Vijayadashami is one of the most important festivals of Hindus.

The way
Deepavali is festival of lights, Vijayadashami is a festival of victory. In
Samskritam, Vijaya means victory and Dashami means 10th day. Thus
Vijaya Dashami means victory on the 10th day. It is one of the most
auspicious days for the Hindus. It falls in the Hindu month of Ashwin
(September-October). It comes as the finale of the nine-day festival of
Navaratri. Do we know the significance of Navaratri?
Navaratri is a festival of Goddess Durga. Goddess Durga is also known as
Universal Mother. Goddess Durga is believed to exist in many forms such as
Goddess Bhavani, Jagdamba, Mahakali, Chamundeshwari and Amba. The word
navaratri literally means nine nights. This festival is celebrated for 9 days.
The nine days are divided and devoted to Saraswati (Goddess of Learning),
Lakshmi (Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity), and Durga (Goddess of Strength
and Courage).
Goddess Durga is considered as a Goddess of strength, power and courage.
In other words, SHE is the energy (and power) aspect of Gods. That is why SHE
is also known as Shakti (power). Thus on this day, we invoke the energy
aspect of God in the form of Durga. Literally, Durga means the remover of
miseries of life. What does it mean to say that Goddess Durga is considered as
the energy aspect of Gods? Why is Goddess Durga worshipped on this day?
And why for 9 days? Well! There is striking story behind this.
The story goes like this: The demon Mahishasura performed severe penance and
became the ruler of the three worlds; heaven, earth and the nether-world.
Unable to stand his atrocities, the Gods requested Lord Vishnu to help. Lord
Vishnu advised them that Mahishasura could be killed only when the combined
power and strength of all gods strikes him. Gods, including Lord Vishnu,
combined their powers in a physical form of Goddess Durga. This is how
Goddess Durga came into existence as a combined and organized strength and
power of all Gods. Goddess Durga, then, fought with the demon Mahishasura.
The battle lasted long for nine days. At last, on the tenth day, Goddess Durga
killed the demon Mahishasura and freed the three worlds from his shackles.
That is why SHE is also called by Mahishasura Mardini, which means
destroyer of Mahishasura.

How is it celebrated?
Navaratri is divided into sets of three days to adore different aspects of the
supreme Goddess. On the first three days, the Supreme Goddess is invoked as a
powerful force called Durga in order to destroy all our impurities, vices and
defects. The next three days, the Supreme Goddess is adored as a giver of
spiritual and inexhaustible wealth, Lakshmi. The last three days are spent in
worshipping the Supreme Goddess as the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. In
order to have all-round success in life, we need the blessings of all three aspects
of the Divine Supreme.
The most common form of public celebration is the performance of garba or
dandia-raas. Garba is a graceful form of dance, wherein women dressed in
exquisitely embroidered choli, ghagra and bandhani dupattas, dance gracefully
in circles around a pot containing a lamp. Besides the Garba is the Dandia
dance, in which men and women participate in pairs with small, decorated
bamboo sticks, called dandias in their hands. The dances usually commence late
in the night and continue until early morning. Another prevalent practice is of
sowing pulses, cereals and other seeds on the first day of this festival in a pot,
which is watered for nine days at the end of which the seeds sprout. This pot is
worshipped throughout the nine days.
There are some other modes of public celebration too. People set up an odd
number of steps (usually 7, 9, or 11), and place different images of Gods on
them. This setup is called a Golu. Other people are invited to come and see Golu
and they are given prasad (the offering given to God that day), kumkum (red
powder). Majestic processions of elephants and horses to the temple,
particularly Durga temple are also very common. Just like Ganesh-Pooja,
people build temporary but huge and beautifully decorated puja mandaps and
place images of the Goddess Durga and all together worship for 9 days. On the
tenth day (Vijayadashami) processions with Durgas image are taken out along
the streets and immersed in water. Although there have been different forms of
celebrations, the purpose of celebration is one and the same worship Goddess
Durga and get the blessings of all three aspects of the divine supreme.
What message does it deliver?
The striking story of Mahishasura Mardini says that Gods could kill
Mahishasura only when their power and strength combined together in an

organized fashion. Even good and righteousness cannot win over evil, if not
organized and united. Even in todays world, being good and superior on an
individual level is not sufficient. All good people should be united and
organized. Only in that case they can win over the evil forces. Truely it has been
said that - Sanghe Shaktih Kalau yuge - means organization holds the key to
strength in Kaliyug (todays time).
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Significance of Vijaya Dashami

Vijaya Dashami, also known as Dussehra, is one of the most important
festivals of the Hindus. The way Deepavali is a festival of Lights, Vijaya
Dashami is a festival of Victory. In Sanskrit, Vijay means victory and
Dashami refers to the tenth day of the bright half of the lunar month
of Aashwayuja. Thus, Vijaya Dashami is a festival of victory, the triumph
of Dharma over Adharma.
Vijaya Dashami a festival of Victory
This day is marked by many inspiring episodes from history that reflect
the victorious tradition of our ancestors. It is said in the Ramayan that it
was on Vijaya Dashami that Shri Ram defeated Ravan after ten days of
battle, thus liberating the city of Lanka from its adharmic ruler. In the
Mahabharat, the Pandavaas spent thirteen years in exile. During the last
year of ajnyaat-vaas (living incognito), they had hidden their arms in the
Shami tree. This is the day that their ajnyaat-vaas ended and they had
taken out their arms from the Shami tree and revealed their true identity.
That marked their preparation for the victorious war of Kurukshetra.
Invoking these inspiring memories, the Shami tree is worshipped on this
day.
Vijaya Dashami is also the finale of the nine-day festival of Navaratri.
During the days of Navratri, we worship Saraswati, the goddess of
learning; Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth; and Durga, the goddess of
strength. There are countless names of the goddess of strengthDurga,
Maha Kaali, Mahishasura Mardini. Time and time again, she has
defeated the demonic forces and established the supremacy of the
righteous.

The story of Mahishaasura Mardini (detroyer of Mahishaasura) has a

unique message. At one stage, the gods felt powerless against the
onslaughts of the demonic forces headed by Mahishaasura. In answer to
their prayers for protection, they were asked to part with a portion of
their divine powers to form into a new goddess. This was how

Mahishaasura Mardini took on a physical form as the combined might of

innumerous gods and goddesses. The dreaded demon Mahishaasura
was slain by Mahishaasura Mardini on the day of Vijaya Dashami, after a
ceaseless fight of nine days.

The lesson of this legend is still relevant today: even the good and the
righteous can succeed against the evil forces only when they come
together in an organized endeavor. This message is significant not only
in our personal lives, but also in Hindu society as a whole. Individually,
many Hindus are good and pious, but as a society, we are presently
disorganized and thus not as strong as we can be. Because of this lack of
cohesive unity, Hindus faced hundreds of years of foreign invasions,
enslavement, persecution, mass conversions, and continue to face
challenges to this day. And all this tragedy was because of our fatal
drawback of disorganization. Now, it is high time we learned the lesson
from the past and realize, Sanghe shaktih kalau yugeOrganization
holds the key to strength in Kaliyuga. The auspicious occasion of Vijaya
Dashami reminds us that through organization and unity, we will
always achieve victory, and that Dharma will always triumph.

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Sangh Karya is divine. It is the work of the Lord himself that we are engaged
in. In our Prarthana we say Twadeeye Punyakaaryesmin-----Patatu Prabho
meaning In pursuit of the welfare of mankind, which indeed is thy holy cause
and inspired by the noble virtues of service and sacrifice, let my being O Lord,
be offered at your feet.
On this Vijayadashami day let us contemplate on what is Twadeeye
Punyakaaryesmin and why Kayo Mey Patatu Prabho. Punya Karya is
explained by the Lord himself in the Bhagawad Gita. Lord Krishna says
Paritranaya
Sadhunam,
Vinashayacha
Dushkritam,
Dharma
Sansthapanarthaya Sambhavami Yuge Yuge meaning to protect those who
follow the righteous path and destroy those who follow the unrighteous path,
and to re-establish Dharma I reincarnate myself in all ages. Our Sangh Karya is
nothing else but to organize the Hindu society which is based on Dharma
ensuring the well-being of mankind. Thus we can see that Sangh Karya is the
work of the Lord himself - Twadeeye Punyakaarye.
Now why Kayo Mey Patatu Prabho? To answer this question let us delve into
a different question. What aim in life is of higher value? Each person has some
aim in life and fashions his life accordingly. Broadly speaking we can
categorise it into three types. A person fashions his life keeping in view 1)
Welfare of me and my family. 2) Welfare of me and Society. 3) Welfare of the
entire Mankind.
Birds, Animals and Humans all have life. If we take into consideration the
above given categories and the three life species, we can easily point out that it
is only the human being who can think of the third level of aim in life. Birds
follow the first aim while some animals follow the second aim. We as humans
certainly should not restrict ourselves to the first two aims. The Lord has
bestowed upon us the power to think, differentiate and then act. So it becomes
our moral responsibility to opt for the third aim as our life mission.
To achieve this third aim the path chosen by Sangh is Hindu Sangathan. We
can say that Sangathan is the instrument for Vishwa Kalyan. Lord Ram also
had used this instrument to defeat Ravan. Lord Ram was the incarnation of
Vishnu and had the power to destroy Ravan single handedly but the aim was not
only to destroy Ravan but also to establish righteousness over unrighteousness.

So it was necessary to mobilize the whole society against the evil tendency of
Ravan. Lord Ram dedicated all his energy in organizing the society and made it
stand against the mighty Ravan. Though all the adversities were on the side of
Lord Ram he emerged victorious.
Vijayadashami is a festival which reminds us that though you may face many
adversities, though you may have lesser wealth and power, you are bound to
succeed if your aim is pure and envelopes the welfare of mankind.
Vijayadashami Vijay Parva Hai,
Daanavtaa Par Maanavataa Ke Purna Vijay Ka Sphuran Parva Hai.
On this Vijayadashami let us resolve to commit ourselves to the pious work of
Hindu Sangathan, which is sure to achieve its aim of Vishwa Kalyan. The only
requirement is readiness to offer ourselves at the feet of the Lord.

Sangh .
' Twadeeye Punyakaarye'smin ----- Patatu Prabho ' '

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Patatu Prabho ' . Bhagawad
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Vijaya Dashami
A day of celebration or a day of dedication?
We Hindus have been celebrating the day Vijaya Dashami as a day of
victory of goodness over evil, of Dharma over Adharma since ages. On
this day:
We remember the incident when the Mother Goddess Ambaji killed
the demons Shumbha, Nishumbha, Chanda, Munda, Mahisasura
etc. who were tormentors of the world. We worship the Mother
goddess during the previous nine nights invoking her blessings.
We express jubilation for relieving the humanity from the clutches
of demonic forces in the remote past and pray for her protection in
the present times too.
We remember the victory of Shri Rama over the demon Ravana,
which is a victory of Dharma over Adharma.
We also remember the success of Arjuna in the war against
Kaurava army, who were rustling away the cattle of King Virat and
his successful reclaiming of them.
We also remember how our kings used to go on expeditions
against their enemies on this day, which is presently observed in
Seemollanghan symbolically.
We remember how P.P. Dr.Hedgewar started the RSS for the
rejuvenation of Hindu Samaj on this day in 1925.
We express our jubilation for the victory of divine forces over demonic
forces. But, when did these events occur? Thousands or millions of
years ago. No doubt they were great achievements. But, are we to
transport ourselves mentally to those glorious days and feel happy for a
while, in spite of the present deplorable state of the Hindu Samaj?
Celebrations are meaningful if there is any notable achievement by the
present day Hindu Samaj or else they look misplaced.
But, Vijaya Dashami is an important day. We should observe this day
only as a day of remembrance of our past might, prowess and glory. If
our ancestors could achieve marvellous things in the past, we too, as
their worthy progeny, can do so. The capacities they exhibited lie
dormant in us too. This day should be a day of awakening to our latent
capacities.
We remember Shri Rama. When his wife Seeta was abducted by the
demon king Ravana, he made friends with Sugreeva, took the help of
monkeys and rescued Seeta after killing Ravana in the battle. On
Vijaya Dashami day a strong group of Vanaras with Hanuman,
Jambavan, Angada etc. set out in search of Seeta. Even though
Ravana was killed six months later, still the marvellous expedition

leading to the death of Ravana and the Rakshasa clan had started on
Vijaya Dashami day. This was the Shubharambha of the Operation
destruction of demonic forces and establishment of Dharma.
Seemollanghan is a ritual now-a-days. Crossing the limits of the
town or village as a group in a festive mood is good enough to remind
us of the heroism of our ancestors. But, paradoxically the enemy is
now doing Seemollanghan to hit us in our own towns and cities. The
Jehadi terrorists are hitting us at will and at places and times of their
choice. Nothing is safe. Temples, markets, scientific installations and
even parliament building are their targets. Killing as many innocent
Hindus as possible is their aim. Pocketing insults and suffering losses
of life and property is our lot. Forget about crossing the borders; our
borders are crumbling. Seemollanghan becomes a meaningless
expression if it cannot rouse us to heroic action.
Hindus have been a disorganized society for at least a thousand and
odd years owing to which it had to lose its vast territories to
murderous barbarians, be subjected to humiliation and conversion to
other faiths. Even the adventurous and heroic nature of Hindus has
got changed into one of meek submission. Paradoxical it may seem,
Hindus began to feel proud in suffering the insults or getting
butchered in the name of Ahimsa. P.P Dr.Hedgewar founded
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to organize Hindus so that Hindu
Samaj might become a vibrant society as it used to be, so that it may
have an honourable place in the comity of nations. Vijaya Dashami
saw its auspicious beginning in 1925. But the ultimate goal is yet to
be reached. A strong, organized, vibrant Hindu society is yet to be
realized. Shubharambha was made but Sankalpa Siddhi did not
dawn. Vijaya Dashami has become the auspicious day for the Hindu
Samaj on its marathon march to glory.
Great achievements are not the outcomes of pious desires. They are
the products of incessant hard work of a large number of persons
dedicated to the ideal. Vijaya Dashami is the day which awakens our
latent talents, reminds us our commitment to our mission, rouses us into
action and cautions us not to relax till the goal is reached. This is more a
day of dedication than a day of celebration.

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