In the face-off between spiritual gurus and the governemnt, the former declared October 18 as the Dussehra date. To clear up the confusion, religious leaders and astrologers on Monday announced that the festival will be celebrated on October 18. It was after much deliberation that the final decision was made during a meeting on Monday.
The government declaring Dussehra holiday on October 19 triggered confusion and it was in this backdrop that a large number of spiritual gurus, astrologers and experts who make the panchang (Hindu calendar) came together at Government Maharaj Acharya Sanskrit College to sort the dates. It was after lengthy discussion that October 18 was earmarked instead of October 19. This time around, ‘dashami tithi’ will be on both the days, however, as per the experts, ‘shravana nakshatra’ is on October 18, therefore, Dussehra will be observed on this day. “Dussehra will be on October 18, that is ‘dashami tithi’ as per ‘shravan nakshatra’ and that is referred to as Vijayadashami,” said professor Bhaskar Sharma, principal of government Maharaj Acharya Sanskrit College.
The ‘dharma sabha’ consisted of a large number of sanskrit academicians, astrologers and makers of the panchang, and these included narotam pujari from Salasar, makers of martand panchang and samrat panchang and several astrologers.
Since ‘dashami tithi’ is on both the days as per the rules, the first day is considered to be the date of the festival. This means that this time the navami and dashami will fall on the same date. Therefore, during morning hours the devotees can perform navami puja and offer food to girls, and later in the evening effigy of Ravana will be burnt.
However, since the government holidays is on October 19, people can enjoy the festivities on the second day as well. Moreover, there is no update on whether the schools will remain open on October 18 or not as the will remain shut on Friday.
Meanwhile, there is huge rush of devotees visiting temples in the city. Most crowded of all the temples is that of Shila Mata Mandir situated at Amber Fort.
Meeting Held
The government declaring Dussehra holiday on October 19 triggered confusion and it was in this backdrop that a large number of spiritual gurus, astrologers and the experts who make the panchang (hindu calendar ) came together at Government Maharaj Acharya Sanskrit College to sort the dates.
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 "Dussehra-Meeting")
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