Telangana’s Kanyaka Parameswari Goddess temple in Gadwal decorated with origami flowers of Rs 1 crore.
Hyderabad:
As part of the Dussehra festivities, the Kanyaka Parameswari Goddess temple in Telangana has been decorated with origami flowers made of currency notes reportedly valued at more than Rs 1 crore. The substantial offering has been made amid an unprecedented economic downturn during the coronavirus pandemic.
Neatly folded currency notes of different colours have been used to create garlands and bouquets reportedly valued at Rs 1,11,11,111. They have been used to dress up the Goddess – a form of Durga – in the Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari temple in Telangana’s Gadwal – some 180 km south of Hyderabad.
While the gift may seem excessive amid the pandemic, past trends show there is nothing unusual about large sums of money or jewellery being given as offerings to the Goddess.
In fact, three years ago in the same temple, the Goddess was dressed in currency notes worth Rs 3,33,33,333. Two years ago, a 1kg gold crown was also reportedly given as an offering in another temple dedicated to the Goddess.
If anything, the value of gifts seems to have come down this year.
Various forms of the Goddess are worshipped at different times of the year. As part of the nine-day Navaratri-Dussehra festivities, she is dressed and worshipped in the forms of Durga, including the Dhanalakshmi avatar – goddess of wealth.
During Dussehra, it is believed that the Goddess returns to her ancestral home – Earth. She is then worshipped in all her different forms – each celebrating a different feminine attribute that make her a guiding force and destroyer of evil.
There are special prayers, music, dance, colourful floral decorations and celebration throughout the nine-day-long Dussehra festival.
