Why is Dussehra celebrated in India? The story, effigies and the countdown to Diwali

There's something delightful about Octobers, especially for Indians.

It means colours, the beginning of different festivals, and the visits to different temples. It means eating the best food and gorging on sweets throughout, like Kaju Katli, gulab jamuns and soan papdi.

It also means that rarely do you go to someone's house without carrying gifts.

It means holidays for school children back in India, what more can they ask for?

It means a lot of things.

And one thing it means more than anything, love and light. And as a homesick Indian would say, the little crinkles in the weather would just guide you through this little season.

Today, is Dussehra, (October 20). It's one of the biggest festivals in India, and the idea is straightforward: Good triumphs over evil.

The festival is also called Vijayadashami, Sanskrit for "the tenth day of victory". It is the tenth day after Navratri, the nine nights of deities worship that ran from October 11 to 19 this year.

The name Dussehra is usually explained as "the removal of ten", a nod to the ten heads of the demon king Ravana.

Two battles, one day of victory

Dussehra celebrates not one victory but two. Now, the story your family tells first probably depends on which part of India you call home.

Rama vs Ravana:

It's a story, most of us have heard since childhood. Prince Rama of Ayodhya, heir to the throne, is banished to the forest for 14 years, and his wife Sita and loyal brother Lakshmana choose to go with him. Deep in the forest, Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka, lures the brothers away, seizes Sita and carries her through the sky to his island fortress.

And so, begins a rescue mission. Rama gathers an unlikely army: Hanuman, the devoted monkey warrior who leaps across the ocean to find Sita, and Sugriva, the monkey king. They build a bridge of stones to Lanka and lay siege. One by one, Ravana's champions fall, including his giant brother Kumbhakarna and his son Meghnad, also called Indrajit. At last Rama faces Ravana himself and brings him down with an arrow on the tenth day of the bright half of Ashvin. That day has been celebrated as Vijayadashami ever since.

The story does not end on the battlefield. Around 20 days later, Rama returns home to Ayodhya, and the city lights lamps to welcome him. That homecoming is Diwali, which is why Dussehra is often seen as the opening night of India's festive season.

Durga defeats Mahishasura

In eastern India, especially Bengal, Odisha and Assam, the day closes Durga Puja. The demon Mahishasura, who could take the form of a buffalo, had won a boon that no man or deity could kill him, and he overran heaven.

The deities combined their powers to create the warrior deity Durga. She fought him for nine days and nights, the Navratri, and killed him on the tenth. That victory is the second meaning of Vijayadashami.

The Pandavas and the hidden weapons

The Mahabharata adds a twist of its own. The five Pandava brothers, forced to spend the last year of their exile in disguise, wrapped up their weapons and hid them in the branches of a Shami tree. On Vijayadashami they came back, took up their arms again and stepped out of hiding. That is why the Shami tree is worshipped on this day, and why many families still honour the tools of their trade.

One festival, many faces

Spend Dussehra in India and you could be watching a demon king burn in Delhi, elephants parade through Mysuru, or a whole town queue for sweets in Ahmedabad, all for the same festival. Broadly, the north burns effigies, the east bids farewell to Durga, and the south honours tools, books and learning.

Ramlila, the people's theatre. In the nights leading up to Dussehra, towns across north India turn open grounds into stages. Local actors, many of them amateurs, perform the Ramayana from Rama's exile to the final battle, with painted faces, glittering costumes and plenty of heckling from the crowd. UNESCO recognises the Ramlila as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage. On the last night Rama wins, and moments later the effigies burn.

The north: fire in the sky. In Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, the evening belongs to Ravan Dahan, the burning of Ravana's effigy. Delhi's Red Fort grounds host one of the best-known burnings, often with India's president or prime minister in the crowd.

The south: honouring work and learning: Some families, would put away books the day before. And on the day itself, they read and write, in grains of rice, ready for a year of learning. Toddlers trace their first letters in a tray of rice or sand, all in a a ceremony called Vidyarambham.

A day for fresh starts. Across India, Vijayadashami counts as one of the luckiest days of the year. It is the day to open a business, sign a deal, drive home a new car, or start music, dance or school lessons.

The effigies: three figures, one blaze

Few images capture Dussehra quite like the towering figure of Ravana illuminated by flames against the night sky. This is Ravan Dahan, the ritual burning of Ravana’s effigy, often accompanied by those of two other figures from the Ramayana: his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghnad.

Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka. The Ramayana portrays him as a formidable scholar and devoted follower of Shiva.

Kumbhakarna, Ravana’s giant brother, is known for sleeping for months at a stretch. He recognises the wrong in Ravana’s abduction of Sita, but ultimately joins the battle out of loyalty to his brother.

Meghnad, also known as Indrajit, is Ravana’s son and a formidable warrior who defeated Indra, king of the deities. His prowess on the battlefield makes him a formidable adversary, while his story also speaks to the dangers of pride in one’s own power.

Built to burn. Each effigy begins with a bamboo framework, which is covered in paper and cloth before being transformed with a fierce painted face, curling moustache, crown and sword. Firecrackers packed inside produce the characteristic bursts and explosions as the figures burn.

The bigger, the better. The height of Ravana’s effigy has become a point of local pride, with cities vying to outdo one another each year. For 2026, Korba in Chhattisgarh has a 120-foot Ravana, up from 110 feet last year, while Jaipur’s is about 120 feet and Indore’s reaches 111 feet. Ranchi’s Ravana at Morabadi Ground stands at 80 feet. Even these are dwarfed by the record-chasers: in 2024, a Delhi Ramlila society claimed India’s tallest at 211 feet. Kumbhakarna and Meghnad are generally built a little smaller, flanking the central figure.

The moment everyone waits for. As dusk falls, Ramlila performances reach their climax with the final battle between Rama and Ravana. An actor portraying Rama, often a young boy, draws his bow and releases a flaming arrow towards the effigies. Meghnad and Kumbhakarna are typically set alight first, followed by Ravana, whose burning is accompanied by a volley of firecrackers and fireworks. The crowd erupts in cheers.