Five places in India where Ravana is worshiped on Dussehra

Dussehra i.e. Vijayadashami is a day when Ravana is being burnt in the whole country, but there are some parts of the country where it is custom to worship Ravana on this day. They have their own beliefs behind doing this.

Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh
Mandsaur is located on the border of Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan. According to the Ramayana, Mandsaur was the ancestral home of Ravana’s wife Mandodari and that is why Ravana is considered the son-in-law of Mandsaur. Therefore, Ravana is worshiped and respected as a unique scholar and devotee of Lord Shiva. The place has a 35-foot tall statue of Ravana. On Dussehra, the villagers mourn the death of Ravana and pray.

Bisrakh, Uttar Pradesh
Bisarkha gets his name after the sage Vishvara – the father of the demon king Ravana. Ravana was born in Bisarkha and is considered a Maha-Brahmin here. Vishwa is believed to have discovered a Swayambhu (self-manifested) Shiva Linga at Bisarkha and since then the locals have worshiped him as a mark of respect to the sages Vishvara and Ravana. In Bisarkh, people perform a yajna and peace prayers for the dead soul of Ravana during the Navratri festival.

Gadchiroli, Maharashtra
The Gond tribes of Maharashtra Gadchiroli worship Ravana and his son Meghnada as deities. According to the Gond tribes, Ravana was never depicted in the Valmiki Ramayana and the sage Valmiki explicitly mentioned that Ravana had done nothing wrong nor discredited Sita. It was in the Tulsidas Ramayana itself that Ravana was a cruel and devilish king.

Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
Even in the beautiful district of Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, the practice of burning Ravana is not celebrated. According to mythology, Ravana pleased Lord Shiva with his devotion and penance at Baijnath, Kangra itself. It is believed that Lord Shiva granted him a boon here. That is why Ravana is revered here as a great devotee of Lord Shiva.

Mandya and Kolar, Karnataka
There are many temples of Lord Shiva where Ravana is worshiped for his incomparable devotion to Lord Shiva. Lankadhipati Ravana is worshiped by the people of Kolar district of Karnataka during the harvest festival. In a procession, along with the idol of Lord Shiva, Ravana’s ten-headed (dashaanan) and twenty armed idols are also worshiped by the locals. Similarly, in Malavalli taluka in Mandya district of Karnataka, he is worshiped in a temple of Ravana by Hindu devotees to honor his dedication to Lord Shiva.

Jodhpur, Rajasthan
The Brahmins are said to have come from Lanka during the marriage of Ravana in Moudgil, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Mandodari and Ravana were married in Kin Chanwari. According to Hindu rituals by the Maudil Brahmins of Jodhpur, instead of burning the statues of Lankeshwar Ravana, shraadh and pind are donated as they consider themselves their descendants.