Why is Tirupati Balaji, the owner of 13 thousand kg gold, indebted to Kuber? he/she earns Rs 500 crore annually from laddus including Ekadashi.

New Delhi: Before knowing about Tirupati Balaji, know the story of Kuber in Shiva Purana. According to this, Kuber was the son of Yajnadutt Dixit, then his/her name was Gunanidhi. he/she used to steal. Angered by this, his/her father threw him/her out of the house. One day Gunanidhi, suffering from hunger and thirst, reached a temple and started stealing Prasad. So that the priest sleeping in the temple did not know about this, he/she hung his/her towel in front of the burning lamp in the temple. But, on doing so the lamp would get extinguished. he/she would light the lamp again and again, and it would go out. But, Gunanidhi’s luck was bad. As soon as they ran away after stealing the Prasad, some people caught sight of them and caught them. Gunanidhi died of hunger in the fight. When he/she lit a lamp while being hungry, Lord Shankar blessed Gunanidhi to be rich in the next life. he/she was made the lord of the north i.e. Lokpal.

Because of this, gold still rises in Tirupati

Kuber is the half brother of Ravana, who is known as the treasurer of the gods. Kuber had so much wealth that even Lord Vishnu himself once took a loan from him/her, that too to marry Goddess Lakshmi. While taking the loan, Vishnu had said that he/she would repay all his/her loan along with interest by the end of Kaliyuga. With this debt, Venkatesh form of Lord Vishnu and Padmavati, an aspect of Goddess Lakshmi, got married. Due to this belief, even today devotees offer large quantities of gold, silver, diamonds, pearls and jewelery to Tirupati Balaji, the incarnation of Vishnu, so that the Lord becomes free from debt. According to religious belief, every year during winter, Kuber ji goes to Tirupati Balaji and collects the debt. After this they return to Badrinath. At present, the total net worth of Tirupati Balaji is around Rs 3 lakh crore, which also includes his/her movable and immovable properties.

How much loan did Lord Venkateshwara take?

Lord Venkateswara had taken a loan of Rs 14 lakhs in Ramamudra coins from Kubera. In this regard, Lord Venkateshwara had given a promissory note to Kuber, which was prepared by Lord Brahma. This promissory note is still preserved in the Varahaswami Peetham of Tirupati. Lord Venkateswara resided on the sacred seven hills in the form of a granite stone idol.

Temple economy worth more than Rs 3.5 lakh crore in the country

The research ‘Temple Economy: Unveiling the Major Contribution to India’s GDP’ by Ranjit Kumar Bindhani, Head of the Department of Economics Gonasika in Keonjhar, Odisha and Gyan Ranjan Mohanty, Assistant Professor at Dharanidhar University, was published in October, 2024. In this, quoting data from the National Sample Survey, it has been said that the total net worth of Hindu temples in the country is Rs 3.5 lakh crore, which is 2.32 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

When Kuber got the golden Lanka

According to Ramayana, Kuber was given a golden Lanka to live in by his/her father sage Vishrava. Pleased with Kuberdev’s penance, Lord Brahma also gave him/her the Pushpak Vimana, which moves at the speed of the mind. On the advice of his/her father, Kuber gave the golden Lanka to his/her brother Ravana and established Alkapuri on Mount Kailash. It is said that the Alaknanda river originates from here.

Tirupati Lord is the owner of 13 thousand kg gold

Lord Venkateswara is also known by names like Venkateswara, Govinda or Tirupati Timmappa. According to a record of Tirupati Devasthanam, 11,225 kg of gold is kept in several banks in the name of Lord Balaji, which he/she has received as offering from devotees. Apart from this, gold ornaments have been offered to all the deities in the temple, whose weight is 1088.2 kg. At the same time, the total weight of silver jewelery is 9071.85 kg.

Lord Balaji has 6 thousand acres of land

Lord Balaji has 6,000 acres of forest land. There are 7,636 acres of real estate in 75 locations. Not only this, he/she has 1,226 acres of agricultural land and 6409 acres of non-agricultural land. There are 535 properties and 71 temples across the country associated with Tirupati, of which 159 are given on lease. This earns an annual income of Rs 4 crore. he/she earns the same amount from leasing the mandapam. Every year Rs 1,021 crore is received as donations from devotees.

Indians have more than 25 thousand tons of gold

There is so much gold in the treasury of temples in India that it is three times more than the treasury of the American government. God likes gold so much in temples that 4000 tonnes of gold is kept in temples like Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Tirupati Balaji Temple, Jagannath Temple, Vaishno Devi Temple. This data is from the World Gold Council. India’s gold reserve may be more than 800 tonnes, but we Indians love gold so much that we have saved more than 25 thousand tonnes of gold. This is almost three times the 8,965 tonnes of America, which has the largest gold reserve in the world.

4.74 lakh crore spent on pilgrimage in India

In India, the practice of visiting God in temples is so linked to tradition and spirituality that every year people spend Rs 4.74 lakh crore just on pilgrimage or religious journeys. According to the data of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), India’s temple economy has grown to about Rs 3.02 lakh crore, which is 2.32 percent of the total growth rate of the country i.e. GDP.

Annual income from temple hundi is more than Rs 1400 crore

Data for 2022 also shows that the annual income of Lord Balaji’s Hundi in Tirumala is Rs 1,400 crore. At the same time, this earning is more than Sachin Tendulkar’s annual income of Rs 1,300 crore and Virat Kohli’s annual income of around Rs 1,000 crore.

Tirupati Laddu is 310 years old now

Everyone’s favorite Tirupati Laddu is 310 years old. Tirupati Laddu has also received GI tag. This laddu is the offering of the world’s richest Lord Venkateshwara. It is also known as Shri Vaari Laddu. Ingredients like flour, oil, sugar, ghee, dry fruits and cardamom are used to make Tirupati Laddu.

Annual income of Rs 500 crore from laddus

TTD prepares around 3 lakh laddus every day at Tirumala and distributes them to the devotees. The trust earns around Rs 500 crore every year from the sale of laddus alone. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam prepares an average of 3 lakh laddus a day in Laddu Pottu. At present, Pottu has the capacity to make 8 lakh laddus per day.

620 cooks together make three lakh laddus

Around 620 cooks work to make laddus in Laddu Pottu. These are called Pottu Karmikulu. About 150 potu workers are regular employees, while more than 350 work on contract basis. Of them, 247 are chief cooks. Three types of laddus are made in Pottu, Prokatham, Asthanam and Kalyanotsavam. Proktam Laddu is regularly distributed to all the common pilgrims visiting the temple. At the same time, Asthanam Laddu is made only on special festivals. Kalyanotsavam laddu is distributed only to the devotees participating in certain festivals.

5 lakh people gathered for darshan on Ekadashi

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam had announced distribution of 1.2 lakh tokens for Vaikunthdwara Darshan to be held on January 10 (Ekadashi). The tokens were to be issued through 94 counters at 9 centres. But, everything became disorganized due to the sudden rush of the crowd. It is being said that around 5 lakh people had gathered to collect 1.2 lakh tokens.