A Dussehra (Dashian) legend

Amko · Oct 9, 2018

Veteran HI forumites, this may be nothing novel for you. But newer forumites may not know that there is a well known reason for celebrating Dashian (or Dussehra as it is known in my native India). Here's the abridged version:
One Asura, or demon, Mahishasur, in the form of a buffalo, grew very powerful and created havoc on earth. Under his leadership, the Asuras, or demons, defeated the Devas (gods) To fight against Mahishasura's tyranny, the Devas joined their energies into Shakti, a single mass of incandescent energy. A very powerful band of lightning emerged from the mouths of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva ( Hinduism's holy trinity) and a young, beautiful female with ten hands appeared. All the Gods gave their special weapons to her. This Shakti coalesced to form the goddess Durga. Riding on a lion, who assisted her, Durga fought Mahishasur. The battle raged for nine days and nights. Finally on the tenth day of Ashvin Shukla Paksha, Mahishasur was defeated and killed by Durga. Which is why we celebrate this day - Dashian in Nepal, Dussehra in India - as Victory over Evil.
For me the 10 day festival starts tomorrow and culminates on October 19 this year. 19th is Friday and we're already making plans for a long weekend.
Incidentally, the above story apart, Dashian is also the day Lord Ram slew the demon Ravana per the Ramayan (one of Hinduism's enduring legends).

Bookie · Oct 14, 2018

Amko, thanks for sharing. Interesting story and cool picture. Want to share some more stories?

Amko · Oct 14, 2018

Another Dusserah (Dashian) legend: The Pandavas (the 5 brothers from the Indian myth, the Mahabharata) end their Agnyatwas (exile) on this day

Bookie, here's another story for you.

After losing everything they ever owned in a game of dice, the Pandavas, the five brothers from the Indian myth The Mahabharata, were exiled by their cousins, the Kauravas, to 12 years of living in the forest (this is called Vanvas) and one year of living incognito.

They spent these 12 years living in various forests and in their final year -- after hiding their divine weapons in a hole of a Shami tree -- decided to live in the Kingdom of Virat.

The five brothers and their wife Draupadi spent the year in disguise but as the kingdom faced an attack from the Kaurava army, the brothers shed their disguise, went back to the Shami tree and for the first time in a year took their weapons in their hands on this day of Dussehra (Dashian).

In the battlefield, largely thanks to Lord Krishna's help, the Kaurava army was routed and the battle was the first in the chain of events that would eventually lead to the war of Kurukshetra, the ultimate battle of Good over Evil.

Back to present day: on October 18, Dussehra day (or Dashian) homes, offices and factories are ritually cleaned including cars, machinery and yes, weapons. I'll be sure to use my newfound knowledge on this forum (thanks to all you forumites) to give my precious HIs a thorough once-over!