NEW DELHI: The Ravana raj seems to be making a come back. In a recent development, people claiming themselves to be descendents of Ravana are building a temple dedicated to the demon king in Jodhpur. And interestingly, it is coming up in a Hindu heartland where Lord Ram is devoutly revered by all.
This will be the first such temple in north India. The town is considered to be Mandodari, Ravana’s wife’s native place. It is believed that Mandodari hailed from Mandore, which was the ancient capital of Jodhpur. An umbrella named ‘Chavri’ still stands there. The Ravana temple is being built in Mahadev Amarnath and Navgrah temple premises in city’s Chandpole area, where idols of Ravana’s main deities, Shiva and Devi Kharanna stand.
The temple premise will house a Ravana temple having idols of Ravana and his family members. Kamlesh Dev, the temple priest, said the idol will be in the form of offering prayers and water to Lord Shiva so that people get a feel of the demon king’s religious and softer side and they would be placed after observing planetary positions in the next six months.
Osian sculptor Chunnilal is entrusted with the duty of building the idol from special stone from Jodhpur. The priest said after Ravana’s capital Lanka was devastated in the war with Lord Rama, many of his descendents traveled to Mandore, considered a haven owing to the place being the native town of queen Mandodari.
He said about 200 families, believed to be descendents of Ravana and from Mudgal Gotra, still live in Jodhpur. About 110 families stay in Jodhpur town and 70 other families live in nearby Phalodi. Kamlesh said Ravana is highly respected and revered in the region and the temple is likely to be completed in six months. Some of the descendents of the demon king also migrated to Gujarat’s Jamanagar, Bhuj and Kutch areas, he claimed.
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