Indore: A Family of Indore has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to ban the burning of Ravana effigies across the country. The family has also prepared a grand temple of Ravana in Indore, where Yajna and rituals are performed every year in devotion to Ravana on Dussehra.
Dussehra has a tradition of burning Ravana across the country, but many people consider Ravana as an eminent scholar and an incarnation of Shiva, due to which the burning of Ravana is also consistently opposed.
Temple built to worship Ravana
The temple of Ravaneswar Mahadev present in Pardesipura of Indore is the centre of faith among the local people who worship Ravana. Decades ago, Mahesh Gohar, a temple priest and a devotee of Ravana started opposing the practice of burning Ravana’s effigy, considering Ravana as an incarnation of Shiva. After over a period of time, Ravana Bhakta Mandal was established and every year, opposition to burning of Ravana took the form of a campaign. People of this area of Pardesi Pura neither burn Ravana nor become part of any tradition of burning the effigy of Ravana on Dussehra.
Petition in Supreme Court to stop the burning of Ravana
Ravana devotee Mahesh Gohar has now filed a petition in the Supreme Court to stop the burning of the effigy of Ravana which takes place every year on Dussehra, the hearing of which is currently going on. Devotees of Ravana believe that there is no strong and scriptural ancient tradition of burning the effigy of Ravana.
Apart from this, the burning of effigy every year is polluting the environment every year and is hazardous for the plants as well. Therefore, just as cases are registered against those who burn stubble in Delhi and other parts of Haryana, a case should be registered against those who burn Ravana.
History and temple related to Ravana in Madhya Pradesh
Ravana married Mandodari, the daughter of King Darspur King of Mandsaur. After that, Dashapur was named Mandsaur, where Ravana is worshipped in Khanpura. There is an 800-year-old Ravana statue here. In Ravana gram in Vidisha, there is a 600-year-old black stone statue of Ravana lying down, here also the whole village worships him.
There is also a Ravana temple in Piploda village of Ujjain, worship is done daily here.
Gondwana Republic Party’s MLA has also built Ravana temple in Amarwara village of Chhindwara district, where he and his supporters worship.
Temple of Ravana in Patan, Jabalpur
A Brahmin family of Satna worships Ravana and considers it his ancestor; this family has also built a temple of Ravana.
Beliefs and temples associated with Ravana across the country
Meerut is also considered by some historians as a place of Ravan's in-laws.
In Shivala area of Kanpur city, there is a hundred and fifty years old Ravana Kailash temple which opens on the day of Dussehra.
There is an ancient Lankesh temple at Kakinada and Killur Puram in Andhra Pradesh where the fair is also held.
Apart from this, in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, there is a custom of the Mundan rites of children under the shadow of Ravana.
The places where people are opposing to burning Ravana’s effigy
People have been opposing the burning of Ravana for many years in the village Visharkha of Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.
In Sarani and Pathak Kheda of Betul district, tribal youth organization and Jayas Ravan are opposing the practice.
In Kolar district of Karnataka, Ravana is worshipped and a procession is taken out on the harvest festival, here people have been opposing the burning of Ravana.
There is an ancient temple of Ravana in Malavalli tehsil of Mandia district of Karnataka, where people worship Ravana and oppose its burning.
Why burning of effigy of Ravana is being opposed
People, who are opposing the burning of an effigy of Ravana, consider him as a scholar and an incarnation of Lord Shiva. At the same time, some people even consider him to be an avatar of Shiva. According to the worshipers of Ravana, he was a great soul with knowledge of multi-faceted genres, due to which it is wrong to burn. At the same time, some people consider him as their ancestor and also oppose its burning.
Apart from this, a large number of those who oppose the burning of Ravana also belong to the category of environmentalists, who consider it to be the cause of pollution in nature. People believe that burning of firecrackers along with wood and other materials that are used in the effigy of Ravana adversely affects the air.
Also Read: Dusshera: Ravan effigy makers unhappy with drop in sale amid Covid-19
