Devotees from Pune visited the famous Tirumala's Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh wearing 25 kg gold worth nearly Rs 18 crore earlier today.
Two men, a woman and a boy visited the temple wearing several gold chains, gold sunglasses, bangles, necklaces, a '7' number gold chain, and several ornaments to visit the temple.
VIDEO | Andhra Pradesh: Devotees from Pune wearing 25 kg of gold visited Tirumala's Venkateswara Temple earlier today.
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/k38FCr30zE— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2024
At least two men in navy blue khaki suit along with a cop were guarding the devotees as they sought blessings at the temple.
The ancient hill temple gets from 75,000 to 90,000 pilgrims every day. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) executive officer Syamala Rao earlier said the world-famous Sri Venkateswara temple received offerings worth Rs 125 crore in its hundi (offering box) for the month of July.
Mr Rao said over 22 lakh pilgrims visited the temple and 8.6 lakh devotees underwent ritual tonsuring at the hill temple in July. The temple also sold over one crore laddus (consecrated sweets).
The temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared on the earth to save mankind from the trials and troubles of Kali Yuga.
The legend says that Lord Sri Venkateswara, also known as Srinivasa, Balaji, and Veakatachalapati, made Tirumala his abode five thousand years ago. Even before him, it was Lord Varahaswami who had made Tirumala his abode. Since then, many devotees have continued to construct grand entrances on the ramparts of the temple over generations. The temple complex is spread over 16.2 acres of land.