I happened to come across this rather funny advertisement about Dussehra and brand Ravan.Wow, People wanting to be Rama are passe, move aside folks, Ravan ala re. I must say, this ad by AXE has definitely caught my attention.
Dussehra is regarded as the day when Lord Ram defeated Ravana and rescued his abducted wife, Sita. As per the tradition, the effigy of the demon king Ravana is burnt in most parts of the country.
The day after the ninth day in the fall Navratri is called Dusshera. It is another Hindu holiday that celebrates the triumph of good over evil. The story goes that Lord Vishnu, one of the three main Hindu gods, had reincarnated himself as Ram to defeat Ravana, an evil demon king. Ravana was a bad man who had done terrible things to his people for years so Vishnu was sent down in the form of Ram to rid the world of him.
In northern India this story also ties into the nine days in that Ram prayed to the
goddesses for nine days to give him strength and get himself ready to go and face Ravana. The tenth day, Dusshera, he went to do battle against the evil Ravana who had actually kidnapped Ram’s wife Sita also a goddess.
On Dusshera people will burn large effigies of Ravana during a reenactment of the Ram-Ravana saga.
Vijayadashami (Sanskrit: विजयदशमी) also known as Dussehra (Sanskrit: दशहरा) or Ayudhapuja (Sanskrit: आयुधपूजा), is an important Hindu festival.