Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday performed ‘Shastra Pooja’ at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur on the occasion of Vijayadashami.
Padma Bhushan and former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K. Radhakrishnan, who is also the chief guest of the event, was seen accompanying the RSS chief.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and former ISRO chief K Sivan were also present on the occasion.
The Vijayadashami address of the RSS chief is considered the most important event for the organisation as it is during his address future plans and vision are put forth for all to follow. It is from this stage that RSS stand on many issues of national importance is known.
The RSS members were also seen reciting the ‘Sangh Prarthana’ as they gathered to celebrate Vijayadashami.
In the previous years, the Vijayadashami programme has witnessed the presence of several prominent personalities including former President Pranab Mukherjee, HCL chief Shiv Nadar and child rights activist and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi.
Vijayadashami, or Dussehra, is a prominent Hindu festival celebrated every year at the end of Navaratri.
It is observed on the tenth day of the month of Ashvin, the seventh in the Hindu Luni-Solar Calendar. The festival typically falls in the Gregorian calendar months of September and October.
The festival of Vijayadashami is celebrated almost in every part of the country, and there are several tales associated with it, the most popular being the defeat of the Ravana by Lord Rama, one of the most revered god figures in India.
The festival also starts the preparations for Diwali, the important festival of lights, which is celebrated twenty days after Vijayadashami.