Preparations in Janakpurdham have entered their final stage for the annual Ravana Dahan ceremony, in which a 45-foot-tall effigy of the demon king Ravana will be set ablaze to mark Vijayadashami, the concluding day of the Dashain festival. According to Pradesh Khabar, the towering effigy has been readied for the ritual burning, which is scheduled for Wednesday. Nepal Press reports that the ceremony, organised by the Mahabir Yuwa Committee, will once again take place on the banks of the Ganga Sagar and Dhanush Sagar ponds, the twin water bodies that have hosted the event for roughly a decade.
A Decade of Ravana Dahan in Janakpurdham
The burning of Ravana's effigy is not a new addition to Dashain in Janakpurdham. According to Nepal Press, effigies of Ravana have been burned alongside those of Meghnath and Kumbhakarna on the banks of the Ganga Sagar and Dhanush Sagar ponds for about ten years, making this year's event the latest instalment of an established local tradition.
Three Effigies, One Story
The inclusion of Meghnath and Kumbhakarna completes the traditional trio of figures from the Ramayana whose defeat is commemorated on the day:
- Ravana, the demon king of Lanka and the chief antagonist of the epic
- Meghnath, also known as Indrajit, Ravana's son and a famed warrior
- Kumbhakarna, Ravana's brother, known in the epic for his enormous size
All three are defeated by Ram and his army in the epic narrative, and the burning of their effigies on Vijayadashami dramatises that final victory of good over evil.
The Setting on the Sacred Ponds
The choice of venue carries its own weight. The Ganga Sagar and Dhanush Sagar ponds sit in Janakpurdham and are among the city's recognisable religious landmarks. Hosting the ceremony on their banks places the ritual within the historic core of the city associated with King Janak and the events of the Ramayana, giving the annual spectacle a setting that matches its subject.
The 45-Foot Effigy at the Centre of This Year's Event
This year's ceremony is set to be marked by the scale of the main effigy. According to Pradesh Khabar, the Ravana effigy stands 45 feet tall, a structure built specifically for the Vijayadashami burning. With preparations in their final stage, organisers are completing arrangements ahead of Wednesday.
The key details of this year's programme are:
- Event: Ravana Dahan ceremony on Vijayadashami, the last day of Dashain
- Date: Wednesday
- Venue: Banks of the Ganga Sagar and Dhanush Sagar ponds, Janakpurdham
- Main effigy: 45-foot-tall Ravana
- Other effigies: Meghnath and Kumbhakarna, burned alongside Ravana as in previous years
- Organiser: Mahabir Yuwa Committee
Vijayadashami and the Wider Dashain Festival
Vijayadashami is the tenth and final day of Dashain, Nepal's largest annual festival, a period of family gatherings, blessings and celebration across the country. The day is traditionally associated with the triumph of good over evil, commemorated through the story of Ram's slaying of Ravana, as well as the goddess Durga's victory over the demon Mahishasura in the Shakta tradition observed widely in Nepal. The public burning of Ravana's effigy on this day is a ritual seen across the wider region, and Janakpurdham has made it a distinctive part of its own Dashain observances.
Special Resonance in Janakpur
The ritual holds particular meaning in Janakpur. The city, historically known as Janakpurdham, is revered as the capital of King Janak's Mithila kingdom and as the birthplace of Sita, Ram's consort in the epic. For a city that celebrates its connection to the Ramayana, the public burning of Ravana on Vijayadashami serves as a vivid, communal restatement of the epic's conclusion, staged in the very land where Sita was born.
The fact that the ceremony has been staged annually for about ten years reflects its growing place in the festival calendar of Janakpurdham, adding a spectacle of fire and light to the familiar traditions of Dashain.
Looking Ahead to Wednesday
With the effigies built and preparations in their final stage, attention now turns to Wednesday's ceremony. Following the pattern of the past decade, the banks of the Ganga Sagar and Dhanush Sagar ponds will once again provide the backdrop as the 45-foot Ravana, together with Meghnath and Kumbhakarna, goes up in flames to mark the end of this year's Dashain, closing the festival with the same message it has carried for generations: the victory of good over evil.
