VIJAYA DASAMI

VIJAYA DASAMI 

Vijaya Dasami is the most important festival of the Bharath. This is celebrated in the Aswayuja maasa from the Sukla Paksha Prathama onwards (The next of the New moon day) to the Dasami or the tenth day of the Moon accession. This festival is celebrated not only in India but in almost all eastern countries as far as Java, Sumathra and Japan too. This festival is also called a DASARÃ, from the Sanskrit word Dasa Harã or removing the ten(10). This is the most auspicious festival in the Dakshinaayana or in the Southern hemisphere motion of the Sun. These are also called as the Devi Navarãthtri, as in these days the Divine Mother is invoked in different manifestations of her Sakthi. This festival is synthesized from the Sãkthe'ya Ãgamãs which deals with the Uthchãtana and Aakarshana part of the mantrãs of Tantra Sastrã. The predominant principle of this festival is to worship feminine principle of the cosmos in the form of the divine mother to remind the teachings of the Taithareeya Upanishad, "Maathru Devo Bhava." The whole essence of the navaraathri celebration at social level is to remind 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.

The first day of the festival is called as Bali Paadyami. Actually on this day the Sun will enter in the Tulã Rãsi or the constellation of Libra. Actually in Asian countries the harvest season begins in this time and as mother earth is the source of all food the mood of celebrity is invoked in all folks to start afresh the harvests and in that process to reactivate the vigor and fertility of the soil by doing certain performances and rituals which invoke cosmic forces for the rejuvenation off the soil. The culmination of the festival is done in the form of sub-merging the huge vigrahas of the Mother Bhavani (Durga) in the river waters. These vigrahas are made with the clay and the pooja is done with turmeric and other poojã materials which are powerful disinfectants and are mixed in the river waters, which are afresh in monsoon season with rain seeping into the rivers after imbibing the mineral sediments in different brooks and under water channels. This water cannot be directly used for the irrigation purposes directly when the agriculture is started afresh in the months of October and November. So the purification of river waters is done as a collective community event in the form of Navaraathri celebrations.

The second important celebration during these 10 days is celebration of Ram Lila, victory of Lord Rama over King Ravana. Huge idols of Ravana Kumbha karna and Meegha Naatha are errected and are set in fire by the enthusiastic youth. From the time of the Navarathri, the hot weather of the summer season ends, especially in North India. As the cold weather starts, it is the breeding ground for many kinds of infections in winter months. This is the reason for the huge Ravana idols are lit in the crackers (which contain phosphorous) as a community festival to act as the purifier of the atmosphere. At the same time the temples used to perform Chandi Homam or Durgã Homam which also helps in purifying the amosphere surrounding them. All house holds used to perform Aditya Homa as a Santhi Yagna and recite Sundara Kaanda of Srimad Raamaayana for 9 days. All these Yagna Performances is to create a powerfull agents into the atmosphere surrounding the house so as to keep the household environment clean.

Usually all house holds (yajamaanaas) used to perform yagnas 3 times daily along with sandhya vandana, called as Aahavaneeya Agni, Gaarhapathya Agni, Dakshina Agni. In addition to this, the Aditya Homa is performed with the Maha Soura Mantras and the Aruna Prapaathhaka of the Yajur Veda. The effects of these mantras is to keep the heart, brain and digestive functions of the body in balance. The imbalances in these occur in the absence of adequate sunlight in the winter months.

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