Special Presentation on Auspicious Festival of Dussehra 24 October
Truth Always Wins
As soon as we hear the word ‘Dussehra’, a picture starts appearing in our hearts and minds which was a symbol of evil. That Ravana, who was powerful, highly enlightened, and a great devotee of Lord Shiva, but despite all this, he was wicked because he abducted Mother Sita and for this sin,
Lord Shri Ramchandra Ji Himself killed him thereby spreading a great message in the society that no matter how strong evil is, truth always wins. This is why the festival of Dussehra is celebrated with great pomp every year. This time on the auspicious occasion of the festival of Dussehra, let us know some interesting things related to Ravana, which you might have never heard before.
- Ravana was a great devotee of Lord Shiva, who cut off his head 10 times to please Mahadev, but each time his head was reunited by the grace of Lord Shiva. Since then he came to be known as Dashanan.
- The ten heads of Ravana are also seen to be linked to his Maya (magic). It is believed that he had a rosary of 9 beads, due to which people would get the illusion of having 10 heads. There is also a belief that Shri Ram Ji had killed the ten heads of Ravana, which is symbolically linked to eliminating the 10 evils within him. Sin, lust, anger, attachment, greed, pride, selfishness, jealousy, ego, inhumanity and injustice are the ten evils.
- Ravana had very good knowledge of tantra-mantra (Occult Practices) and astrology. Ravana Samhita written by Ravana is considered an important scripture in the field of astrology.
- Ravana was very fond of music. It is believed that when Ravana played the veena, even the gods used to come to the earth to listen to him.
- Ravana had the ability to control even the planets with his power. Ravana was so mighty and wise that God Himself had to incarnate to kill him.
- While seeking the boon of immortality from Lord Brahma, Ravana had said that his death should not be possible by anyone other than humans and monkeys, because he considered both of them insignificant. He was very proud of his powers.
- Golden Lanka was built by Lord Vishwakarma, which was ruled by Kubera before Ravana. Ravana had forcefully snatched Lankapuri from his brother Kuber.
- Apart from all the evils, Ravana had many special qualities also. Ravana used to do all his work with complete devotion, dedication and hard work. He performed severe penance many times in his life.
- It is believed that when Ravana set out to conquer the entire world, he also had a fight with Yamdev. In such a situation, as soon as Yamraj wanted to take Ravana’s life, Lord Brahma stopped Yamdev from doing so, because his death was not possible at the hands of any god.
- It is believed that when there came a time while fighting with Ravana, when Lord Shri Ram started getting frustrated due to Ravana’s illusion, Sage Agastya reminded Him that He is a Suryavanshi, whose worship leads to victory. Then after meditating on Lord Surya, He killed Ravana by shooting an arrow in his navel.
- When Ravana was breathing his last after the arrow shot by Shri Ram, Lord Ram sent His brother Lakshman to learn from him. Then Ravana, while dying, told Lakshman that any auspicious work in life should be done as soon as possible and should not be delayed even by mistake.
- It is said that the first grand celebration of Dussehra was celebrated on the orders of the King of Mysore in the 17th century.
- This festival is celebrated not only in India but also in neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. It is also marked as a national holiday in Malaysia. Happy Dussehra!
