Pandharpur: On the auspicious day of Ashadhi Ekadashi on July 12, devotees from all over the country visited the Vithoba temple and caused its coffers to spill over with their generosity.
This year's collection is a record-breaking Rs 4.40 crore. More than 14 lakh devotees visited the temple and the authorities have been counting the cash deposited in the coffers for the last five days.
Considering the increasing number of foreigners visiting Pandharpur on this occasion each year, various foreign currencies were found in the donation boxes.
So, in the 'daan-peti', the Indian rupee kept company with the Nepalese rupee, the US, Australian and Singapore dollars, the pound sterling and the Ukrainian hryvnia among others.
On a darker note, demonetised currency – Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 – were also dropped into the boxes, as also a few fake notes of Rs 2,000.
The highest donation received in a single day was Rs 1.40 lakh at the feet of Vithuraya, Rs 7.72 lakh at the feet of Rukmini, with three donors giving as much as Rs 1.84 crore.
One of the devotees made four types of laddoo prasad worth Rs 68 lakh, while five dharamshalas received a donation of Rs 20.5 lakh and six hundis worth Rs 1.5 crore.
