Did you know the amount of donations these “Religious Shrines” receive?

India is a land of diversity – diversity of religion, caste, creed, languages, geography, and customs presents a fine canvas of multi-colors. Religion in India is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. India is officially a secular state and has no state religion. The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four of the world’s major religions; namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

Multiple shrines for each religion have been visited by devotees for centuries who make generous donations in the name of their deity. If you ever wondered how much donations did these shrines make, you must read on. I am sure this isn’t what you would have expected.

Some of the famous Religious shrine

Shirdi Temple

Shirdi Temple is dedicated to Sai Baba, he was considered a faqir, or saint, and an embodiment of Lord who believed that “God is One”. Both Hindus and Muslims worship him. There is a congregation of nearly 25,000 devotees every day, which reaches over 100,000, on special occasions.

According to Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, the 11-day holiday rush From December 23 last year to January 2 saw over 8 lakh visitors thronging the Saibaba Temple in Shirdi. A total of 1,213.680 gm in gold and 17,223 gm silver were donated to the temple adding that the total donations were valued at Rs 17.42 crore in just 11 days.

Tirupati

Tirupati, located on the seventh peak of the Venkata Tirumala Hill, is one of the foremost famous and oldest pilgrimage sites.

According to TTD statistics, after excluding gold, silver and other precious stones the overall income alone stood at an astonishing ₹1,161.74 crores against ₹1,066.48 crores in 2018 i.e a rise of ₹95.25 crores.

Golden Temple

Golden Temple is also known as Sri Harmandir Sahib is regarded as the sacred seat of Sikhism. It is streamed more than 100,000 devotees every day and even serves free hot meals (langar) to everyone.

Golden Temple is a huge temple that perfectly epitomizes the whole history, religion and culture of the Sikhs. The upper floors of the Gurudwara are constructed using 400 kg of gold that’s why its name “The Golden Temple”.

Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai

The temple was consecrated on November 19, 1801, when it was a tiny structure housing a black stone idol of Shree Siddhivinayak, around 2.5 feet wide. The temple grew in size, dimensions and attained huge popularity among its devotees.

According to some sources, an anonymous devotee from Delhi has donated 35 kilograms of gold plating, worth around Rs 14 crore to Mumbai’s Shri Siddhivinayak Temple. According to Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust, this is the first time in the last 220 years that the temple wears a golden look and has been highly acknowledged by thousands of devotees.

Vaishno Devi

Vaishno Devi Temple is one of the richest and most admired religious shrine in India, set at an elevation of 5300 feet i.e., 1615 meters in an ancient cave in the Trikuta hills of Jammu and Kashmir.

The yearly income of the temple is around Rs. 500 crores. About 8 million worshipers come to this temple making this to be the second most visited temples of India following Tirupati.

Meenakshi Temple, Madurai

Meenakshi Amman Temple, also known as Minakshi-Sundareshwara Temple, is one of the oldest and most important temples in India. 

Today, approximately 20,000 people per day visit the Meenakshi Temple’s almost 700,000 square feet of space. The annual revenue of the temple is approx 60 million.

Jagannath Temple

The Jagannath Temple of Puri is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu, in Puri in the state of Odisha on the eastern coast of India. The temple is an important pilgrimage destination.

The temple has received over Rs 187.01 crore donation from devotees by the end of January this year. The Jagannath Temple has received 17.756 kg gold, including jewelry and 277.95 kg silver from worshipers and others.