Dashain

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Dashain
Dashain commemorates Durga's slaying of the demon Mahishasura.[1]
Official name	बडादसैँ
Also called	Bijaya Dashami, Nauratha
Observed by	Nepalese and Indian Gorkha Hindus and Buddhists
Type	Religious, cultural
Significance	A festival commemorating the victory of good over evil
Celebrations	Marks the end of Durga Puja
Observances	Worshipping nine forms of Durga, visiting Shakti Pithas and pandals, organizing plays, visiting relatives, feasts, community gathering, recitation of scriptures, immersion of the idol Durga or burning of Ravana
Date	Ashvin or Kartika (September to November)
Related to	Vijaya Dashami

Dashain or Bada'dashain, also known as Vijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a Hindu religious festival in Nepal, Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, South India, and Sri Lanka.^[2] It is also celebrated by other religions in Nepal and elsewhere,^[3] including the Lhotshampa of Bhutan^[4] and the Burmese Gurkhas of Myanmar. The festival is also known as Nauratha, derived from the Sanskrit word for the festival: Navaratri (Nine Nights).^[5]

The longest festival in the Bikram Sambat and Nepal Sambat annual calendars, it is celebrated by Nepali Hindus and their diaspora. In Nepal, the 15-day festival is the country's longest. People return from all parts of the world and different parts of the country to celebrate together.^[3] The festival falls in September or October, beginning on the Shukla Paksha (bright lunar night) of the month of Ashvin and ending on Purnima, the full moon. Of the fifteen days it is celebrated, the most celebrated are the first, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and fifteenth.^[6]