The festival has two origin stories, and neither cancels out the other.
The first comes from the Ramayana. Ravana, the king of Lanka, abducted Sita. Rama went after her with his brother Lakshmana, Hanuman and an army of allies, and the war that followed ended with Ravana’s death and Sita’s return. Ravana wasn’t a crude villain in most tellings. He’s described as scholarly, skilled and enormously powerful, which is exactly why his fall is told as a warning about pride. He had everything except the ability to accept he was wrong.
The second story is about Durga. Mahishasura was a demon who had grown strong enough to threaten the gods themselves, and none of them could stop him alone. Durga could. After a long battle she defeated him and Vijayadashami marks that win.
The two stories look different, but the lesson is the same. Strength doesn’t make anyone righteous, and power with no restraint usually ends badly for the person holding it.
An Indian artist dressed as Hindu god Shiva performs on a chariot as he participates in a religious procession ‘Ravan ki Barat’ held to mark the forthcoming Dussehra festival in Allahabad on September 26, 2016.
An Indian artiste dressed as demon king Ravana laughs as he sits on a elephant during a religious procession ‘Ravan ki Barat’ in Allahabad on September 26, 2016, held to mark the Dussehra festival.
An Indian artiste dressed as demon king Ravana laughs during a religious procession ‘Ravan ki Barat’ in Allahabad on September 26, 2016, held to mark the Dussehra festival.
An Indian artiste dressed as son of Hindu demon king Ravana, Meghnath, sits on a chariot, as he takes part in a ‘Ravan ki Barat’ religious procession held to mark the forthcoming Dussehra festival in Allahabad on September 26, 2016.
Indian band performers play music during a ‘Ravan ki Barat’ religious procession held to mark the forthcoming Dussehra festival in Allahabad on September 26, 2016.
Bajrangbali
Devotees at Ram Temple on Janmashtami eve
Hanuman Ji
Lord Rama Darbar
Pawan Putra Lord Hanuman
A devotee offers oil lamps on top of his body while offering prayers during ‘Dashain’, a Hindu religious festival in Bhaktapur, Nepal, on October 11, 2016.
A policeman offers prayers to weapons at a police headquarters to mark Dussehra in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on October 11, 2016.
A priest performs ‘Vidhyarambam’ on Dushhera-Vijaya Dashami at a temple in Coimbatore on October 11, 2016.
Hindu women apply ‘sindhoor’, or vermillion powder, on the face of a woman as part of a ritual known as ‘Sindhoor Khela’ as they mark the Dusshera-Vijaya Dashami festival in Chandigarh, India, on October 11, 2016. The Sindhoor Khela is a ritual carried out by married women to wish one another a long married life.
India’s Rajputs worship weapons on Vijaya Dashmi festival in Surat, Gujarat, on October 11, 2016.
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