The villagers of Bisrakh don’t burn effigies of Ravana, rather they conduct rituals to pray for his soul..
Bisrakh, a village in Uttar Pradesh, located just 40 kilometres from Delhi, considers itself to be Ravana’s birthplace, with villagers counting themselves as his descendants.
While the rest of the country derives joy from burning effigies of Kumbhakaran,Ravan and his son Meghnath, the villagers of Bisrakh mourn Ravan’s loss and conduct prayer rituals for his soul, reported Times Now.
The villagers of Bisrakh believe that Ravan deserved to be revered for his knowledge and devout faith in Lord Shiva rather than villainised. At the same time, they still pray to Lord Ram, as he is a god.
In one of the many deviating rituals in the village, people do not Ramlila celebrations for fear of inviting bad luck. During Dussehra they offer prayers in the Bisrakh Ravana Mandir.
The temple, according to local belief, carries the same Shiva Linga which was once worshipped by Ravana and his father, the sage Vishravas.
In fact, the name of the village is believed to be derived from the word “Vishravas”, reported Times Now.
The people of the village have even raised money to build a new temple dedicated to Ravan.
Ravan, as per Hindu mythology was the king of Lanka, and was very learned and powerful. In different iterations of the Ramayana text, he is portrayed as the antagonist in the god Ram’s story but is also considered to be representative of several communities in India.
There are temples dedicated to Ravan in Kanpur, the Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh, Mandya district of Karnataka and many other places as well.
In a country as diverse as India, even celebrations such as Dussehra take on many different forms and variations.
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