Happy Dasara to all of you. Hope this festival brings lots of happiness and unity in our family.
History of Dasara:
The origin of Dashara is from the Indian epic 'Ramayana'. It is widely held that the festival actually commemorates the killing of the great demon king of Lanka, Ravan, by Lord Rama. The epic mentions how Lord Rama, the god-incarnate, went to serve a period of exile for 14 years under the order of his father. Along with his devoted wife Sita and his faithful brother Lakshmana, Rama faced many hardship during this period prominent among which was the abduction of Sita by the ten-headed Ravana. On a similar day as Dussehra in Satyug, Ram (the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu), is said to have killed Ravan, who had abducted his wife Sita. With brother Lakshman, follower Hanuman, and an army of monkeys on his side Rama fought a great battle for ten days to rescue his wife. Since then, the observance of Dashara is more in admiration of Lord Rama than Goddess Durga. The word "Dashara" can also be interpreted as "Dasa-Hara", which stands for the cutting of the ten heads of Ravana by Lord Rama. Dahara is celebrated by many people of Northern India to commemorate this victory of Lord Rama.
Durga Prasad