Navratri 2025 runs from September 22 to October 1. Because Hindu festivals follow lunar tithis, the Dashami tithi begins the evening of Oct 1 and prevails into the next day, so Vijayadashami (Dussehra) is observed on Thursday, October 2, 2025.
A tithi (lunar day) can overlap two solar dates; observances follow the tithi in force after sunrise, which is why festival dates shift each year.
Each autumn, as dusky skies blaze and effigies collapse in flame, Dussehra (Vijayadashami) arrives not only as a festival but as a mirror. It tells us that dharma: truth, balance, righteousness, endures, though never without struggle. Like the desert temple at Burning Man, where fire becomes a communal offering of release, Dussehra’s flames are not simply theatrical. They are pedagogical, teaching us to let go of arrogance, illusion, and grasping, and to step into renewal.
Ravana and the Fragmented Self
The Ramayana frames Rama as Maryada Purushottam, the ideal man of restraint, justice, and balance.
Ravana, by contrast, is one of world literature’s most intricate figures, a scholar, poet, and devotee of Shiva, undone by unchecked desire and pride. His ten heads were never mere grotesquerie but a map of the human condition. Each marks a force that can exalt or consume us. Together they remind us that evil rarely looks monstrous; it is the imbalance of what already lives within.
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The Ten Heads of Ravana: Vices to Burn, Virtues to Adopt
Each head marks a force that can exalt or consume us. Burn the head. Adopt the antidote.
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1
Head to Burn
Krodha
anger
A fire that clouds the heart’s clarity.
Adopt Instead
Kshama
forgiveness and calm
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2
Head to Burn
Lobha greed
Hunger for more blinds the soul’s contentment.
Adopt Instead
Santosha
inner sufficiency
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3
Head to Burn
Moha delusion / attachment
Clinging to illusions obscures truth.
Adopt Instead
Viveka
discerning clarity
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4
Head to Burn
Matsarya envy
Coveting others’ light dims your own.
Adopt Instead
Mudita
shared joy
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5
Head to Burn
Mada pride
Inflated self shadows humility.
Adopt Instead
Vinaya
grounded humility
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6
Head to Burn
Kama desire
Unrestrained craving distorts purpose.
Adopt Instead
Dharma
purposeful desire
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7
Head to Burn
Ahamkara ego
Self-obsession fractures unity.
Adopt Instead
Seva
selfless service
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8
Head to Burn
Buddhi misguided intellect
Sharp mind with wrong aim distorts wisdom.
Adopt Instead
Prajna
true wisdom
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9
Head to Burn
Manas turbulent mind
Restless thoughts scatter focus.
Adopt Instead
Ekagrata
one-pointed focus
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10
Head to Burn
Chitta seat of consciousness
Clouded memory veils awareness.
Adopt Instead
Smriti
mindful remembrance
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Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras describe the kleshas, the root afflictions of ignorance (avidya), egoism (asmita), attachment (raga), aversion (dvesha), and fear of death (abhinivesha). These map onto Ravana’s heads, showing how inner fragmentation manifests as outer downfall. To burn Ravana’s effigy is to burn these afflictions, both personal and collective.
Fire and Renewal
Dussehra, like yoga itself, is not about denial but about purification. The yogic practice of tapas (discipline, literally “heat”) teaches that transformation comes through sustained inner fire. Ravana’s bonfire is a ritual tapas, an externalized reminder that ego, left unexamined, consumes brilliance itself.
This is why Dussehra is also a festival of beginnings. In South India, children trace their first letters on rice during Vidyarambham. Craftsmen sanctify their tools in Ayudha Puja, aligning daily labor with the sacred. In Maharashtra, golden Shami leaves pass from hand to hand as tokens of prosperity. These gestures echo yoga’s teaching of abhyasa (steady practice). Renewal must be cultivated, not assumed.
A Festival of Many Languages
North India: Ramlila performances culminate in Ravana’s fiery fall, recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage (2008).
Bengal: Vijayadashami marks Durga’s departure, clay idols dissolving into rivers with a bittersweet tide.
Mysuru: Elephants, palaces, and processions honor Chamundeshwari in living epic form.
Tamil Nadu & Kerala: Golu dolls, Saraswati Puja, and Vidyarambham root the festival in learning and devotion.
Nepal: Dashain stretches across 15 days of tika, jamara, feasts, and kites, weaving family and nationhood together.
Each variation tells the same truth in a different grammar, that light survives darkness, and discipline overcomes chaos.
The Enduring Lesson
Yoga teaches that liberation (kaivalya) is not achieved in a single stroke but through vigilance over the self. Communities, too, must practice vigilance, burning collective Ravanas of hatred, exploitation, and injustice.
As Swami Vivekananda reminded: “In the end, truth and righteousness will always prevail.” Each effigy that falls, from Ayodhya to Atlanta, renews this promise. Fire consumes, but it also clears. On the tenth day, we are reminded that every generation must step into the flames, not to destroy, but to purify, to begin again.
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