Mangalore: The auction of sarees offered at Kateel Sri Durgaparameshwari Temple has turned out to be a money spinner with the temple collecting Rs 27.35 lakh by auctioning 7,057 sarees in a span of just three months!
Kateel Sri Durgaparameshwari Temple is situated at Kateel village, about 20 kms from Mangalore. It stands fourth among Muzrai temples in revenue.
Thousands of devotees offer sarees to the Goddess every year. The temple would distribute these sarees offered to the Goddess to those who offer special donation to the temples, or who offer major sevas like “Maha Annadana,” “Rangapooja,” and also to dignitaries and famous personalities who visit the temple. Also the temple distributes half of the sarees to devotees on Lalitha Panchami. Even after this, the temple was left with a huge number of sarees.
Temple authorities came up with a plan to auction the sarees dedicated to the Goddess and thereby please devotees and also get revenue. Auctioning started on May 30, 2014. Looking at the response, temple authorities extended the auction from once a week to thrice a week- on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday. Auction is held between 10 am and 4 pm.
“We had a huge number of sarees that were offered to the Goddess in the last four years. In 2013, the temple received about 23,000 sarees. during Lalitha Panchami. Instead of storing them we decided to auction them,” hereditary archak Sri Harinarayana Asranna told Deccan Chronicle.
