The effigy of Ravana would be in flames across the country on coming Wednesday on Vijay Dashmi day amid the chants of ‘Siyapati Ram Chandra Ki Jai’ except a locality -- Shivala-- in Kanpur which has a revered shrine dedicated to Ravana resonating with the chants of ‘Jai Lankesh’ and ‘Lankapati Naresh ki jai ho’ on the occasion.
The temple, popularly known as Dashanan temple, is unlocked just for a day on Vijay Dashmi when the demon king comes out of captivity and is worshipped to be relegated again to the lockup till the next Dussehra.
On Dussehra day, when people across the country celebrate the victory of good over evil represented by Lord Ram and Ravan respectively, thousands of devotees throng the Kailash temple, outside the Chinmastika Devi temple in Shivala locality of the city, housing a ten-headed, five-ft tall idol of Ravana in its courtyard. ‘Lankapati Ravana’ is worshipped here as the guard of Lord Shiva and Goddess Chinmastika besides being an embodiment of ‘Shakti’ (power) and ‘Gyan’ (knowledge).
There are seven temples of Ravana across the country, including the one in Kanpur where Ravana is worshipped as the great devotee of Lord Shiva. The other temples include Ravana Mandir, Bisrakh, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, Kakinada Ravana temple, Andhra Pradesh, Ravangram Ravana Temple, Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, Mandore Ravan Temple, Jodhpur, and Baijanath
Temple, Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh.
‘Puja’ and ‘Aarti’ of Lankadhiraj Ravana start from 9 am on the Dussehra day and go on late in the evening till his killing at the hands of Lord Ram.
"Remaining in captivity for 364 days of the year, the devotees take darshan of Lankapati Ravan on the day of Dussehra making a beeline at the temple right from early morning till late in the night believing that it would mitigate all the negativity present in their life and sharpen the brain as Ravan was believed to be all-powerful and learned," says Ramji, one of the residents of the locality housing the rare temple.
The temple was built in 1868. It is closed only after the effigy of Ravan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnad go in flames on Dussehra day.
"The common belief is that Ravan comes to this temple for 12 hours on Dussehra day. This temple was constructed by Maharaj Guru Prasad Shukla, a resident of neighbouring Unnao district," says Dhanajay Tiwari, the convenor of puja and head priest of Dashanan temple.
Tiwari adds that over 30,000 devotees visit the temple on the day of Vijay Dashmi. He claims that the day of Ravan's birth is also believed to be Vijay Dashmi.
"The darshan of Ravan conveys that arrogance leads to the end of even persons with immense knowledge and power,” he maintains philosophically. Moreover, a fair is also organised on the occasion. The demon King is decorated to his full glory. To worship Ravana, devotees come with mustard oil and perform 'aarti'. "It is believed that by offering mustard oil and the flowers of ridged gourd to Ravana, the planetary equations improve, the ill effects of planets go away from life and the wishes of the devotees are fulfilled,” says Tiwari.