The untold treasures of Hindu shrines have attracted lovers of military gain since time immemorial. In 1024, the Muslim ruler of Ghazni, Mahmud, invaded India and sacked Somnath, a temple to the god Shiva on the Gujarati coast of the Arabian Sea. According to the chronicler, in Somnath he captured a huge booty, including 6.5 tons of jewelry made of pure gold.

Hinduism is the main religion of India. It is practiced by 82.7 percent of the population who visit one million religious buildings. The richest of these is currently considered to be the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala-Tirupati (south of Andhra Pradesh). During the years of independence of the country, his income has increased several thousand times and amounts to two billion rupees (more than 40 million US dollars) per year. Every minute of activity earns the temple one thousand rupees. Its treasury contains over 10 tons of gold products decorated with precious stones.

Funds to the temple come from several sources. The main one is voluntary donations from believers. Money and jewelry are stored in a special two-meter container - hundi. Its contents are checked twice a day by a commission of 30 people: 25-consider banknotes in denominations of 100 and 50 rupees, 5-process smaller bills. Another part of the income comes from the services of priests for special rituals. This is prasad - an offering to the god laddu-sweet balls of yellow color, then distributed among the pilgrims (the price of one such ball is four rupees), as well as darshan-viewing the statue of the god bypassing the general queue for a ticket worth 25 rupees. Wealthy pilgrims have the opportunity to make a deposit to the temple's bank accounts in advance for attending the suprabhatam (God's awakening) or ekanta seva (God's going to sleep) ceremonies.

The Venkateswara Temple's economic activities are managed by its administration, the Tirumala - Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD). The TTD has 14 hotels, 4,334 cottages, 50 canteens, several hospitals, transport companies and travel agencies, a yoga center, an orphanage, a shopping complex, etc. The temple's radio station broadcasts in 17 languages, including Russian. Sri Venkateswara University has 40 faculties, and the local women's university has 12 faculties. The TTD also provides financial support to Hindu temples in the United States and Europe.

The Venkateswara temple was built in Ti Rupati in the middle of the 9th century AD. According to legend, it was here that the god Vishnu in the form of the lord of the mountains Venkata descended to earth and plunged into meditation. It lasted so long that an earthen hill grew up around the god. Subsequently, it was named Tirumala. A temple complex was built on top of it. Here is a sculptural image of Venkateswara, carved from black stone. The statue is about two meters high. It is decorated with numerous garlands of fresh flowers. The God's eyes are covered with white plates, but his ears readily listen to the prayers of believers.

The statue of the deity occupies the main shrine -Ananda Nilaya Vimana. The sanctuary is a three-tiered tower built in the traditional Dravidian style. The dome of the granite tower is covered with copper plates, the gilding of which was spent 150 kilograms of precious metal.

The temple complex is located on an area of four square kilometers. It is visited daily by more than 60 thousand pilgrims, who are convinced that the requests made in the temple will certainly be fulfilled someday.

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