Raavan was born in Greater Noida? People in his birth village have temple dedicated to demon king

Lord Ram and his brothers were born in Ayodhya; her consort Mata Sita is believed to have been born in Janakpur (present-day Nepal)... but what is the birthplace of demon king Raavan?

Did you know -- 'Lanka Naresh' or the king of Lanka, Raavan, wasn't actually born in Lanka? Greater Noida’s Bisrakh village, situated around 56 kilometres from the national capital, is believed to be the birthplace of Raavan. In fact, the village is known for worshipping the demon king. 

Not only this, on the occasion of Dussehra, when the entire country celebrates the victory of good over evil by burning the effigy of Raavan, this village follows no such tradition. The residents of Bisrakh give the celebrations a miss every year.

The village recently came to the limelight when idols of Lord Ram, Sita, and Lakshman were installed inside the ancient Shiva temple here. This was an unprecedented development for a village where Raavan is believed to have been born. The consecration of the three idols was done to mark the Ram Temple Pran Pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya in January this year. The chief priest of the temple, Mahant Ramdas, told The Indian Express that both Lord Ram and Raavan give the same message to the society – of wisdom, valour, perseverance and respect for all. He added, “Raavan Maharaj came in my dreams and said that we should make way for statues of Bhagwan Ram, Sita ji and Lakshman ji.”

It is worth mentioning that Bishrakh is reportedly named after Raavan's father, Vishwashrawa. The village even has a temple, called "Raavan Ka Mandir". According to the villagers, the temple still preserves the Shiv Lingam laid by Rishi Vishwashrawa.

Over the years, excavators have found several pieces of statues and objects related to the worship of Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesh, and Mata Parvati here. However, no idols of Lord Ram were ever found in the village, giving credence to villagers' claims.

Another shocking part about the village is that people don't pray to Goddess Durga here as she, according to Ramayan, helped Lord Ram defeat Raavan in the war.

As per the legend, Raavan had demanded Lanka as dakshina from Lord Shiv after performing yajna. And thus, he moved southwards to rule the wealthiest kingdoms ever known to mankind.