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11 Wealthy And Rich Temples in India

India is famous for religious places, especially the ancient, rich, and wealthy temples such as Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Jagannath Temple, Vaishno Devi, Meenakshi Temple, and Tirupati Temple, and many others.

Temples in India reflect the rich religious heritage the country possesses. India houses more than 500,000 temples some of which attract a large number of devotees from all over the world. These ancient temples are famous not only for being the earthly adobe of the ancient deities worshiped by mankind but also for holding an immense amount of gold and other riches.

Hindus all over the world are known for the rich and generous offerings they give to temples in the form of cash, gold, and silver. Let us take a look at some of the richest temples in India:

1.  Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvanthapuram,Kerala:

Padmanathaswamy Temple

Padmanabhaswamy Temple, situated at the heart of Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala, and dedicated to Mahavishnu, is considered to be the richest temple in the world. Temple treasure includes ornaments, precious stones, diamonds, gold coins and statues worth more than INR 90,000 crores and total assets amounting to more than 1,00,000 crores.

The idols are made of gold, silver & brass and the jewelry for them are made of gemstones like emeralds and diamonds. The golden idol of Mahavishnu itself is said to be INR 500 crores. Out of the six vaults unearthed, one vault, Vault B, which contains exotic treasure, is yet to be opened.

2.    Tirupati Venkateswara Temple, Andhra Pradesh:

Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple, situated in the seventh peak of Venkata Tirumala Hill, Andhra Pradesh, and dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara (who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu), is one of the oldest Hindu pilgrimage sites in the country. It is the richest temple in the world in terms of donations received as crores of devotees come for worship here every year.

The idol of 8 feet tall statue of Lord Venkateshwara is placed under Ananda Nilaya Divya Vimana, the gold-gilded dome. The idol is decorated with various types of gemstones.

Currently, it stands at a worth of over 900 crores (as of last year) and has 52 tonnes of gold ornaments. Every year the temple converts over 3000 kg of gold received in donation boxes from pilgrims as gold reserve deposits with nationalized banks. 

        Suggested Read: 13 One Thousand Year Old Temples In India

3.  Saibaba Shrine, Shirdi , Maharashtra:

The temple made on the Samadhi of Sai Baba, is located in Ahmednagar district, close to Nasik, Maharashtra, and worshipped by people around the world. It is counted as one of the top richest temple in India.

A collection of over Rs 2,000 Crores has been reportedly made by the temple. According to reports, the bank account of the temple has about Rs 1,800 crores along with 380 Kg of Gold, 4,428 Kg Silver, and a large amount of money in the form of dollars and pounds is also present. This temple has assets worth Rs 320 crore. The throne, on which Baba is seated, is made of 94 kg gold.

4.  Vaishno Devi Temple, Jammu:

The Holy Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji also known as Mata Rani, built on the Himalayan mountain range, at an altitude of 5,200 feet inside a million old cave, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Vaishnavi. It is one of the holiest pilgrimage site in India. Vaishno Devi temple is recognized as one of the 51 Shakti Peeths in India.

Vaishno Devi Temple,13 km from Katra, witnesses more than 10 million pilgrims annually making it the second most visited temple after Tirupati. The temple has 1.2 tonnes of gold and received hundreds of kg of gold as donations over a period of 5 years. The annual donations collected by the temple are estimated to be INR 500 crores.

        Suggested read: Eight Must Visit Temples in India

5.  Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai:

Siddhivinayak Temple, located in Prabhadevi in Mumbai, Maharashtra, dedicated to Lord Shri Ganesh is one of the most famous and richest temples in the country.

Visitors ranging from 25000 to 2 lacs flock here daily. The main deity of the temple, Lord Ganesh, made of 4 kg gold, sits under a gold roof. The devotees have offered 158 kg of gold until now, making the temple the richest of Mumbai. The Siddhivinayak temple receives donations of around 125 hundred crores annually and is also frequented by celebrities from all around the world. The net worth of the temple is Rs 125 crore.

        Suggested Read:10 Unique & Interesting Temples to Visit In India

6.  Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab:



Sri HarmandirSahib or Golden Temple, one of the holiest shrines of the Sikh religion, and a place of great beauty, a symbol of human brotherhood and equality, is located in Amritsar, Punjab.

Its divinity is a thing that can only be experienced and not described. The temple was covered in gold by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1830, this took 162 kg of gold, worth INR 65 lakh at that time. In the ‘90s it was renovated with 500 kg of 24 karat gold ( the purest form of gold), valued at around INR 200 crores today. Gold, plated on marble gives this temple its distinctive appearance.

The temple is open to devotees of all faiths and serves over 100,000 people free food from all walks of life.

7.  Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu:


Meenakshi AmmanTemple, located in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, is the most prominent landmark and must visit the temple for devotees and a place of tourist attraction. The temple is dedicated to Parvati and Lord Shiva .

Around 20,000 people visit the temple daily and around 1 million visitors during its annual Meenakshi Tirukalyanam festival which lasts for 10 days in April. The temple collects over 60 crores worth of cash, gold, and diamond which is steadily increasing annually. The net worth of the temple is around INR 6 crores.

The temple enshrines around 33,000 sculptures which is very rare. There are two golden carts in the temple too.

        Suggested read: 11 Must Visit Temples in India

8.  Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha:

The ancient temple of Lord Jagannath, located in Puri, Odisha, dedicated to Lord Jagannath(a form of Lord Vishnu), is an important pilgrimage destination for Hindus and part of the Char Dham pilgrimages. JagannathTemple is famous for its annual Rath Yatra.

Jagannath Temple is one of the richest temples in India that gets a huge amount of donations from its devotees, not only from India but also from abroad. The temple recorded receiving Rs.1.72 corers from one of its devotees from Europe.

It is the most visited pilgrimages and the richest in Odisha, the entire worth of the temple is more than INR 150 crore. Every year, the deities are decorated with 209 kg of gold during Rath Yatra.

Also read: 

9.  Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh:

Kashi VishvanathTemple, situated on the western bank of the holy River Ganga, is dedicated to Hindu God Shiv.  It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in India. The temple is located in Varanasi and is one of the holiest and most venerated temples of India.

The temple has 800 kg of gold plating on its tower. The structure of the temple is composed of three parts. The first is a spire on the temple of Lord Vishwanath, the second a gold dome, and the third is the gold spire atop the Vishwanath carrying a flag and a trident. Its net worth is estimated to be Rs 10 crore.

10.            Sabarimala Temple, Kerala :

Sabarimala Temple, an ancient temple of Lord Ayappa, situated atop a hill at an altitude of 4133 feet above sea level, is located at the Periyar Tiger Reserve of Kerala.

People say the Sabarimala temple is so rich that it is going to appoint robots for service. This might actually be true looking at its estimates. It has collected over 15 kgs of gold and its annual income calculates over Rs 105 crores. The main source of income is the offerings by more than 50 million pilgrims every year. The net worth of the temple is INR 245 Crores.

11.Somnath Temple, Gujarat:

Somnath temple, located near Veraval in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat is one of the oldest and most revered temples of India. The temple is the first  among the twelve Jyotirling shrines of Lord Shiva in India.

The temple has always been one of the richest temples in the country, which is why it has been looted for its gold and silver collections 17 times first by Mohammed Gazni, then Aurangzeb, and even later the Portuguese. Currently, the net worth of the temple is undisclosed but it possesses enough of assets (including 1700 acres of land) to be called one of the richest temples in India. According to a rough estimate, the net worth of the temple may be more than INR 11 crore.

Friends, these ancient temples are sure to make you wonder about the age-old traditions, rituals, and customs apart from the wealth that they have amassed. I have tried to list out some of the selected temples that are widely considered to be the richest in India. If you are curious about the wealth of these temples and wish to see them first-hand, then plan a trip and see for yourself the beauty, architectural marvel, and wealth in these temples. 

        Suggested read: 1000 Years Old Beautiful Temples In India 

12.Guruvayur Temple, Kerala

Located in the Guruvayoor town, Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple is one of the most sacred hubs in Kerala. It is one of the most revered temples in South India, where the presiding deity ‘Guruvayurappan’ or Lord Vishnu is worshipped in Balkrishna Avtar. Also known by the name of Unnikrishnan, the astonishing idol made of a rare mixture called Padala Anjanam instead of stone or metal, is adorned with four hands each carrying a conch - ‘Panchjanya’, the discus - ‘ Sudarshan Chakra’, the mace –‘Kaumodki’, and a lotus with a Holy Basil garland. The temple houses 56 elephants belonging to the temple donated by devotees with due preference of donating tusked male elephants. The shrines are roofed with copper sheeting.

13.Amarnath Temple, Jammuy & Kashmir

Located in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, Amarnath, a Hindu shrine at an altitude of 3888 meters, is one of the most important pilgrimages in India for the worshippers of Lord Shiva. The Amarnath cave, located in the Lidder Valley is surrounded by glaciers, snowy mountains covered with snow most of the year. It is home to an enshrined image of ice called the ‘Shiv Ling’ (a physical manifestation of Shiva) formed naturally due to the freezing of water drops that fall from the roof of the cave to the floor resulting in upward vertical growth of ice. The Holy Cave is visited by millions of tourists every year from all across the world, in what is famously known as the ‘ Amarnath Yatra’.

14.Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur

Located in Kolhapur city of Maharashtra Mahalakshmi Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, who resides here as Ambabai. Lakshmi is the consort of Lord Vishnu. The idol of the presiding deity Mahalakshmi is mounted on a stone platform and made of gemstones. The image of Goddess Lakshmi carved in black stone is 3 feet in height. It is believed that a visit to the temple helps achieve ‘Moksha’. Chhatrapati Shivaji and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, who ruled the area also visited the temple regularly.

Friends, these ancient temples are sure to make you wonder about the age-old traditions, rituals, and customs apart from the wealth that they have amassed. I have tried to list out some of the selected temples that are widely considered to be the richest in India. If you are curious about the wealth of these temples and wish to see them first-hand, then plan a trip and see for yourself the beauty, architectural marvel, and wealth in these temples. 

We Indians also sure know how to preserve our culture, rituals and religion.

Inputs and pics from Google, Wikipedia, indiatv, Patrika, holidify.com, etc...

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