Vijayadashami (pronounced [ʋɪʝəjəðəʃmɪ]] or “vij-ə-yə-dəsh-əmi”) (Devanagiri: विजयदशमि ) (Kannada: ವಿಜಯದಾಶಿಮಿ), also known as Dasara, Dusshera or dussehra (Devanagiri: दशहर) (Kannada: ದಸರಾ ಹಬ್ಬ) is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu calendar month of Ashvin, which typically falls in the Gregorian months of September and October.[3][4][5]

Vijayadasami is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Indian subcontinent.[6][1][7][3] In the eastern and northeastern states of India, Vijayadashami marks the end of Durga Puja, remembering goddess Durga’s victory over the buffalo demon to help restore Dharma.[3][8] In the northern, southern and western states, the festival is synonymously called Dussehra (also spelled Dasara, Dashahara). In these regions, it marks the end of “Ramlila” and remembers god Rama’s victory over the demon Ravana, or alternatively it marks a reverence for one of the aspects of goddess Devi such as Durga or Saraswati.[1][4][5]

Vijayadasami celebrations include processions to a river or ocean front that carry clay statues of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and Kartikeya, accompanied by music and chants, after which the images are immersed into the water for dissolution and a goodbye. Elsewhere, on Dasara, the towering effigies of Ravana symbolizing the evil is burnt with fireworks marking evil’s destruction. The festival also starts the preparation for one of the most important and widely celebrated Diwali, the festival of lights, which is celebrated twenty days after the Vijayadashami.[9][10][1]