RAVAN TEMPLE

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

Don’t be surprised if I tell you that this unique temple in Kanpur, known as Kailash Temple, is built in the honor of the King of Demons – Ravana.Interestingly, when across the country, effigies of Ravana are being set on fire across hundreds of Dussehra grounds, hordes of devotees are seen swarming the premises of this temple within minutes of its opening. The entire area reverberates with chants of “Ravana Baba Namah” from morning till evening on Dussehra. A special puja is offered to Ravana on the occasion and the temple is shut after 12 hours until the Dussehra the following year.

Strangely enough, the five feet tall idol of Ravana in this 115-year-old temple is placed inside a box and does not look anywhere close to an actual temple. Irrespective of this, he is a clear winner in the number game – the popularity of this temple and the hordes of devotees lining right outside continue to grow with each passing year. Surprisingly, queues outside the temple stretch across three to four kilometers!

Shivlinga in kakinada 

There is a huge Shivlinga in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, supposedly installed by Ravana himself, with a statue of Ravana nearby. Both Shivlinga 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 Ravana temple and offer naivedyam / bhog (a ritual of sacrifice to the Gods). 

A Jain temple in Alwar, Rajasthan is called the Ravana 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 Ravana 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 Ravana Ki Chanwari.

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