By Dipak Kurmi
India, with its vast cultural landscape and religious diversity, is a land where festivals are more than just occasions of celebration. They are bridges between myth and morality, rituals and philosophy, devotion and community. Among the multitude of festivals that bind the country together, Durga Puja and Dussehra (Vijayadashami) hold a particularly exalted place. These two festivals, though celebrated differently across the length and breadth of India, embody the eternal victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and truth over deception. They celebrate divine power, particularly feminine power in the form of Goddess Durga, and moral courage in the form of Lord Rama. Together, they weave a narrative that continues to inspire millions of devotees, reminding them that the greatest battles are not fought on external battlefields but within the depths of the human spirit.
The Spiritual Core of Durga Puja
Durga Puja, the most awaited festival in Bengal and much of eastern India, is a magnificent expression of devotion, art, and cultural identity. Celebrated with grandeur in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Tripura, and increasingly in metropolitan cities across India and abroad, it is more than a festival—it is a collective awakening of spiritual and cultural consciousness.
The origins of the Puja lie deep in Hindu mythology. According to ancient texts, the demon Mahishasura, blessed with a boon that no man or god could slay him, wreaked havoc upon the three worlds. To restore cosmic balance, the combined powers of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva converged to create Goddess Durga, a radiant warrior imbued with the strength of all the gods. Riding a lion and armed with divine weapons, she battled Mahishasura for nine days and nights, finally slaying him with her trident. This symbolic victory is the heart of Durga Puja, representing the annihilation of arrogance, ignorance, and destructive tendencies by the awakened force of righteousness.
The iconography of Durga is deeply symbolic. With ten arms holding weapons of different gods, she represents the many tools human beings possess—wisdom, patience, compassion, courage, and justice—to combat negativity. The lion she rides represents willpower, while the demon she slays represents ego and chaos. For devotees, the image of Durga is not only an object of worship but also a mirror of the inner strength they are called to discover within themselves.
The nine days leading up to the climax of Durga Puja are celebrated as Navratri across India. Each day is dedicated to one of the nine manifestations of the goddess—Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri. Together, these forms symbolize the progressive journey of spiritual evolution, from the innocence of the childlike Shailaputri to the wisdom of Siddhidatri. Each form emphasizes that life is a battle between darkness and light, impurity and purity, ignorance and knowledge.
Durga Puja is therefore not confined to rituals alone. It is equally a cultural extravaganza, blending devotion with creativity. Pandals housing elaborate idols rise like temporary temples adorned with dazzling artistry, attracting visitors from across the world. Music, drama, and dance recreate mythological stories, while community feasts reinforce social bonds. Yet beneath this vibrancy, the essence of the festival remains spiritual. Every ritual, whether it is Pushpanjali (offering of flowers), Sandhi Puja (performed at the juncture of the eighth and ninth day), or Sindoor Khela (the symbolic smearing of vermilion by women), reaffirms the power of the divine feminine and the need to awaken it within to vanquish the inner demons of greed, ego, anger, and hatred.
The Meaning of Dussehra
Parallel to Durga Puja is the celebration of Dussehra, also known as Vijayadashami, observed on the tenth day of the Hindu month of Ashwin (September–October). The festival holds dual significance across the country, each strand equally powerful in its symbolism.
In North India, Dussehra commemorates Lord Rama’s victory over Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka. The epic Ramayana narrates how Ravana abducted Sita, Rama’s wife, leading to a great war where Rama, aided by his devoted brother Lakshmana, the monkey-god Hanuman, and an army of vanaras, defeated Ravana. Rama, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, is seen as the embodiment of dharma (righteousness), while Ravana, despite his wisdom and strength, symbolizes adharma (unrighteousness), pride, and unchecked desire.
The burning of Ravana’s effigies on Dussehra night is a dramatic enactment of this eternal battle. Towering structures of Ravana, often accompanied by effigies of his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghnath, are set ablaze amid fireworks, cheers, and festivities. This fiery spectacle is more than entertainment—it is a moral reminder that arrogance, lust, and injustice, however powerful, are ultimately consumed by the flames of truth and virtue.
In eastern India, Dussehra has a different but complementary meaning. It marks the immersion of Durga idols into rivers and ponds, signifying the goddess’s return to her heavenly abode after destroying Mahishasura. The immersion, or visarjan, is an emotional moment. Devotees, often in tears, bid farewell to the goddess, singing songs of farewell, praying for her return the following year, and seeking blessings for protection and prosperity. The symbolism here is profound: divinity may withdraw from the visible world, but her energy and blessings continue to permeate the lives of devotees.
In South India, Dussehra takes another form altogether. It is associated with the worship of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, and Ayudha Puja, which sanctifies tools, weapons, and instruments of work. Here the emphasis is on acknowledging knowledge, learning, and labor as sacred dimensions of life. This regional variation underscores the richness of Indian spirituality, where a single festival can embody multiple layers of meaning depending on cultural context.
The Philosophical Teachings
Durga Puja and Dussehra, while steeped in mythology and ritual, convey timeless philosophical insights that transcend religious boundaries. Both festivals emphasize that divinity resides within every individual and that the greatest battles are not external but internal.
The demon Mahishasura represents not just an external evil but also inner qualities such as arrogance, ignorance, and destructive impulses. Ravana, similarly, is not only a ten-headed king but also a metaphor for the ten vices of human nature—lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, envy, selfishness, injustice, cruelty, and ego. The defeat of these demons is therefore symbolic of self-transformation and spiritual liberation.
The image of Durga, with her multiple arms, illustrates the human ability to wield different virtues and values as weapons against negativity. Love, patience, discipline, truth, compassion, and wisdom are not abstract ideals but practical tools to overcome challenges in daily life. Similarly, Rama’s life story in the Ramayana is not just a tale of a prince reclaiming his wife but a spiritual allegory. His adherence to dharma, humility, loyalty to family, and respect for truth provide ethical guidelines for living. His war with Ravana becomes a metaphor for the eternal struggle between righteousness and corruption.
In both festivals, the triumph is not merely external victory but internal elevation. To celebrate Durga Puja or Dussehra is to celebrate the human spirit’s ability to rise above base instincts and embrace higher values. Ultimately, the festivals encourage seekers to move toward moksha, or spiritual liberation, by conquering the self.
Rituals and Living Traditions
The rituals associated with these festivals serve as physical manifestations of deeper spiritual truths. During Durga Puja, pandals become sacred spaces where devotion merges with community spirit. Daily rituals such as aarti (lamp offering), chanting of mantras, and offering of sweets, fruits, and flowers invoke divine energy. Sandhi Puja, performed at the juncture of Ashtami (eighth day) and Navami (ninth day), is considered the most powerful, symbolizing the very moment Durga slayed Mahishasura. Sindoor Khela, where married women apply vermilion to each other, reflects not only a wish for marital harmony but also the transmission of feminine energy and solidarity.
On the other hand, Dussehra’s central ritual—the burning of effigies—brings communities together in a powerful collective act. It is often accompanied by Ramlila, theatrical enactments of episodes from the Ramayana, which have been performed for centuries. These plays, staged in villages and towns, are not merely entertainment but a form of moral education, passing down stories of dharma from one generation to the next. In South India, Ayudha Puja highlights the dignity of labor, where workers worship their tools, students worship their books, and soldiers worship their weapons, all acknowledging the sacredness of duty and work.
Festivals as Spiritual Journeys
Durga Puja and Dussehra, though distinct in form, converge in essence. They are not mere festivals to mark on calendars but spiritual journeys that invite introspection, transformation, and renewal. They remind us that the divine is not an external force to be worshipped from afar but a living presence within, waiting to be awakened.
By honoring Durga, we honor the Shakti within us that gives us courage to face adversity, to destroy the demons of ego and greed, and to live with integrity. By honoring Rama, we reaffirm our commitment to dharma, truth, humility, and respect for life. Together, these festivals encourage us to rise above pettiness and divisiveness, to live with compassion, and to strive toward the light of wisdom.
As rivers carry the clay idols of Durga back to the earth and as the effigies of Ravana are consumed by fire, we are reminded that the cycle of good and evil is eternal, but so is the possibility of renewal. The festivals urge us to keep the flame of righteousness alive, to confront not only the external injustices of society but also the inner shadows of our own hearts.
May Goddess Durga bless us with strength and wisdom, and may Lord Rama inspire us to walk the path of dharma. In celebrating these sacred traditions, we celebrate not just mythology or ritual but the very essence of human potential: the triumph of the divine light within us all.
(the writer can be reached at dipakkurmiglpltd@gmail.com)
