The
Tirumala temple has received another lavish gift, this time in the form
of diamond-studded golden idols of
Lord Venkateswara and his consorts
Goddesses
Lakshmi Devi and Padmavati. The idols, which were donated
anonymously in Srivari Hundi, are worth `
1.25 crore.
There are 1,014
diamonds, 552 rubies, 197 emeralds and one big sapphire on the
Mula
Virat (presiding deity replica) idol. The size of the Mula Virat of Lord
Venkateswara is about
14 inches and it weighs about 2.57 kg. There are
25 diamonds stud
ded on the golden platform where the Lord is being placed, 90 diamonds
on the Chakram, 112 diamonds on the Shanku, 119 on the crown, 44 on the
Namam, 139 in three various jewels and 13 diamonds on the Lord’s waist
ornament. The
idol of Goddess Lakshmi weighs 101 gm and is worth about
`2,92,800 and that of Goddess Padmavathi weighs around
81gm costing
about `2,34,800.
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