Dussehra 2025

By krishnasmercy on October 1, 2025 • ( 0 )

“Mind, why are you not worshiping Shri Rama, whose bow is like time, with weapons of arrows representing the different units of time, such as paramanu, lava, nimesha, barasa, yuga, and kalpa?” (Dohavali, 130)

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लव निमेष परमानु जुग बरस कलप सर चंड
भजसि न मम तेहि राम कहँ कालु जासु कोदंड

lava nimeṣa paramānu juga barasa kalapa sara caṃḍa
bhajasi na mama tehi rāma kaha~ kālu jāsu kodaṃḍa

1. What is Dussehra?

The holiday is also known as Ramachandra Vijayotsava, which essentially gives away the meaning. Shri Ramachandra is also known as Rama. He is the eldest son of King Dasharatha of the Raghu dynasty from ancient times. Vijayotsava is a combination of the Sanskrit words vijaya and utsava. Vijaya refers to victory. Utsava is a celebration, and so we have the holiday in honor of the victory of Rama.

But not just any victory. Rama was a kshatriya by both birth and occupation. He appeared in a family of pious, chivalrous, capable, and brave warriors. The father earned his name from the ability to combat ten chariots attacking simultaneously, one from each of the ten directions. The word kshatriya refers to someone who protects against injury. The title applies more to the qualities someone possesses and the work emerging from those qualities than some honor passed along through ancestry.

शौर्यं तेजो धृतिर् दाक्ष्यं
युद्धे चाप्य् अपलायनम्
दानम् ईश्वर-भावश् च
क्षात्रं कर्म स्वभाव-जम्

śauryaṁ tejo dhṛtir dākṣyaṁ
yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam
dānam īśvara-bhāvaś ca
kṣātraṁ karma svabhāva-jam

“Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity, and leadership are the qualities of work for the kshatriyas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.43)

Rama received training in the military arts starting as a youth. He passed all the tests of His teachers. Some of those tests were unconventional, such as in the case of overcoming the female threat known as Tataka. She was like a hideous creature who could change her shape at will. She could appear and disappear as she liked, and her preferred victims were the innocent sages residing in the forests.

बधी ताड़का राम जानि सब लायक
बिद्या मंत्र रहस्य दिए मुनिनायक

badhī tāṛakā rāma jāni saba lāyaka
bidyā mantra rahasya di’e munināyaka

“Rama showed His tremendous knowledge of fighting by killing the demon Tataka. The muni then gave to Him knowledge of secret mantras to be used in fighting.” (Janaki Mangala, 36)

Dussehra is something like the culmination of many triumphs for that elder brother of Lakshmana. Rama defeated the greatest of villains. Named because of the terror he presented to others simply by his screaming, Ravana was like the clever student in school who later used his intelligence for evil instead of good. Ravana could not be brought down; or so he thought.

2. Why should we celebrate it?

Ask five different people and you will likely receive five different answers. Dussehra symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. The occasion affords a reminder that the wicked cannot dominate indefinitely. Some might even prefer to think of Ravana fondly, due to the Rakshasa leader’s steady devotion to Lord Shiva, who is also known as Mahadeva.

A simple and justifiable reason to celebrate the occasion is to remember. One of the nine processes of devotional service described by the esteemed Prahlada Maharaja is vishno-smaranam. This is remembering Vishnu, which is a name to identify and describe the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Rama is an avatara of Vishnu, and so one way we can remember God is through the celebration of Dussehra.

3. Why was Ravana so powerful?

As a thought exercise, say that we have five million dollars to give away. We have five corresponding beneficiaries. The math is simple: we give each person one million dollars. At the time that we are conducting this exercise, one million dollars is sufficient for retiring comfortably. In other words, each of our beneficiaries can quit their job and just live off the interest, without having to worry about bringing money in to pay for things like food, clothing, and shelter.

The variable to the equation is the subsequent behavior; not every person follows the same course. One beneficiary manages to turn the one million dollars into a burgeoning business with a billion dollar valuation. Another person squanders the money on alcohol, parties, and expensive cars. One beneficiary is conservative with their investments, and yet another person decides they like their job too much to quit. They are fine knowing they have something to fall back on, but they are not ready to retire.

It might not be as obvious to notice, but every living being has a similar endowment when appearing within the material world. There is indeed variety of circumstances, but the assets and liabilities from birth do not portend an absolute fate. There is free will. There is discernment. There is consideration, contemplation, prioritization, and retrospection.

In the case of Ravana, we have someone who took exploitation of resources to the limits. He essentially gamed the system. Let the suckers and the losers work for a living. Ravana was going to follow through on austerities such that he could insist on a meeting with the greatest benefactors. The plan worked. Ravana had carte blanche to ask for anything he wanted, with the lone exception of immortality. Basically, take everything imaginable in the material world, from possessions to abilities. Nothing would stand in his way.

4. Why not let time deal with Ravana?

Ravana made one glaring omission. He forgot to ask for immunity from human beings. Otherwise, he was safe. He could do as he pleased. No one would overcome him. The mere threat was enough to drive away competitors. Ravana thought he had it all. Even geography was in his favor, as the island of Lanka was far away from land. This would dissuade future adversaries from attacking.

While the material energy is eternal, known by the Sanskrit term of prakriti, its exact manifestation and configurations are always changing. This explains the transformation from birth to death. As what goes up must eventually come down, even Ravana would have to succumb to the forces of time.

Ravana was a special case, though. As Goswami Tulsidas describes, time itself is like the bow held by Shri Rama. Each of the arrows released are like different units of the collective time. Ravana received the literal blow of time in the form of an arrow released from Rama. This was in a fair military conflict, one man against another. Rama was justified in attacking because Ravana had struck first. Ravana had stolen Rama’s wife in secret, though Sita Devi never gave in to the demon’s advances.

जीवेच्चिरं वज्रधरस्य हस्ताच्छचीं प्रधृष्याप्रतिरूपरूपाम्
न मादृशीं राक्षस दूशयित्वा पीतामृतस्यापि तवास्ति मोक्षः

jīvecciraṃ vajradharasya hastācchacīṃ pradhṛṣyāpratirūparūpām
na mādṛśīṃ rākṣasa dūśayitvā pītāmṛtasyāpi tavāsti mokṣaḥ

“O Rakshasa, It might be possible for a person to live for a long time after forcibly taking away Shachi Devi, a woman of unmatched beauty and wife of the wielder of the thunderbolt [Indra]. But a person who abuses me shall not be released from death even if they were to drink amrita [nectar which grants immortality].” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 48.24)

5. What was the aftermath?

While someone like Ravana looks to exploit his benefactors and the great giver of life that is the material nature itself, someone like Rama looks to expand the sphere of appreciation and credit. Though Rama automatically destroys through time, which works at His direction, in this case Vishnu released a weapon that had been originally gifted by Lord Brahma, who is the creator. The arrow was empowered through repeating a mantra, which was also passed along by someone else. This arrow and its subsequent flight brought delight to the many supporters of Rama on the scene, like the Vanara warriors and the devas watching from the heavens.

तमुत्तमेषुम् लोकानामिक्ष्वाकुभयनाशनम्
द्विषतां कीर्तिहरणम् प्रहर्षकरमात्मनः
अभिमन्त्र्य ततो रामस्तं महेषुं महाबलः
वेदप्रोक्तेन विधिना संदधे कार्मुके बली

tamuttameṣum lokānāmikṣvākubhayanāśanam
dviṣatāṃ kīrtiharaṇam praharṣakaramātmanaḥ
abhimantrya tato rāmastaṃ maheṣuṃ mahābalaḥ
vedaproktena vidhinā saṃdadhe kārmuke balī

“The mighty Rama, who possessed extraordinary strength, consecrating in accordance with the mantras prescribed in the Vedas, taking that great arrow – which was capable of removing the fears of the entire world and the Ikshvaku dynasty, capable of taking away the glory of His enemies, and conducive to His own happiness – fixed it on His bow.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Kand, 108.13-14)

The arrow worked its magic. It defeated the wicked leader of Lanka. That arrow allowed for the transfer of authority previously established by Rama’s own vow. Ravana’s younger brother Vibhishana was crowned the next king of Lanka prior to this final battle taking place. Vibhishana accepted the shelter of Rama’s lotus feet, and so the reward of liberation was already set.