A Rare Temple Dedicated to Demon King Ravana Gets Facelift in Mandya
The temple got a facelift by funds donated by devotees for whom Ravana is the family deity and the word of mouth publicity made this draw the attention of devotees in better numbers than it was before.
Bengaluru: A new temple for Lord Ram temple was constructed at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh two years back while in down south a rare temple ‘Sri Ravaleshwara Swamy Sannidhi’ dedicated to mythological demon King Ravana (Lanka present Sri Lanka) as per Hindu epic Ramayana, give it a new lease of life at Nidaghatta of Malavalli in Mandya district which otherwise lied in obscurity.
In Hindu epic Ramayana, Lord Rama slayed Demon King Ravana. As far as the history is concerned, folklore says Demon King Ravaana stayed at Nidaghatta along with the army and a temple came up at the place in remembrance.
The temple got a facelift by funds donated by devotees for whom Ravana is the family deity and the word of mouth publicity made this draw the attention of devotees in better numbers than it was before.
Nanjuda Aradhya who was associated with this temple for many years said “It idol was covered in vegetative growth decades back but in recent years, devotees numbers have swelled.” Another temple dedicated to Demon King Ravana is located near Kothanur of Kollegal taluk in Chamarajnager but devotees prefer to come to Nidaghatta Ravana temple to offer their prayers/pujas.
Until 30 years back, this temple in Malavalli hardly had any attention from devotees and devotees in small numbers visited to offer prayers. The temple was in dilapidated condition and two devotees from Mysuru city –Ramanna, owner of a garage and Shivananjappa, a businessman came across a villager of Nidaghatta and entrusted with the task of temple renovation.
A person associated with this temple for over 3-decades, on condition of anonymity told Deccan Chronicle on Tuesday “The collection of funds for the temple revival started with a small coin collection box at the temple and devotees offered coins and currency notes. Now, the temple gets adequate donations.”
Not only the temple structure was renovated from a tiled roof to Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) top, a wedding hall, a compound wall, a small tower among other facilities. Devotees traced their family deity to this temple in Nidaghatta and ascend at the temple to offer pujas from Mangaluru in Dakshina Kannada, Bhadravathi of Shivamogga, neighbouring districts of Mysuru, Mandya, Ramnagar among others.
When devotees’ numbers swelled, the temple drew the attention of businessmen/ contractors/politicians who came to contribute their mite in the revival of the temple. The person associated with this temple stated “Devotees willing came forward to renovate the temple offering bricks, cement among other construction materials.”