Lucknow: Ravana, the antagonist of Ramayana and the demon king of Lanka, was a very powerful and skillful warrior. With 10 heads, he possessed supernatural powers and was a scholar, great poet and ardent follower of Lord Shiva. Dussehra followed by nine-days of Navratri is a celebration of the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana and a triumph of good over evil.
It is because of the good qualities of Ravana that he is worshipped at a temple in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow. Siyaram Awasthi, priest of the temple located in the Chowk area of Lucknow said preparations are underway to decorate Ravana Darbar for Dussehra two days later.
The Char Dham temple, located in Rani Katra in Chowk, the old city of Lucknow has temples of all four dhams. This was built 135 years ago but the centre of attraction is the Ravana Darbar.
Priest Siyaram Awasthi told ETV Bharat that, the Char Dham temple was built by Kundan Lal Kunj Bihari Lal around 135 years ago. As the name suggests, this temple has all four dhams.
Awasthi said there is Ravana Darbar in this temple that remains open every day. Every Dussehra, the demon king is worshipped with great pomp here. At Ravana Darbar, the demon king sits on a throne with his ministers, son, brother and other demons sitting alongside in the court.
Awasthi said that Ravana is worshipped on Dussehra to respect his skills and to ward off evil. Ravana was a scholar as well as a devotee of Lord Shiva and along with this, had respect for Lord Rama in his heart. He knew that he would be destroyed by Lord Rama, despite this he kidnapped Sita, Awasthi said.
Ajay Sharan Awasthi, a devotee who visited the temple, said he comes to this temple during Navratri every year. "One experiences a different kind of feeling after coming here. After seeing the Ravana temple, one realises that despite symbolising the evil, Ravana is worshipped because of his knowledge," he said.
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