Ram idol taken to Ravana-worshipping temple near Noida

As the consecration ceremony took place in Ayodhya on Monday, an idol of Lord Ram made its entry for the first time at a legendary temple near Noida where Ravana is worshipped.

The ancient Shiv Mandir is located at Bisrakh village, believed to be the birthplace of Ravana, the antagonist to the hero of Lord Ram in the epic Ramayana.

The event coincided with the 'pran pratishtha' of Ram Lalla at Ayodhya's Ram temple, some 650 km away from Bisrakh.

"Today, for the first time, idols of Lord Ram along with those of Sita ji and Lakshman ji were installed with due rituals inside the temple complex," Mahant Ramdas, the chief priest at the Ravana temple, told PTI.

The priest, who has been at the temple for over 40 years now, said the idols have been brought from Rajasthan.

"Bisrakh is the birthplace of Ravana. The 'Shiv Ling' here is because of Brahma ji and Pulasta Muni. This is the birthplace of Vishrava, the father of Ravana, as well as Vibhishana, Kumbhakaran," he said.

"Bisrakh is the place where Ravana (effigy) is not burnt. He is worshipped. People here revere him since he was a son of this land and he is an ancestor to the locals here," the priest said, noting that Ravana was a "brave Brahmin warrior" because of which his name is relevant even today.

The ancient temple, however, does not have any idol of Ravana although some of his significant life events are carved on the walls of the temple complex.

Ravana's family members are also shown in the carvings.

"This Vijaya Dashmi we will hopefully install an idol of Ravana next to the idol of Lord Ram here. Both would be worshipped together," Mahant Ram Das said.

Hundreds of locals and devotees from nearby area joined the historic occasion with a roadshow on Monday morning followed by a 'havan' and community feast.

Locals said they worship Ravana for the good qualities he possessed and the village has a tradition of worshipping and not burning his effigy during Vijaya Dashami.

Karan Singh Bhati, 72, said youngsters also keenly participate in the temple activities and revere Ravana as their "ancestor".

Gulab Singh, a resident of Bisrakh, said people fondly refer to the demon king as "Dada Ravana" or "Baba Ravana".

"Ravana also had many good qualities. People like us have both good and bad qualities. It is a lesson for us to always imbibe the good qualities whether from Ram's life or Ravana's life," Rajeev Sharma told PTI.

While upbeat about the historic occasion, the temple's management and devotees hoped for development works at the ancient complex and improvement in road connectivity.

Bhati, Singh and Sharma said the local authorities have been approached multiple times over the years for building a proper road that leads to the temple.

"The way the Ram Temple has been beautifully made in Ayodhya, I hope one day this Ravana temple would also get uplifted. The names of Rama and Ravana would continue together, not alone," Mahant Ramdas said.

• THE RAM TEMPLE