Some People Worship Ravan as Well

From the archive: first published October 6, 2011.

On Dussehra, when effigies of Ravana burn across India to mark the victory of good over evil, not everyone joins the burning. In parts of Madhya Pradesh, the ten-headed demon king is worshipped — not cursed.

In Vidisha district, Kanyakubja Brahmins — the Brahmin sub-sect to which Ravana is believed to belong — personify him as a symbol of prosperity and a saviour. A village in the district is even called Ravangram. For years he was worshipped there mainly during marriages, with the bride and groom taking his blessings; more recently the worship extended to Dussehra itself.

In Mandsaur district, bordering Rajasthan, Ravana is hailed as a son-in-law. The Namdeo Vaishnav Samaj believes his wife Mandodari belonged to the town, and at Ravana Rundi in the Khanpur area, locals installed a 40-foot statue after the ancient lime-and-brick idol that had stood there for generations was destroyed.

In Indore's Pardeshipura, members of the Valmiki Samaj worship Ravana as a god on Dussehra — so devoutly that they avoid even looking at the effigy-burning. Community members say the tradition has run for decades, complete with processions to the place of worship.

The rationale, as his devotees put it: Ravana knew the Vedas and was a great devotee of Shiva. Burning him, they believe, is unjust to a man of knowledge — abduction of Sita apart, as one psychiatrist quoted in the original report observed, there is no fully black-and-white personality, and people remember his good side.

Editor's note: this article was rewritten during our editorial review. The original 2011 version reproduced a press report verbatim; the text above is an original summary of the reported facts.