JOIN USPriced at Rs 1 to 1.5 cr, Tirumala temple's Udayasthamana seva the most expensive religious service in the world
Tirumala Venkateshwara temple is where devotees wait in the Vaikuntam complex compartments and move in the serpentine queues for several hours to get a few seconds glimpse of the deity. Those who can afford it, make it a bit quick paying Rs 300 for a special darshan.
The temple management is now planning to bring in a seva, arguably the most expensive in the world, which would allow a devotee and his family to sit in the sanctum and other designated areas, watching all the divine rituals beginning from Suprabhatam to the closing Ekanta seva.
The ticket price of this seva named Udyasthamana is proposed at an astronomical Rs 1 crore which on Fridays will go further up to Rs 1.5 crore, to include abhishekam.
“The devotee and his five family members can sit through all the rituals, arjitha sevas from predawn till night i.e., Suprabhatam, Thomala-seva, archana, kalyanam to pavalimpu seva. This facility can be availed by devotees once in a year for a prescribed number of years by paying the amount,” a TTD official told DH.
According to the temple officials, the seva existed earlier too having started in the eighties, for Rs 1 lakh initially and Rs 10 lakh later, but was discontinued in 2010 due to paucity of space and other reasons.
“We are drafting the terms and conditions like how many can be allowed, and for how many years the devotee can avail the service. A decision and formal announcement could be made soon,” a senior official told DH.
Rs 1 to 1.5 crore might seem like a prohibitive price but officials say that they are receiving several calls everyday to inquire as to when the Udyasthamana seva would commence.
Rejecting the criticism that the temple is making money through such exorbitantly priced sevas, officials said the income would be solely used for the construction of a super specialty children heart care hospital the TTD has planned earlier.
The Sri Padmavati childrens' cardiac hospital, inaugurated in October during the annual Brahmotsavams, is at present functioning from the Balaji Institute of Surgery, Research and Rehabilitation for the Disabled (BIRRD) premises in Tirupati. Since November, 45 surgeries have been performed free of cost.
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