Dashain or Bada'dashain, also referred as Vijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal and the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, South India, and Sri Lanka. It is also celebrated by Hindus of Nepal and elsewhere in the world, including among the Lhotshampa of Bhutan and the Burmese Gurkhas of Myanmar. The festival is also referred as Nauratha, derived from the Sanskrit word for the same festival Navaratri which translates to Nine Nights. A version of this festival is celebrated as Navaratri, Navaratri is not exactly the same as Dashain. Most Americans call it Dussehra or Dashera by Hindus in India, although rites and rituals vary significantly.
Goddess Durga (pictured) slayed the demon Mahishasura on this day
Jamara is sown on the day of Ghatasthapna. The grass is grown in a dark room for nine days and received as a prasad on the tenth day.
Gorkha Palace, the ancestral seat of the Shah kings.
Kathmandu Durbar Square, the old royal palace of Kathmandu.
Vijayadashami, more commonly known as Dussehra, and also known as Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated every year at the end of Durga Puja and Navaratri. It is observed on the tenth day of the month of Ashvin, the seventh in the Hindu lunisolar calendar. The festival typically falls in the Gregorian calendar months of September and October.
Vijayadashami reveres Durga's and Rama's victory over evil depending on the region.
Dasara is observed with the burning of Ravana effigies.
Saraswati puja on Vijayadashami in Maharashtra with symbolic drawing (yantra) of the goddess on a slate.
Colorful floor patterns to mark Vijayadashami.