---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "ATUL N. CHOTAI" <kasumbo@yahoo.co.in>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:01:19 +0800 (SGT)
Subject: Dussehra Greetings
To: Amit Vaghela <amit_vaghela16@yahoo.com>

Dussehra or Dasha-Hara is the festival of Victory of Good over Evil. Buses,
trucks
and machines in factories are decorated. Dasha-Hara is also
Vishwakarma Divas - the National Labor Day of India. Veda Vyasa is
considered the foremost guru and Vijayadashami is also celebrated as
Vyasa puja.



On this day in the Treta Yug, Rama, also called Shri Ram, the seventh
incarnation of Vishnu, killed the great demon Ravana who had abducted
Rama's wife Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. Rama, his brother Lakshman,
their follower Hanuman and an army of monkeys fought a great battle to
rescue Sita. The entire narrative is recorded in the epic Ramayana, a
Hindu scripture.

To commemorate the defeat of Ravana and the victory of good over evil,
people started celebrating 'Dush-hara' (the defeat of Dashakanta –
Ravana).

Ravan was a very intelligent character in Ramayan. If people viewed him as
having ten heads it does not mean ten head mounted on single neck and

having twenty eyes. Ravan was master of so many vidhas of life during
that time

for normal person it was impossible to believe that a normal person can
master so many things and that is why it is said that he must be having
ten heads.


In the evening of Dasara, Ravana Vadh is ceebrated throughout India.
Large effigies of Ravana and some of his kin are burned. For this
vadha ritual, crackers
are used.

About
20 days later comes the grand festival of Diwali or Deepavali, which
commemorates the triumphant return of Lord Ram, His wife Sita and His
brother Lakhsman from 14 year of exile during which They defeated Ravan.