The rich culture of India is not only seen in the diversity of the population but also the temples that are present in the country. There are some temples that are not only rich with worshippers but also in monetary context. Below are 5 temples that speak of wealth:
1. Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Kerala
This temple is known to be the richest Hindu temple in the world. It is situated in Thiruvananthapuram and came to fame for its wealth in July, 2011. Assets worth more than $22.3 billion were discovered from the 5 secret cellars of the temple without considering the antique value of the objects. Among various other things, sacks full of gold, sapphires, diamonds and such precious stones, idols made of pure gold, golden coins, crowns, necklaces, etc. were found.
2. Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple, Andhra Pradesh
This temple has atleast 60,000 devotees visiting each day and this just may be the reason behind all the wealth and making the temple 2nd richest in India. The diety, Lord Venkateswara is clad with gold weighing 1000kgs and the annual income of the temple from selling laddus is close to $11million while it is also estimated that the temple receives donations of around Rs 650 crore each year.
3. Sai Baba Temple, Shirdi
One still does not know which religion did Sai Baba preach since it has followers all over, but what we do know now is that this temple is among the richest temples in India. It receives an annual donation worth approximately Rs 350 crore, has jewellery of close to Rs 32 crore and gold coins worth over Rs 6 lakh. All this wealth makes it the 3rd richest temple in India.
4. Siddhivinayak, Mumbai
It is known to be the richest temple in Mumbai and has around 25,000 to 2 lakh worshippers as visitors each day. It has annual income between Rs 48 crore and Rs 125 crore. It receives gold offering worth $67 million and donations of $1.6 million to $2.4 million annually.
5. Vaishno Devi, Jammu and Kashmir
After Tirupati, it is the 2nd most visited temple in India with close to 10 million worshippers visiting each year. The place receives rich donations from its devotees and is known to have an annual income of close to Rs 500 crore.