Vijayadashami (Dussehra)
The Shukla paksha Dashami of Ashwin, the day after Navratri ends — the festival of victory itself. It marks Durga's slaying of Mahishasura on the tenth day and Ram's victory over Ravan, and carries its own rites: aparajita puja in the afternoon, shami puja, worship of one's tools and instruments, and the seemollanghan crossing. Counted among the sade-teen muhurats, the whole day is held auspicious for beginnings, with no panchang needing to be consulted. Ravan-dahan in the evening is a beloved regional custom, not the puja itself.
Next date: 2026-10-21
vidhi
Bathe and wear clean clothes; if you kept the Navratri vrat, complete its paran according to your family's tradition before the day's puja.,In the aparahna (afternoon), clean a spot in the north-east of the house or courtyard, draw an eight-petalled lotus with rice paste or chandan, and invoke Devi Aparajita upon it — Jaya on her right, Vijaya on her left.,Offer flowers, akshat, haldi-kumkum, dhoop and a ghee lamp to Aparajita, recite the aparajita mantra, and ask plainly for victory in the work that stands before you.,Go to a shami tree — or keep a shami sprig at home — light a lamp at its root, offer akshat and flowers, and bring a few leaves home to exchange as 'sona' with elders and friends.,Clean the instruments of your work — tools, vehicles, machines, books, weapons where tradition holds — apply a haldi-kumkum tilak, offer flowers and dhoop, and let them rest for the day.,Before sunset, step across the boundary of your locality toward the north-east — the seemollanghan, the symbolic setting-out for victory; sighting a neelkanth bird on the way is held to be shubh.,Use the vijay muhurat of the afternoon to begin the thing you have been putting off — a child's first letters, a new venture, a first journey.,In the evening, do the aarti of Durga and Ram at home, and join the Ravan-dahan where it is your local custom.katha
Three stories meet on this one day. The first is Durga's. Mahishasura, made unslayable by gods and men through boon, had driven the devas from heaven; their gathered tejas took form as the Devi. For nine nights the battle ran, and on the tenth day she pinned the buffalo demon and slew him — the Dashami of vijaya, victory. The second is Ram's. Before the final battle of Lanka he woke the Devi out of season — the akal bodhan — and worshipped her for strength; on Dashami, Ravan fell. The effigies that burn across the north each year burn for that one arrow. The third belongs to the shami tree. Entering their year of hiding, the Pandavas bundled their weapons and hung them in a shami; when the year turned, they took them down on Vijayadashami, worshipped them, and Arjuna scattered the Kaurava army at Virata that same day. From this come the shami puja and the shastra puja — and the old custom of kings crossing their boundary, the seemollanghan, to set out on campaign on the one day when victory is held certain.mantra
[object Object]samagri
Haldi, kumkum, chandan and akshat for tilak and puja,Rice paste or chandan for drawing the eight-petalled lotus of the aparajita puja,Fresh flowers and a marigold mala,Shami leaves, or a small shami sprig where the tree is not nearby (apta leaves where that is the custom),Ghee lamp, dhoop and camphor for the aarti,Jaggery, jalebi or kheer for the bhog and for distribution,The tools and instruments of your own work, cleaned beforehand,A lota of water, supari and a few coins for the sankalpUpcoming dates
- 2026-10-21