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Tirumala temple witnesses historic donation surge amid holiday season rush. (Img: Google)
Tirupati: The famous Tirumala Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Andhra Pradesh has created history after receiving a massive Rs 6.93 crore in Hundi offerings within just 24 hours. The record-breaking collection came at a time when the hill shrine witnessed an unprecedented surge in pilgrims, making the temple’s donation milestone a major talking point across India.
The record amount was collected after counting the offerings deposited by devotees between the morning and midnight of September 9. The extraordinary rise in donations highlights the deep faith of millions of devotees towards Lord Venkateswara and the growing popularity of Tirumala as one of the world’s most visited religious destinations.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the temple administration, recorded the collection as one of the highest single-day Hundi revenues in the shrine’s history. Officials believe that significant contributions from anonymous devotees helped push the collection beyond the Rs 6 crore mark.
The Tirumala temple receives donations every day through its Hundi system, where devotees offer cash, gold, jewellery and other valuables as part of their religious offerings.
However, crossing Rs 6 crore in a single day remains a rare achievement. The latest Rs 6.93 crore collection has placed Tirumala among the few occasions when the temple witnessed such a massive flow of donations.
The record collection also reflects the increasing religious tourism around the temple, with lakhs of devotees visiting the shrine every month from different parts of India and abroad.
The donation record came amid a huge increase in the number of devotees arriving at Tirumala due to consecutive holidays from September 12 to September 14. The sudden rise in pilgrim footfall has put pressure on crowd management systems, accommodation facilities and other services provided by TTD. Thousands of devotees are currently waiting for darshan, with the Sarva Darshan waiting period reaching nearly 24 hours.
The Vaikuntam Queue Complex and other waiting areas have witnessed heavy occupancy as pilgrims continue to arrive in large numbers to seek blessings of Lord Venkateswara.
Considering the massive devotee rush, TTD has cancelled the VIP Break Darshan facility scheduled for September 13. The temple administration decided to use the cancelled VIP darshan slots for general devotees, allowing more common pilgrims to get an opportunity for darshan during the peak rush period.
TTD has also stopped accepting recommendation letters for VIP darshan during this period to ensure fair access and better crowd management. The move is aimed at reducing waiting time for ordinary devotees and maintaining a smoother pilgrimage experience.
The latest Rs 6.93 crore collection adds another record to TTD’s financial performance. Earlier, Tirumala recorded Rs 140.28 crore in monthly Hundi collections in July 2026, making it the second-highest monthly collection in TTD history. The highest monthly collection was recorded in August 2022, when the temple received Rs 140.34 crore.
The consistent growth in donations reflects the strong devotional connection of pilgrims with Lord Venkateswara and the increasing number of visitors reaching the Tirupati hill shrine.
For millions of devotees, a visit to Tirumala is not just a pilgrimage but an emotional and spiritual journey. Many pilgrims travel hundreds and thousands of kilometres to offer prayers and seek blessings at the temple. The record Hundi collection represents not only financial growth but also the continued trust and devotion of people towards one of India’s most iconic religious centres.
With the festive season and extended holidays expected to attract more visitors, TTD is preparing for continued crowd pressure in the coming days. The temple administration is focusing on queue management, accommodation arrangements, drinking water facilities and security measures to handle the increasing number of pilgrims.
The Rs 6.93 crore donation milestone has once again placed Tirumala Temple in the national spotlight, highlighting both the scale of devotion and the challenges of managing one of the busiest pilgrimage centres in the world.
