Temples are a beacon of hope for devotees who visit them. With each prayer comes an offering that makes the god 'rich', and the temple richer than ever. In this 'give and take', the deities rake in more moolah than even some billionaires do. Don't believe us? Take a look at these numbers.
1. Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Kerala
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Wealth: Rs. 1 lakh crore
Located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, valuables worth Rs. 1 lakh crore were recently discovered from the secret cellars of this temple. Sacks full of gold chains, coins, sheaf, and crowns were unearthed from the treasure. The temple is one of the 108 Divya Desams (holy abodes of Vishnu) and is known to be the richest Hindu temple in the world.
2. Tirupati Balaji, Andhra Pradesh
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Wealth: Rs. 900 crore
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), the trust that manages the temple money, has recorded a whopping Rs. 900 crore as hundi collections last year. The temple has 14,000 permanent employees and has pension funds of Rs 115 crore. Apart from all this, the temple has gold reserves and 52 tonnes of golden ornaments which they have deposited with the Indian Overseas Bank and the State Bank of India.
3. Shirdi Sai Baba, Nashik
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Wealth: Rs 540 crore
Shirdi Sai Baba has a following of disciples, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion. The donation box of the deity is never empty and disciples are known to anonymously put diamonds and gold into the donation box.
4. Vaishno Devi Temple, Jammu
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Wealth: Over 500 crore
The temple sees at least 10 million pilgrims every year, which makes it the second biggest crowd-puller after the Tirupati temple. With an annual income of 500 crore, the temple also stores 1.2 tonnes of gold.
5. Siddhi Vinayak Temple, Mumbai
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Wealth: Rs 125 crore
Mumbai’s richest temple has a dome coated with 3.75 kgs of gold. Siddhi Vinayak temple is flocked by over 25 thousand devotees and the number also goes over lakhs on Tuesdays and on Sankashti Chaturthis.
6. Golden Temple, Amritsar
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Wealth: Undisclosed
Known as the Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple is the holiest Gurdwara of Sikhism. Built under the patronage of Guru Arjan Dev, the canopy of the temple is made of gold. Devotees sing gurbaani kirtan from the opening of the temple gates till they close. The kitchen at the temple feeds up to 100,000 people and the langar is devoured by all the devotees. The figures of the temple money is not made public, but it’s estimated that it goes over crores!
7. Meenakshi Temple, Madurai
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Wealth: Over 60 crores
The temple is located on the banks of Vaigai river in Madurai, and is said to be one of the wealthiest temples in the whole of South India. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the temple attracts around 10 lakh devotees every year.
8. Sabarimala Temple, Kerala
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Wealth: Rs 105 crores
This pilgrimage site attracts over a million devotees each year. The temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, is said to be so rich that the temple committee are thinking of employing robots for the service! It has over 15 kgs of gold and its annual income is over Rs 105 crores!
9. Guruvayurappan Temple, Kerala
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Wealth: 50 crores
The Guruvayurappan temple is known as the ‘Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth’. The temple is known to have 600 kgs of gold with 500 kgs deposited in the State Bank of India. With an annual income of Rs 50 crore, the temple stores its wealth in its inner chambers.
10. Jagannath Temple, Puri
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Wealth: 208 kg gold and 25,711 acres of land
It’s an irony that one of the richest temples in India needs an emergency structural intervention today. The temple receives more than 10 kg gold from the devotees as donations. The Lord dons gold jewellery of over 208 kg during the famous Suna Besha ritual. It’s also surprising that 30,000 acres of land is registered under the name of Lord Jagannath, making him the richest landlord!
11. Somnath Temple, Gujarat
Image Credit: myoksha
Wealth: 109 kg gold
The temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is Gujarat’s first temple to deposit gold to the PM’s Gold Monetisation Scheme. The trust of the temple owns land worth Rs 1639 crore. A leading diamond merchant donated 40 kg of gold to the temple making the shrine’s golden collection 109 kg!
12. Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi
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Wealth: Undisclosed
A former priest at this temple had accused the temple management of hiding 99 kg of gold in its chambers. Kashi Vishwanath remains one of the oldest and holiest Hindu temples. Its spirals and domes are made of gold, thus making it look like the Golden Temple. Though the assets of the temple are undisclosed, the temple is known for its riches.
13. Mahalaxmi Temple, Kolhapur
Image Credit: Wikipedia
Wealth: Undisclosed
The temple dedicated to Goddess Laxmi is bound to be rich. According to a report, the temple appeared in the list of 3,067 temples whose total income came to Rs. 14,66,83,000 during the accounting year 2013-14!
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