Ravana - Ravana Temples

Ravana Temples

There are several temples where Ravana is worshipped. Ravana is considered most revered devotee of Lord Shiva. The images of Ravana are seen associated with lord Shiva at some places.

There is a huge Shivalinga in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, supposedly installed by Ravana himself, with a statue of Ravana near by. Both Shivalinga and Ravana are worshiped by the fishermen community there.

Thousands of Kanyakubja Brahmins of the village Ravangram of Netaran, in the Vidisha District of Madhya Pradesh, perform daily puja (worship) in the Ravan temple and offer naivedyam / bhog (a ritual of sacrifice to the Gods). Centuries ago King Shiv Shankar built a Ravana temple at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The Ravana temple is opened once in a year, on Dashehra Day, to perform puja for the welfare of Ravana.

A Jain temple in Alwar, Rajasthan is called the Ravan Parsvanath Temple. The legend says that Ravana used to worship Parsvanath daily. While Ravana was on tour to Alwar he realized that he forgot to bring the image of Parsvanath. Mandodari, Ravana's wife, is said to have made an image of Parsvanath immediately. And hence the Ravan Parsvanath temple at Alwar.

Ravana is said to have married Princess Mandodari at a place about 32 kilometers away from Jodhpur, which is now called Mandor. There is a mandap (altar or pavilion) where Ravana is said to have married Mandodari, and which the local people call Ravan Ki Chanwari.

At the altar can also be found the images of Saptamatri (Seven Mothers) flanked by Ganesha and Veerabhadra. The Saptamatri images are said to precede the time of the Pratihara Dynasty (founded in the 6th Century AD) and are in fact reminiscent of the images of seven female deities of Harappa - the oldest civilization in India. In the nearby stepwell, a stone bears a script that resembles the Harappan script.

The Dave Brahmins of Mudgal Gotra, Jodhpur/Mandor who were originally from Gujarat, claim to be the descendants of Ravana. The say that since time immemorial they are performing the shraddh (death anniversary) of Ravana on Dashehra Day every year. They offer pind daan and take a bath after that ritual. They recently erected a Ravan temple in Jodhpur, where daily puja is performed.

There is a theory proposed by Sinhalese nationalists that points to the southern part of Sri Lanka as the capital of Ravana, hence the name Ruhuna came to existence. "Ruhuna" is claimed to be derived from the word's Ravana Pura or Rohana Pura, despite the liguistic improbability of 'va' becoming 'ha' in Prakrit. This is probably an attempt to tie Ravana with the history of that other national hero: Duttagamini, who was a king from that region.

Murudeshwara temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, lies in the holy beach town in the Bhatkal Taluk of Uttara Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated between the Honnavar and Bhatkal town (about 12 km) and it lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea. The significance of this holy town dates to the time of Ramayana. Ravana wanted to attain immortality by penance dedicated to the Atmalinga(the divine Lingam of Shiva procures invincibility and immortality to the Hindu Gods). Lord Shiva appeared before Ravana and asked him what he wanted. Lord Vishnu with the help of Narada changes Ravana's mind. As a result of this plot, Ravana asks for Goddess Parvathi, and Lord Shiva offers him. On his way back to Lanka Narada tricks Ravana that the real Parvathi was in Pathala(Underworld). So Ravana lets off Parvathi, went to Pathala and marries the king's daughter thinking that she was Parvathi. When he returns back to Lanka his mother then asks for Atmalinga. Ravana knowing that he was tricked, meditates to please Lord Shiva. Ravana asks for his forgiveness and this time, Ravana requests the Atmalinga as his boon. Lord Shiva agreed to give him the boon with a condition that it should never be placed on the ground. It is believed that the Atmalinga was ever placed on the ground, all the powers would return to Lord Shiva again. Having obtained his boon, Ravana started back on his journey to Lanka. Sage Narada, realised that with the Atmalinga, Ravana may obtain immortality and create havoc on earth, approached Lord Ganesh to help him. As Ravana was nearing Gokarna, Lord Vishnu blocked the sun to make it appear as dusk. Ravana had to perform his evening rituals but was worried because with the Atmalinga in his hands, he would not be able to do his rituals. Lord Ganesh, disguised as a Brahmin boy approached Ravana. He requested him to hold the Atmalinga until he performed his pooja, and told him not to place it on the ground. Ganesh struck a deal with him saying that he would call Ravana thrice, and if Ravana did not return within that time, he would place the Atmalinga on the ground. As predicted, before Ravana could return after completing his rituals, Ganesh had already placed the Atmalinga on the ground. Vishnu then removed his illusion and it was daylight again. Ravana got really angry that he was tricked again and tried to uproot the Atmalinga and destroy it but could not. In a fit of rage he threw the case covering it to a place called Sajjeshwara, 23 miles away. Then he threw the lid of the case to a placed called Guneshwara (now Gunavanthe) and Dhareshwara, 10–12 miles away. Finally, he threw the cloth covering the Atmalinga to a placed called Mrideshwara in Kanduka-Giri (Kanduka Hill). Mrideshwara has been renamed to Murudeshwara.