Image Caption: A traditional painting shows Maa Durga with many arms holding weapons, seated on a lion. Shri Ram kneels before her, in worship, while Lakshman and Hanuman kneel beside him in devotion. The scene takes place near the ocean under a bright blue sky.
On the tenth day of Ashwin, when the moon marks its seventh cycle, Bharat comes alive in celebration. Lamps are lit, drums resound, and hearts remember a timeless truth: good will always triumph over evil. At the heart of this legacy stand the sworn sibling warriors: Maa Parvati and Bhagwan Vishnu. The two guardians of universal balance and their stories.
On this day, Maa Parvati’s Durga avtar, her fierce incarnation from Satya Yug, is worshipped. During the Yug (era), the balance of dharma was threatened by Mahishasur, a shapeshifting deceitful asura, whose only goal was to conquer the three realms (Patala, Earth, and Swarg). Many considered him invincible due to his boon from Brahma: no man from any realm could kill him. However, every problem has a solution. Mahishasur’s pitfall was his arrogant dismissal of women. Maa Durga immediately came to the world’s rescue. Nine nights of continuous combat ensued. On the tenth day, Maa Durga pinned Mahishasur to the ground and, with her trident, severed his head. Finally, his reign of terror ended and the practice of celebrating Vijayadashami (victory on the tenth day) began. Every year, millions of garbas are held as a reminder that women are no less than men.
On this day, during the Treta Yug, another warrior emerged victorious: Shri Ram (Bhagwan Vishnu’s incarnation). Ravan, a ten headed rakshasa king, threatened to spread his control using unjust means. Ravan’s pitfall wasn’t his ambition, rather it was his sustained violation of women. Not only did he seek dominion over the three realms, but he also abducted Shri Ram’s wife, Sita, igniting Shri Ram’s vigor. After a 20 day journey, Shri Ram finally confronted Ravan. War was declared, and for 72 days the clash of arrows thundered across Lanka, broken only by 15 brief pauses between battles. On the tenth day of Ashwin, Shri Ram called upon the Bhramastra (a divine arrow), and pierced Ravan’s heart. Thus began the practice of celebrating Dusshera (ten headed defeat). Every year, millions of Ravan effigies are burned with fire arrows as a reminder that violating a woman will result in eternal punishment.
Time and time again, the world has proven that good deeds ultimately triumph over evil ones. However, our minds do not work so neatly. We are filled with all kinds of thoughts, some light, some dark. A couple of years ago, a very wise person told me, “Think of these stories not as judgments of each character, but as mirrors of how they play out within your own mind.” Somewhere else I read, “Maybe goodness isn’t the absence of bad thoughts, but the conscious choice to behave righteously in spite of them.” Perhaps there is a valuable lesson these timeless tales teach us: how to identify and battle the evil within our own being.