UP: During the once-a-year Dusshera opening of the Kanpur temple, devotees throng to seek Raavan’s blessings
On Tuesday, devotees thronged the Dashanan Temple in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, to worship Raavan in honor of Vijayadashami, commonly known as Dussehra.
Images from the temple showed worshippers praying to the Raavan idol.
Ram Bajpai, a priest at the Dashanan Temple, told ANI that the temple only opens during Dussehra and that visitors come to pray for their children to have qualities of knowledge and strength like to those of Raavan.
“On the day of Dussehra, we open this temple to worship Raavan, and in the evening, once the effigy of Raavan has been burned, we shut the temple. The day of Dussehra is the only day the temple is open. We revere him because of his wisdom. Nobody other had abilities, information, or wisdom comparable to those of Raavan. His egotism was his lone flaw, according to the temple priest.
“We pray over here (at the temple) for our children to gain strength and knowledge comparable to what Raavan had,” the priest said. “We burn his hubris in the shape of his effigy.
The Kanpur temple is said to be 125 years old.
The Raavana Mandir in Bisrakh, Greater Noida, is one of several shrines of Raavana. The Kakinada Raavan temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is located in the East Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh and is said to have been constructed by Raavan while he was the king of Lanka. In Madhya Pradesh, there are a number of temples devoted to Raavan, including one in Mandsaur, where it is said that Raavan and Mandodari were married, and another in Vidisha, which is thought to be the hometown of Mandodari.
During the festival of Dussehra, the well-known Ramleela is performed, huge fairs are planned, and crowds of people come to see Raavan effigies catch fire.
Despite the fact that festivities and cultural customs differ depending on where in India’s culturally diverse nation you are, the fabric of the festival that unites everyone still exists since Dusshera happens on the tenth day of Sharada Navratri.
