Countering The Traditional Raavan Narrative

As the vibrant festivities of Dussehra unfold across the nation, especially in north India, with joyous chants of 바카라�바카라�Bhagwan Ram Chandra Ki Jai바카라�바카라� and towering effigies of Raavan going up in flames, an intriguing counter-narrative quietly emerges.

While many revel in this age-old tradition, several groups challenge it, arguing that Raavan, often seen as the villain of the Ramayana, was actually a learned Brahmin. They claim that his burning is a 바카라�sacrilege바카라�. These advocates not only call for a temple to worship the ten-headed Lankan king but also demand an immediate halt to the burning of Raavan effigies on Vijayadashami.

Omveer Saraswat, a Mathura-based lawyer who claims to belong to the Saraswat Brahmin community, has been advocating for a ban on the burning of Raavan effigies for years. He asserts that Raavan was a Saraswat Brahmin and that burning his effigies 바카라�hurts바카라� those who worship him.

바카라�Burning of Raavan effigies hurts our (Saraswat Brahmins바카라�) religious sentiments,바카라� he says, emphasising that they are also citizens of the country and that the Constitution guarantees religious freedom to everyone.

Referring to Hindu texts like the Srimad Bhagwat Puran, which acknowledge Raavan바카라�s wisdom, Saraswat urges an end to the practice.

Earlier, he wrote to the then President Ram Nath Kovind, former Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, noting that many communities venerate Raavan. He cited a large idol in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh and a temple in Bisrakh in Uttar Pradesh, where devotees pray to him. Additionally, he highlighted accidents during Dussehra celebrations to support his call for a ban, arguing that Raavan, an 바카라�exceptional politician바카라� and a 바카라�highly educated바카라� Brahmin, is punished each year for a 바카라�mistake made centuries ago바카라�.

Agra resident Vishal Sharma, an IT consultant, noted that Hinduism is an ever-evolving religion with diverse traditions. He mentioned that many Brahmins oppose the burning of Raavan바카라�s effigies, viewing him as a learned Brahmin. 바카라�I never advocated for this tradition of Raavan effigy burning to stop as he was an unsavoury character. Demanding a temple to worship him is also not justified as he was not a God. But killing Raavan, who was a Brahmin, was a Brahma hatya (Brahma바카라�s killing),바카라� he says.

On the 10th day of Dussehra, while Raavan바카라�s effigies are burned amid chants of Ram, a group gathers at a century-old Dashanan temple in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, with a five-foot idol of Raavan, shouting 바카라�Lankapati Naresh Ki Jai Ho바카라� and 바카라�Jai Lankesh바카라� to seek the demon king바카라�s blessings. The temple opens once a year for devotees to perform Raavan바카라�s puja and after the effigy is set ablaze, the doors close until the next Dussehra. This clash of perspectives raises intriguing questions: was the ten-headed king, who even compelled Shiva to acknowledge his wisdom, truly a Brahmin? If so, why did such a learned figure abduct Sita, Ram바카라�s wife?

Originally known as Raven, meaning 바카라�a bird with a blue throat바카라� in Gondi, Raavan served as his clan바카라�s totem. Scholars suggest the Aryans appropriated him by renaming him Raavan. While Aryan texts depict his father, Vishrava, as the son of Pulastya, critics argue that a non-Aryan like Vishrava could not be linked to Brahma, an Aryan figure. Many believe Raavan was not purely a Brahmin but a blend of a Brahmin and a demon. His father, Vishrava, was a Brahmin sage, and his mother, Kaikasi, was an Asura princess. With a lineage that included Pulastya, one of the Saptarishis, and Sumali, the king of the Rakshasas, Raavan became a renowned scholar of the Vedas and a master of astrology and statecraft. As the demon king of Lanka, he even performed the rites of a purohit (priest) during the construction of Rama Sethu.

(This appeared in the print as 'Build Me A Temple')