Dussehra, also called Vijayadashami, "the victory of the tenth [day]", closes the nine nights of Navaratri, and which triumph it celebrates depends on the region. Across much of the north it is the day of Rama's defeat of the demon-king Ravana, the climax of weeks of Ramlila drama; at dusk, towering effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and his son Meghnad, stuffed with fireworks, are set ablaze before great crowds. In the east, in Bengal, Assam and Odisha, it is the day of Durga's victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura, and the images worshipped through Durga Puja are carried in procession to be immersed in river or sea.
Other regional forms multiply the meanings. In Mysore (Karnataka) the day is a grand state procession with caparisoned elephants, a tradition of the former kingdom; across many communities tools, weapons, vehicles and musical instruments are honoured in the Ayudha Puja, and in Kerala and Karnataka children are given their first lessons in reading and writing on this auspicious morning (Vidyarambham). The common thread is victory, of Rama or of Durga, of good over evil, and the day is widely regarded as one of the most auspicious in the year for beginning new undertakings.