STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Dussehra marking the victory of good over evil was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety in Jammu on Wednesday.
In this connection, a grand function was organized at Parade Ground here, this evening in which the effigies of demon King Ravana, his brother Kumbkaran and son Meghnath were torched to commemorate the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana.
A large number of people drawn from Jammu city and its outskirts had gathered in the Parade Ground to witness the function.
The function was organized by Sanatan Dharam Sabha (SDS), Jammu in coordination with Dharmarth Trust J&K.
Effigy of the demon King was set ablaze after performing traditional Pooja Archana.
Earlier, the traditional Rath Yatra of J&K Dharmarth Trust joined the Shobha Yatra taken out by Sanatan Dharm Sabha on the occasion of Dussehra. The Rath Yatra started from the Shri Raghunathji Temple and passed through various markets including Raghunath Bazaar, Shalamar Road and finally culminated at Parade Ground where in Ravana’s Dahan was organized.
A large number of devotees accompanied the Rath yatra which carried Lord Rama, Laxman and Hanumana to Parade Ground along with the ‘Wanar Sena’ (army of monkeys) led by Lord Hanuman, a great devotee of Lord Rama.
Before taking out of the Rath Yatra, traditional pooja was performed at Raghunath temple by Trustee Ranvijay Singh and president of the Trust Ajay Gandotra, wherein members of Trust’s Advisory Committee and other prominent dignitaries besides devotees participated in large numbers.
It is pertinent to mention that the tradition of holding special Pooja on the occasion of Vijay Dashmi is over 150 years old and the same continued without any break since the inception of Dharmarth Trust.
After performing prayer, Ranvijay asserted that people should adopt good virtues from the great epics of Indian culture and lead their lives in such a manner that the same help in the development of the society and mankind as Hindu culture possessed treasures of knowledge and acted as beacon of light to show the right path to the people to have a meaningful life.
Ranvijay Singh also urged the young generation to associate themselves with the rich culture of the land as there is an immense knowledge base hidden in the same which can help create iconic personalities in the Indian sub-continent as was the case in the past. He said that the reason behind the erosion of society is disassociation of people from the roots and therefore it is imperative to once again come under the realms of religion and live exemplary lives helping India to feel proud of its population for showing the right direction to the entire world.
At Parade Ground, Ranvijay Singh joined stage with former Member Parliament Jugal Kishore, Swami Dinesh Bharti Maharaj, former Minister Priya Sethi, JMC Commissioner Rahul Yadav, Mahant Rameshwar Dass, Ajay Gandotra, President J&K Dharmarth Trust and many other dignitaries.
The authorities had made elaborate security arrangements at Parade and other parts of the city where from the Rath Yatra passed to avert any untoward incident.
A big contingent of police and security forces was deployed right from Ranbireshwar Chowk to Parade to ensure fool proof security of the people attending the function.
Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir Management Trust also celebrated Dussehra Festival in Dussehra Ground Gandhi Nagar with great pomp and show.
Former Dy. Chief Minister J&K, Kavinder Gupta was the Special Guest and Gulchain Singh Charak Former Minister and President of the Trust presided over the function.
This Festival marks the end of Durga Puja and reminds of the victory of Rama over Ravana.
Prominent amongst others who participated in Dussehra function include S. C Rekhi, Deepak Gupta, Prithvi Raj Vaid, Harish Malohtra, Kapil Slathia, Parshant Sharma, P.C Gupta, Lt. Gen Rakesh Sharma, Ajay Sharma, Ashok Khajuria and Sandeep Singh.
Besides the Trustees/Special Invitees hundreds of other devotees participated.
The programme culminated at 6.30 PM by igniting effigies of Ravana, Kumbkaran and Megnath besides Lanka.
