Dussehra 2026 दशहरा

Why Dussehra is celebrated

Dussehra is a festival of victory. "Vijaya" means victory and "dashami" means the tenth day. The name Dussehra is often explained as "das hara", the defeat of the ten headed Ravana. Across India the day carries one simple message: truth and courage win over pride and wrongdoing, however powerful the wrongdoer seems.

Many families read a personal lesson into the burning of Ravana's effigy. The ten heads are said to stand for ten faults, such as anger, greed, lust, ego and jealousy, which each person should try to overcome. So the festival is as much about inner change as it is about a story from the past.

The day is also seen as one of the most auspicious in the Hindu year. Families start new businesses, buy vehicles and gold, and begin learning on this day without looking for a special muhurat. In Kerala and parts of Karnataka, small children write their first letters on Vijayadashami in a ceremony called Vidyarambham. In the South, tools, books and machines are worshipped on Ayudha Puja the day before, as a way of thanking the instruments of one's work.

Dussehra also marks a turn in the season. The monsoon has ended, the kharif crop is coming in, and preparations for Diwali begin about twenty days later.

History and story of Dussehra

The best known story comes from the Ramayana. Ravana, the king of Lanka, kidnapped Sita, the wife of Lord Rama. Rama, with his brother Lakshmana, Hanuman and the vanara army, built a bridge to Lanka and fought a long war. Tradition holds that Rama killed Ravana on the tenth day of Ashvin. In the Bengali retelling, Rama first worshipped Goddess Durga out of season to gain her blessing, which is why the autumn Durga Puja is sometimes called Akal Bodhan, the untimely invocation.

The second story belongs to the Goddess. The buffalo demon Mahishasura had won a boon that no man or god could kill him, and he drove the gods out of heaven. The gods combined their powers to create Durga, who fought him for nine days and nights and killed him on the tenth. Navratri recalls those nine days, and Vijayadashami marks her victory. The Devi Mahatmya, part of the Markandeya Purana, tells this tale.

The Mahabharata adds a third link. The Pandavas spent the last year of their exile in disguise and hid their weapons in a Shami tree. When the year ended on Vijayadashami, Arjuna took the weapons back and defeated the Kaurava army that had raided King Virata's cattle. This is why many people worship the Shami tree on Dussehra.

In modern history, Dr B R Ambedkar and lakhs of his followers embraced Buddhism at Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur on 14 October 1956, which was Vijayadashami that year. Buddhists in Maharashtra mark the day as Dhammachakra Pravartan Din.

How Dussehra is celebrated

In North India, the festival is built around the Ramlila, the stage retelling of the Ramayana, held over the nine or ten nights of Navratri in parks and grounds. On Dussehra evening, giant effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakaran and his son Meghnad are set up in open grounds. Actors playing Rama and Lakshmana shoot a flaming arrow, and the effigies, packed with crackers, go up in flames to loud cheers. The Ramlila of North India is listed by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

In homes, people perform Shami puja and Aparajita puja in the afternoon. Many families worship weapons, tools and vehicles, a custom called Shastra Puja, and soldiers and police units hold their own ceremonies. In parts of North India, people consider it lucky to see the Neelkanth bird, the Indian roller, on this day. In Maharashtra, people exchange leaves of the apta tree as "gold" and greet elders. Gujarat enjoys fafda and jalebi on Dussehra morning after the last night of garba.

Where Durga Puja is the main festival, Vijayadashami is the day of farewell. Married women offer sindoor to the Goddess and smear it on each other's faces in Sindoor Khela, and the idols are taken in procession for immersion in rivers and ponds. People then visit elders and greet one another with "Shubho Bijoya".

Symbols, food and customs of Dussehra

The bow and arrow is the sign of Dussehra. Lord Ram's bow and the single arrow that ended Ravan stand for courage used in the cause of right, and on Ravan Dahan night the actor playing Ram shoots a burning arrow to light the effigy.

The effigy itself, the putla, is a craft of its own. Families of artisans build the frames from bamboo, cover them with paper and coloured cloth and pack them with crackers. Ravan always has ten heads, a crown, a thick moustache and a sword, and he usually stands between the smaller figures of his brother Kumbhakaran and his son Meghnad.

Leaves of the Shami tree are offered in the afternoon puja and given to elders and friends as a token of gold and good fortune. The blue Aparajita flower, whose name means the unconquered, is worshipped for victory, and seeing the Neelkanth bird, the Indian roller, is taken as a lucky sign.

Food follows the region. In Gujarat people eat fafda and jalebi on Dussehra morning after the last garba night. In North India, sweets and hot jalebis are shared at the Ramlila ground after the effigies burn, and in Bengal homes prepare narkel naru and other sweets for Bijoya visits.

Dussehra across India

Kullu in Himachal Pradesh holds a week long Dussehra that begins on Vijayadashami itself. Hundreds of village deities are carried in palanquins to the Dhalpur ground to pay respects to Lord Raghunath, and no effigy of Ravana is burnt. Mysuru in Karnataka celebrates Dasara with a lit palace and the Jamboo Savari, in which an elephant carries the golden howdah with the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari through the city. Bastar in Chhattisgarh holds a Dussehra of about 75 days centred on the local goddess Danteshwari, with little link to the Ramayana. Nepal celebrates the festival as Dashain, when elders put tika and jamara on the foreheads of younger family members.

In Uttarakhand, Almora is known for its Dussehra, when neighbourhoods build tall effigies of Ravana's family and parade them through the bazaar before burning them. The Kumaoni Ramlila, sung in a style shaped by classical ragas, is performed in many hill towns. In Dehradun, Ramlila committees stage plays across the city, and the Parade Ground hosts one of the largest Ravan Dahan events in the region.

Offices, banks, markets and travel during Dussehra

Dussehra is a gazetted holiday across India, and banks and government offices are closed. Central staff can also choose the Durga Puja days before it from the restricted holiday list.

Dussehra is one of the 14 compulsory holidays of the central government, and every state also keeps it as a public holiday. In 2026 it falls on Tuesday, 20 October. Banks are closed that day in Dehradun, Lucknow, Kanpur, New Delhi and Patna, and in Patna they also close on Monday, 19 October for Durga Ashtami. The Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments close their offices on 20 October, while Bihar closes from 17 to 20 October for Durga Puja. Central government staff can take Saptami, Mahashtami or Mahanavami from the restricted holiday list.

The stock exchanges, NSE and BSE, are closed for trading on 20 October.

In the evening, roads around Ramlila grounds are closed or diverted and traffic police issue advisories in most cities, so plan travel before sunset. Trains towards Kolkata and Bihar are full for Durga Puja, and markets stay busy because many people buy vehicles, gold and new items on this day.