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Dussehra

दशहरा
duh-SHEH-rah

Hindu festival marking Rama's victory over the demon king Ravana.

Meaning & usage

Dussehra falls on the tenth day after Navratri and is also called Vijayadashami ("victory tenth"). Towering effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad are set on fire in public grounds, accompanied by Ramlila theatrical performances retelling the Ramayana. In Mysore, the festival is observed as a royal procession; in Bengal it coincides with Durga's farewell after Durga Puja.

In a sentence

A fifty-foot Ravana went up in flames at the maidan that Dussehra.

Common spelling variants

  • Dasara
  • Dasahara
  • Vijayadashami

Dussehra is the canonical English spelling used in MG Mini puzzles.

Category: Festival Origin: Sanskrit Script: Hindi