Effigies of demon king Ravana, his son Meghnad and brother Kumbhakaran crackled in fiery splendour marking the triumph of good over evil as religious fervour marked Dussehra festivities across the country on Wednesday.

Amid beating of drums, devotees, dancing frenziedly, also bid adieu to Goddess Durga as she returned to her celestial abode.

In the capital , President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were among the dignitaries who watched the effigies going up in smoke at Subhash Maidan near the historic Red Fort and Ramlila Maidan on Tuesday evening.

In West Bengal, the four day long Durga Puja estival has come to an end with the celebrations of Vijayadashmi on Wednesday. On this day, the Durga idles are immersed in different rivers.

In scenic Himachal Pradesh, the week-long Kullu Dussehra festival got off to a spectacular start with the traditional Rath Yatra of Lord Raghunathji at sprawling Dhalpur Maidan.

A number of effigies of demons were soaked by rains which drenched the Union Territory of Chandigarh and large parts of Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday evening.