PROPERTY OF TIRUMALA TIRUPATI

The richest shrine in India, perhaps even the world, the Balaji temple in Tirumala is an abode of abundant wealth. India Today's G. Rajasuka makes a rough estimate.

According to a centuries-old belief, Kubera, the Hindu god of wealth, gave a huge amount as a loan to Balaji or Venkateswara Swamy when he was marrying goddess Padmavathi. Balaji promised Kubera that in return, the offerings made by his devotees would go to him. If one were to estimate the the wealth of Balaji in Tirumala, it would not be wrong to conclude that all the sues have not only been paid in full, but in far excess as well.

Even a rough estimation of the assets or properties of Lord Balaji put the total value at anywhere between Rs 50,000 crore and Rs 75,000 crore. This includes fixed assets like lands, buildings, jewellery and Hundi collections and donations.

The Hindu scriptures say the idol of Balaji emerged here on its own.
Vijayanagar King Krishna Devaraya built two prakarams or outer walls to the shrine. He visited the temple whenever he had to wage a war. And everytime he won a war, he attributed his success to the blessings of Balaji.

The 9th century temple is the jewel in the crown of Hinduism. Lying 3,200 feet above sea level and having an area of about 10.33 square miles, it is the world's most active religious destination attracting more than 55,000 pilgrims from all over the world every day.

"Before the 90s, a majority of the devotees were from the southern states. Now because of globalisation, devotees come from all over,"
says Dr A.V. Ramama Deekshitulu, the chief priest of the temple.

Every year, more than 1.80 crore devotees offer money and gold to make Tirumala the richest Hindu shrine. This year, the temple's earnings have already crossed Rs 900 crore. Last year, it was Rs 675 crore.
Total collections from Hundi offerings alone are Rs 360 crore till now, while Rs 226 crore accrues annually from bank deposits. "Even three years ago, we used to clear the Hundi only once or twice in a day. Now we have to do it at least 10 times in a day," says Deekshitulu.

Comprising the lion's share of the wealth are the jewellery and the fixed assets. Interestingly, several medieval Muslim rulers and Christian colonial rulers have made rich donations in this respect. For instance, Mughal ruler Shahjahan donated an eight-layered gold chain that weighs over 100 kg. Jehangir too donated gold ornaments studded with valuable stones. Later, King George and Queen Victoria also donated several gold ornaments embossing their names on them.
"Traditionally, we have been using these ornaments during annual Brahmotsavams every year," says Seshadri Swamy, the Par Pattedar (Custodian of Jewellery) of the Devasthanam.

According to sources in the Finance Department, the value of the gold ornaments donated by King george and Queen Victoria could be more than Rs 30,000 crore. There are five diamond crowns for the lord. And there are already two sets of gold ornaments adorn the idol from top to toe.
Although the Devasthanam does not accept silver ornaments, devotees still drop hundreds of kilos of silver in the Hundi every year, says Seshadri.

The Gold and Diamond Treasury of the Lord is getting fuller by the day. "More than Rs 10 crore worth of jewellery gets added up every year," says Anitha Shah Aakella, the financial advisor and chief accounts officer of the Devasthanam. "We get various types of jewellery, even from designers from all over the country," says Shah.

Not less than 100 Niluvu Dopidees take place every day. Niluvu Dopidee is a ritual in which devotees giving away all the ornaments on their body at the Hundi. Devotees promise to the lord that they would drop all their ornaments in the Hundi if their wishes are fulfilled. It was said that both Jaya Bachchan and Tinu Ambani offered the Niluvu Dopidee to the Lord. Amitabh Bachchan offered Rs 11 crore worth of ornaments when he recovered from his illness.

Interestingly, all the assets are in the name of lord Balaji only. Even the Tirumala belongs to Balaji. Since centuries, devotees have been donating valuable land to Balaji. They simply drop land documents in the Hundi. Officials of Hundi keep them safely in the lockers. Some devotees have donated hundreds of acres of their land, an assessment of which is not possible. "One life time is not enough to put the documents in order, let alone assessing the value of lands," says A.P.V.N. Sarma, the executive officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. "We have sold out some of the lands which were in far off places and deposited the money in banks. But we have not completed the task of documenting all these papers," he added.

According to Devasthanam sources, the value of the few known and identified lands is worth more than Rs 10,000 crore.
The TTD keeps all its money in SBI, Andhra and Vijaya Banks.

The schemes started by the Deva