Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday extended Mahanavami-Vijayadashami greetings to the people of the state, saying knowledge is the weapon for creating a society free of hardships and injustice.

The Mahanavami festival, which is being celebrated in the state today, conveys that message to everyone, he said in a Facebook post.

He urged people to imbibe the spirit of that message and join hands for a better tomorrow, filled with virtue and equality.

“Knowledge is the weapon for creating a society free of hardships and injustice…Mahanavami-Vijayadashami wishes to all,” Vijayan said.

“Vijayadashami”, dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi, the deity of learning, would mark the end of the annual nine-day-long Navaratri festival on Wednesday.

The auspicious day is observed as the day of ‘Vidyarambham’, the beginning of learning, in the southern state.

Children, along with their parents, would gather in large numbers at temples, schools and cultural centres where arrangements would be made for the ‘ezhuthiniruthu’ (initiation ceremony).