama's wife Sita by deceit. Rama befriended the monkey king Sugriva to free Sita from the clutches of Ravana. They crossed the sea with the forestry army and went to Lanka and attacked Ravana.

There was a fierce war between Rama and Ravana. All the brave warriors of Ravana were killed in the battle. Rama killed Ravana and freed Sita from Lanka and gave the kingdom of Lanka to Vibhishan who was the younger brother of Ravana and a great devotee of Lord Rama. 

Ancient tradition of celebrating Dussehra

On this day people worship arms and start a new work. It is believed that the work started on this day gets successfully completed. Ramlila, which is the depiction of the Ramayan is organized almost in every city accompanied with a large fair and a huge effigy of Ravana is burnt on the day symbolizing the victory of good over evil. 

The festival of Dussehra provides the true inspiration to triumph over 10 types of sins namely kama, krodh, lobh, moh, madh, matsar, ego ,laziness, violence and theft. It is the festival which makes the person to fight its inner evil and come out with a pure heart conquering over all the sins and evils. 

Conclusion

Dussehra is one of the major festivals celebrated in India with great enthusiasm, devotion and festivity. This is the festival which celebrates the triumph of good over evil and gives the message that whatever be the evil it could not stand against the good and pure heart. The burning effigy of Ravana symbolizes that all bad things comes to an end.