BADA DASAIN

Dasain (also called Dusshera) occupies a place of eminence among the various Hindu festivals. It is even regarded as the most important of all Hindu festivals. Therefore, It is also popularly known as Bada Dasain, (bada meaning big) given the greatness of the occasion for the entire Hindu community. The beginning of this festival is marked by the ceremonial setting of holy water jars in Nepalese homes on the first day of the bright fortnight of Ashwin (around the months of October). The ceremonial water jar, locally known as Kalasha, symbolizes the worship of Devi Durga. The entire chain of celebration of Dasain last ten days which is the reason why this festival is given the name ‘Dasain’ (Dus is the count for ten). However, this celebration picks up the real ceremonial airs only from the eighth day that lasts until the tenth day, also known as Vijaya Dashami Day or the victory day (Vijaya meaning victory). One of the fascinating features of the festival is the animal sacrifice. The day set for the animal sacrifice is the Mahastami, which is the eighth day of the celebrations. Thousands of animals are sacrificed on this day. The point of time prescribed for animal sacrifice in the holy scriptures is the mid-night of Mahastami which is termed as  Maha Kaal Ratri, literally, the great dark night. Sacrificing so many animals to different gods and goddesses for the celebration of Dasain may sound very strange and primitive, but the myths that form the backdrop of this practice are interesting to study and brood over.