Bisrakh will get its title from Rishi Vishwashrva, which will need to have been distorted over time. We higher know him as the daddy of ten-headed Ravana, the one who dominated golden Lanka. Some accounts say that he was born right here whereas others say that he spent part of his childhood right here.
Bisrakh is an historical village positioned within the city metropolis of Noida. Technically it’s Sector 1 of Larger Noida. From Delhi, it could be 20-30 km, relying on the place you begin from.
Visiting Bisrakh
It took us a 15–20-minute drive on swanky expressway roads of Noida and Larger Noida to succeed in Bisrakh.
The very first thing we seen right here was a grocery retailer known as Ravan Kirana Retailer. Proper subsequent to it, Ravan DJ introduced its presence in a storage. This was my introduction to the residing legend of Ravana within the village. Reverse the store was a pretty big Anami Dham Ashram.
We spoke to the Kirana retailer proprietor and requested him for instructions to the temple of Ravana. We have been informed to comply with a lane by the village. It was a slender lane, however we might see massive well-maintained homes on both facet.
On the opposite facet of the slender lanes, we reached a patch of wilderness, amidst which stood a temple with a tall shikhara. Nevertheless, this isn’t the temple we have been looking. That was somewhat forward to our left.
Historical Shiva Temple at Bisrakh
We entered by an arch and between the ornate temple entrance and us stood a lone tree. The temple Prakara or the boundary wall is being constructed with tales from the life and occasions of Ravana.
We walked round and met the artisans who have been sculpting a picture of Vibhishan, Ravan’s youthful brother on the facet wall. They’ve come from Odisha for this mission. My thoughts went again to the stone carvers of Odisha I had met in Jajpur.
You possibly can prominently see the 10-headed Ravana on the correct of the door. On the left you possibly can see, Rishi Vishwashrva worshipping Brahma, he and his spouse praying collectively and Ravana providing his head to Shiva. Scenes of his brothers Vibhishan and Kumbhakaran have been being sculpted after we visited.
On prime of the doorway doorway is a big sculpture of Ganesha in a sitting place. On both facet is Lakshmi driving an owl and Saraswati driving a swan. There are sculptures of Rishis blowing the conch and a few Naga sculptures.
We entered the temple compound which is huge in comparison with the small temple that’s only a small room constructed round a Shivalinga. A small Nandi in black stone sits within the open compound. A pale pink construction surrounds the principle linga.
It’s believed that Rishi Vishwashrva found a linga within the forest right here that he put in and worshipped right here. So, the linga is Swayambhu or self-manifested.
Shravan
Because it was the month of Shravan which is sacred for Shiva devotees, we noticed lots of people come and supply the Jalabhishek or water abulations to the linga. A woman along with her face coated along with her Dupatta was sitting and meditating subsequent to the Shivalinga. Her presence added to the divine aura of the temple.
Linga seems to be outdated and has a Naga in metallic surrounding it. I might see its octagonal shaft. It seems to be prefer it was put in inside a Yoni as soon as however now stands alone embedded in granite tiles.
In a distinct segment within the wall, there’s a small however stunningly lovely Murti of Devi alongside along with her sons Ganesha and Kartikeya.
Navagraha Temple
Subsequent to Shiva temple stands a small open temple devoted to Navagraha or the 9 planets. The Murti of Solar may be very distinctive right here. It exhibits the single-wheel chariot of Solar being pushed by two horses, which occupies the middle of the Navagraha mandala.
A Murti of Yama overlooks the Navagraha Murtis. Murtis look outdated and certainly one of them is damaged.
Vishwashrva Temple
Subsequent to the Navagraha temple, there’s a lengthy room that has the life-size Murtis of all of the deities. The distinctive Murti right here is after all of Rishi Vishwashrva who’s seated in entrance of a Shivalinga.
I discovered a fantastic Murti of Solar with seven horses in black stone, proper subsequent to the Murti of Vishvashrva Ji. This jogged my memory of the Surajkund which isn’t too removed from right here.
Different deities embody:
- Gauri Shankar together with Ganesha and Kartikeya
- Kalki Bhagwan driving a white horse
- Lakshmi Narayana
- Kuber – bear in mind he was the half-brother of Ravana
- Radha Krishna
- Baba Mohan Ram ji driving a horse
- Hanuman ji
- Ma Kali
Who’s Baba Mohan Ram ji? Nicely, he’s the saint who’s renovating this temple and Bisrakh Dham as it’s known as. He has a number of devotees within the village as I gathered in my restricted interactions.
Shiva Parvati Mandir
After visiting the principle temple, we visited the temple with a tall Shikhara in shiny pink coloration. It’s once more a small temple with a Devi Murti that’s behind an iron cage.
Across the temple, a couple of males have been doing Mantra Japa.
On the facet, there have been Murtis with oodles of prasad provided to them.
Festivals
In North India, Dussehra is widely known by burning effigies of Ravana together with brother Kumbhakaran and son Meghnad.
Nevertheless, Bisrakh being a village of Ravan, Dussehra is widely known by worshipping Ravana. No Ramlila performances happen right here. Even the Diwali celebrations are minimal and subdued.
This makes this a novel island within the Ramayana Panorama of Indian Subcontinent.
Journey Suggestions
- It’s just about within the Nationwide Capital Area, so you possibly can simply attain it.
- The temple is open all through the day.
- I didn’t see any services for vacationers because the temple is primarily utilized by locals.
- Stroll across the village that’s like another city village but distinctive.
