Dussera literally means the tenth day. It marks the end of the nine days of Navratri. Dussera means different things to different people. Vijayadashami as Dussera is also known, celebrates the homecoming of Lord Rama the hero of the epic Ramayana, after he rescued his wife Sita from Ravana, the king of Lanka.

Dussera can also be interpreted as "Dasa-Hara", which means the cutting of the ten heads of Ravana. The 'Ramleela', a folk play, retelling the story of the life of Rama, is enacted for the nine days of Navratri ending on Dussera, the day Rama slays Ravana. Songs are sung in praise of Rama and people in thousands witness this traditional theatre with its exaggerated costumes, jewelry, makeup and drama.

Dussera is also reminiscent of the end of the exile and banishment of the Pandava princes in the epic Mahabharata and their return with their weapons to reclaim their kingdom. In memory of this epic story, people in the state of Maharashtra worship the implements/tools of their professions and distribute the leaves of the Shami tree, which is considered as valuable as gold, but only for a day to express their goodwill.

Vijayadashami is also celebrated as the day of victory to rejoice about Durga's triumph over the demons led by Mahishasura. It is essentially a festival in honor of Durga, another name for Parvathi, Lord Shiva's wife. Therefore the famous 'Durga Puja' is carried out on this day.The Divine Mother fought with him for nine nights (the demons have extraordinary strength during the night), and killed him on the evening of the tenth day, known as the Vijaya Dasami. Once again signifying the victory of good over evil. Therefore on this day you pray to Mother Durga to destroy all your impurities, your vices, your defects.Once you have accomplished your task on the negative side, that of breaking down the impure propensities and old vicious habits, the next step is to build up a sublime spiritual personality, to acquire positive qualities in place of the eliminated demoniacal qualities.

The whole period from Navratri to Diwali is considered festive season and people visit their family and friends to share and exchange festive food, sweets, and gifts and enjoy a joyful family ambience of celebrations.