About Dasara Festival

This festival of Dasara is not only celebrated in India but in almost all eastern countries like Java, Sumatra and Japan. Dasara is Nepal's national festival. Dasara is also known as Navaratri and the basic purpose behind this festival is to worship feminine principle of the Universe in the form of the divine mother. Essence of the navaratri celebration at social level is to remind and respect all the women, who are the guardians of the family, culture, and national integrity, to take lead in times of crisis, to guide the humanity towards the path of social justice, righteousness, equality, love, and divinity.

Festivals and Fairs in India

Celebtrates the female form
Festival of Victory of Good over Bad
Celebrated across most Eastern countries

Durga is worshipped as the main deity of Navaratri by all the segments of society including tribal communities. Dasara coincides with the period of rest and leisure of the farmers after their strenuous hard work in their farms and fields, hence they invoke blessings of Durga in order to have a rich harvest in the next coming season.

In India harvest season begins at this time and as mother earth is the source of all food the Mother Goddess is invoked to start afresh the new harvest season and to reactivate the vigor and fertility of the soil by doing religious performances and rituals which invoke cosmic forces for the rejuvenation of the soil.

On the day of Dasara, statues of the Goddess Durga are submerged in the river waters. These statues are made with the clay and the pooja is performed with turmeric and other pooja items, which are powerful disinfectants and are mixed in the river waters. This makes water useful for the farmers and yields better crops.

Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Hindawi (Hindu) Swarajya used to always worship Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga in the form of goddess Bhawani before any military expedition. Goddess Bhavani had blessed Shivaji Maharaj with her own sword called "Bhavani Talwar".

Buses, trucks and huge machines in factories are all decorated and worshipped as Dasara is also treated as Vishwakarma Divas - the National Labor Day of India.

Dasara is the festival of Victory of good over evil, god over devil.