Top 10 Richest Temples in India

For Hindus visiting the temple is an integral part of their lives. Every Hindu person is taught to preach and worship God right from its birth. They consider it as their vital daily ritual. They believe that it is for their needs of culture, religious as well as educational ones. In India, right from North to South and right from East to West also over-seas too Hinduism is preached, followed and believed without questioning. The temples the Hindus have are very sacred and peaceful.

This temple is not only sacred but is also close to everyone’s hearts. It is much more than just a precise structure. There are many huge beautiful temples in India. Lots of money is spent in creating these eye-catching temples. It is considered that a temple is somewhere where God resides and every individual will find solutions to their problems at the God’s feet.

Talking more about the intricate structures, i.e. temples, their spiritual beings and opulent construction have gained them worldwide acclaim. However, several temples had to be renovated with the assistance of devotee contributions.

Devotees have contributed bags of gold, silver, and diamonds, which have since passed into the hands of temple trusts.

Here is a list of temples that make millions of dollars each year. Precisely it is a list of the top 10 richest temples in India.

1. Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Kerala

The first temple on this list is Kerala’s Padmanabhaswamy Temple. It is also considered as world’s one of the richest temples. This temple is at the heart of Thiruvananthapuram. Ancient riches were recently excavated from this temple.  

This temple got its limelight in the year 2011, as there was a treasure discovered in this temple. The treasure contained approximately about Rs. 1, 00,000 cores. This was found in five subterranean vaults of the temple, which totally summed to around a billion, but this whole treasure does not include the price of antiques. This temple secured the first place after this great excavation. Tirupati Balaji’s temple was ranked first before Padmanabhaswamy Temple. 

Several surviving Hindu texts and Vedas, like the Brahma Purana, Matsya Purana, Varaha Purana, Skanda Purana, Vayu Purana, the Mahabharata and so on have told us a lot about this temple. Many poets complimented about the beauty and wealth of this temple in their poems.

2. Shirdi Saibaba Shrine, Mumbai

Shirdi’s Sai Baba is famous and is preached all over the world. This temple’s replica is situated in Shirgaon as small hamlet in Pune. He was an Indian spiritual master. He was considered as a saint or fakir. His disciples started to preach him whole heartedly. Very soon both Hindus and Muslims started worshipping him. Till now it is not clear whether Sai Baba was a Muslim or a Hindu.

He inculcated the importance and vows of believing in the Satguru or Murshid. People from across the world worship Sai Baba. He was a strong believer of self-realization and making oneself pure. He did not believe in materialistic and perishable goods. He spread the good deeds and perks of being a forgiving, social activist and loyal person. He strongly spread his beliefs of ‘Sabka Malik Ek’ which means the creator and destroyer of the whole world is only one. According to sources, when Sai Baba was 16 years old he came to Shirdi, a small town in Ahmednagar in Maharashtra. There he led a very simple life sitting under a neem tree. He used to meditate in a specific asana. 

There are several monuments, statues and temples commemorating Sai Baba. All these structures have a religious significance. This temple is located at Shirdi. This is exactly the same place where Sai Baba resided. The shrine contains gold and silver jewelry valued of roughly Rs 32 core. It also contains silver coins worth over Rs 6 lakh. Every year, the temple receives gifts of Rs 200 core making it the second richest temple of India. Many devotees visit this temple to seek their inner peace.

3. Vaishno Devi Temple, Jammu

Vaishno Devi is considered as the embodiment of Goddess Mahalakshmi. People devotedly call her as Mata Rani, Trikuta, and Vaishnavi etc. The terms ‘maa’ and ‘mata’ means mother, this means that like a mother, Vaishno Devi stands behind her children and protects them firmly. The Holy Cave of the Mother is 5200 feet above sea level.

To take Darshan or to worship Vaishno Devi one has to worship three natural rock forms which are called as Pindies. This cave has no sculptures or any idols.

This temple is truly a heavenly place to visit as it is located amidst the scenic beauty of Jammu and Kashmir. The religious atmosphere and the coolness of Jammu and Kashmir make the moment to be remembered worthwhile. Every year, almost 10 million pilgrims visit this shrine.

The annual revenue of this temple is 500 cores. Worshippers strongly believe in their Mata Rani and preach religiously.

4. Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai

The Hindus strongly believe that before beginning of any new endeavor they should worship Lord Ganesh. Shree Ganesh is considered to be the remover of all the obstacles, i.e. ’Vighnaharta.’ This temple is located in Prabhadevi, Mumbai. This temple is approx. two-centuries old.  

Mumbai is a silent witness to sites of worship and historical interest that are not just popular but also archaeologically significant.

The Shree Siddhivinayak Ganpati temple of Mumbai comes among the most popular temples and devotees visit this temple in order to get rid of their Vighnas. According to sources this temple came into existence in the year 1801 on November 19^th.

The Ganpati idol here has a tilt of the trunk to the right side. This is considered as one of the most notable traits. The idol has four hands known as Chaturbhuj. It has a lotus in its top right, a little ax in the upper left, holy beads in the bottom right. How can we forget about Ganpati’s favorite dish Modaks, yes there is also a bowl filled with Modaks in the lower right.  Many devotees worship this temple from all over the world. Every year devotees donate around 100 cores to this temple.

5. Golden Temple, Amritsar

How is it possible that we are discussing about top 10 richest temples in India and we do not take Amritsar’s Golden Temple’s name? Golden Temple is the most prominent sacred center of the Sikh community. It attracts visitors from all over the world due to its stunning golden color and distinctive architectural beauty. This captivating golden shrine is embellished with gold and silver accents. The night view of this temple is breath-taking and serves as a treat for the yes. The temple's is very precisely constructed and studded with gold. The sacred book of Guru Granth Sahib is also studded with exquisite jewels and sparkling stones. Every day, approx. 40,000 – 60,000 devotees visit this temple with a religious heart.  

Jassa Singh Ahluwalia rebuilt and renovated the current Gurdwara in the year 1764. He got help from his fellow Punjabi and Sikh mates. In the early nineteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh fortified the Punjab area and coated the Gurdwara's top floors in gold.

The Golden Temple of Amritsar has many visitors and earns about 50 cores every year.

6. Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi

There is no Hindu house where they do not talk about Kashi and its temple. Kashi Vishwanath temple is a Lord Shiva’s temple. It is located amidst the holy waters and air of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. This temple is considered as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas which means one of the twelve most sacred Shiva temples.

Recently, according the sources, the temple receives donations of roughly around 75 cores every year. We all know that Lord Shiva is known as the Ruler of the Universe and has a great importance in Hindu mythology. This temple also has a great impact in Hindu manuscripts and holy books. This temple is most worshipped during Mahashivratri. People from across India as well as overseas come to take blessings rom this temple.

7. Guruvayurappan Temple, Kerala

Guruvayurappan Temple is the temple of most beloved god, Lord Krishna. This temple is often called as the Dwarka nagari of the south. This temple is renowned and is known as one of the plentiful temples of the South India. There Lord Krishna preachers all over the world, as a result every year there are tons of visitors in this temple. Roughly around 40,000 to 50,000 people visit this temple every day.

It is one of the holiest places of Kerala and localities often refer this place as Bhuloka Vaikunta.

The temple is wide spread around 230 acres of land. The temple sits on around 230 acres of land. This Lord Krishna temple has a rough collection of 2.5 cores every year. Moreover Guruvayur Devaswom Board has a capital of roughly Rs 400 core. Well additional information- here non-Hindus are not permitted to enter the temple. The name Guruvayurappan is because in Puranas, lord Krishna is referred as Guruvayurappan which means God or Father.  

8. Mahalakshmi Temple in Kolhapur, Maharashtra

This temple is one of the most famous temples in Maharashtra. The Hindu Puranas have a mention of Shakti Peethas. The Mahalakshmi temple of Kolhapur is one of these Shakti Peethas. Now what does this Shakti Peetha mean? Shakti Peetha stands for strength. This means that Mahalakshmi is the goddess of strength. People believe in this Shakti Peethas and worship Mahalakshmi with their whole heart. 

This temple came into existence in the early seventh century. This temple which ranks eighth in the list of Top 10 richest temples of India takes us back to the era of the Chalukya period. The beautiful idol of goddess Mahalakshmi is very intricately structured and weighs approximately around 40 kilos. This figure or idol of goddess is about 3 feet tall. There is also a statue or structure of lion behind this idol. This lion is known as the vahana of goddess Mahalakshmi. A vahana means something on which the gods and goddesses used to travel on.

One can visit this temple early in the morning too. Right from morning 5 am till midnight devotees keep worshipping this temple. There different worship timings too available so that it does not cause too much rush in the temple and everyone get to touch the Goddess Mahalakshmi’s feet.

On every Friday and on full moon days, there is a very eye-catching procession held. According to different sources the temple’s entire income is of about Rs. 70 cores yearly.

9. Sri Raghavendra Swami Mutt, Mantralayam

This temple of Sri Raghavendra Swami is situated in the South of India. It is located in Tamil Nadu. We do not consider it as a temple but it is called as a Mutt or Math. Sri Raghavendratheertha was born as a Venkatanatha in the Tamil Nadu town of Bhuvanagiri. Sudheendra Theertha was Venkatanatha's teacher. He was so sharp right from his birth that he used to beat intellectuals elder to him in very deep conversations.

In the year 1621, he decided to take sanyas from this life. Very soon he got sannyasa and decided to call himself as Raghavendra Theertha.

Later on the year 1671, he decided to take Jeevan Samadhi and attain spirituality. He addressed his pupils before taking the Samadhi that he will be with them in the form of spirit for the next 700 coming years.

It is strongly believed that Guru Raghavendra Swami is still present for his devotees and he solves their problems and helps them succeed in their lives.

Before visiting this Mutt the males are asked to wear dhoti attire whereas the females have to wear a saree. In short one should visit this temple in their traditional.

The tomb of Sri Raghavendra Swami has four chariots studded with valuable stones, silver, sandalwood gold etc.  Every day the idol of this swami is taken out in the chariot. Then it is placed back safely in the Mutt. The temple’s overall yearly income goes up to 70 cores every coming year.

10. Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple, Andhra Pradesh

The last temple on the list of top 10 richest temples in India is Lord Venkateswara’s temple in Andhra Pradesh. Lord Venkateswara is considered to be an avatar of Lord Vishnu. This temple is also known as the ‘temple of seven hills.’ This is because it is situated between the Seshachalam Hills range. These hills are made up of seven peaks which stand Adisesha's seven heads.

This temple takes us back to the years of 300 AD; it is typically constructed in the Dravidian style.

The temple has visitors from across India. Every day around 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims visit this temple. The events and festivals here are celebrated with great enthusiasm and lights. This temple’s yearly income is around 60-80 cores.