A temple in Jodhpur for Ravana

People who claim to be descendents of Ravana are building a temple dedicated to the demon king in Jodhpur.

Lord Ram is the main deity in this city located in the Hindu heartland.

This will be first such temple in north India. The town is considered to be Mandodari's, Ravana's wife, native place.

It is believed that Mandodari hailed from Mandore, which was the ancient capital of Jodhpur state.

An umbrella named 'chavri' still stands there.

The Ravana temple is being built in Mahadev Amarnath and Navgrah temple premises in city's Chandpole area where idols of Ravana's main deities Shiva and Devi Kharanna stand.

The temple premise will house a Ravana temple having idols of Ravana and his family members.

The temple priest Kamlesh Dev said the idol of the demon king will be in the form of offering prayers and water to Lord Shiva, so that people gets to see his religious and softer side.

Osian sculptor Chunnilal is building the idol, made from special stone from Jodhpur.

Kamlesh said the idols would be placed in the temple after observing the planetary positions in the next six months.

He said this would be the first such temple in north India.

The priest said after Ravana's capital Lanka was devastated in the war with Lord Rama, many of his descendents traveled to Mandore, considered a haven as it was the native place of their queen Mandodari.

He said about 200 families, believed to be descendents of Ravana and from Mudgal Gotra, still live in Jodhpur.

About 110 families stay in Jodhpur town and 70 other families live in nearby Phalodi.

Kamlesh said Ravana is highly respected and revered in the region. The temple is likely to be completed in six months and idols would be installed after consulting the nine planetary positions, making it the first such temple in north India.

South India is believed to have many temples dedicated to Ravana, who is the main villain of the epic Ramayana.

Kamlesh said many of Ravana's descendents initially settled in Mandore but later when Maharaja Jodha built the new capital Jodhpur, these people migrated to the basin area, known as Brahmapuri region.

Some of the descendents of the demon king also migrated to Gujarat's Jamanagar, Bhuj and Kutch areas, he claimed.