The occasion marks the triumph of Lord Rama over the demon king, Ravana , symbolic of the victory of good over evil. Decorated jhankis and processions take place, depicting various facets of Rama ' s life.
Celebrations take place on both large and small scales.
While huge Dussehra melas are organized in some parts of the country, the Ravana Jalana is carried out in the smallest of mohallas, where children make effigies of Ravana , Kumbhkarna and Meghnath , stuff them with firecrackers, and burn them. The effigies are burnt to depict the victory of good over evil. It is significant that the Lord invoked the blessings of the divine mother, Goddess Durga , before actually going out to battle. In burning the effigies, people are being asked to burn the evil within them, and thus follow the path of virtue and goodness, bearing in mind the instance of Ravana , who, despite all his might and majesty, was destroyed for his evil ways. It must be remembered that Ravana was a great scholar and an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva , but the very powers that were bestowed on him for his steadfast devotion proved to be his undoing, due to his gross misuse of those powers.