PLUNDERING TEMPLE OFFERINGS THROUGH THE CENTURIES: A STORY SPANNING FROM SOMNATH TO AYODHYA: Dr. DEEPAK GOSWAMI

PLUNDERING TEMPLE OFFERINGS THROUGH THE CENTURIES: A STORY SPANNING FROM SOMNATH TO AYODHYA: Dr. DEEPAK GOSWAMI

28-JUNE-ENG 4

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA------------------------In India, temples have never been merely places of worship; they served as state treasuries, banks, and repositories of societal wealth. Everyone, from kings to farmers, donated gold, silver, and land to temples. Consequently, whenever invaders, looters, or greedy hands targeted the region, temple offerings became the primary objective. Viewed through both historical and contemporary lenses, the plundering of temple offerings is not a new phenomenon but a centuries-old issue.

A Target for Wealth Since Ancient Times

Muhammad bin Qasim arrived in Sindh during the eighth century. He smashed idols and looted gold from the temples of Debal and Nirun. This marked the beginning. It was Mahmud of Ghazni, however, who unleashed true devastation. He launched seventeen invasions between 1000 and 1027 CE. In 1025, he attacked Somnath. Al-Biruni records that the temple held a treasure worth crores; the sanctum sanctorum housed a diamond-studded *Shivling* and idols made of gold and silver. Mahmud of Ghazni carted the wealth away to Ghazni on the backs of camels. Ninety-eight thousand three hundred *miskals* of gold were seized from the temples of Mathura alone. Temples in Kannauj and Thanesar were also stripped of their riches.

The motive was not merely religious zeal but the acquisition of wealth. Historians like Richard Eaton point to concrete evidence of eighty temples being destroyed between 1192 and 1729. After his victory at Tarain, Muhammad Ghori looted temples in Ajmer and Delhi. Alauddin Khilji dispatched Malik Kafur to the south; the gold and diamonds looted from the temples of Warangal, Dwarasamudra, and Madurai were so vast that prices in the Delhi markets plummeted. When Timur (Tamerlane) arrived in 1398, he plundered both the temples and the settlements surrounding Delhi. The most systematic destruction occurred during Aurangzeb's reign (1658–1707); the Kashi Vishwanath, Mathura’s Keshavdev, Somnath, and the Krishna Janmabhoomi temples stand as examples of this today. Temple assets were confiscated, and priests were either killed or driven away. Satish Chandra notes that Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of only those temples that served as centers of Jat, Maratha, or Rajput rebellions. The temple in Banaras was destroyed because Shivaji's brother had found refuge there.

**Diversity in Policy: Patronage and Construction**

However, there is another side to the story. Akbar granted land and financial aid to the temples of Vrindavan. Jahangir made donations to the Jangambari Math in Banaras. Tipu Sultan gifted a silver throne to the Sringeri Math and sent funds for the repair of a damaged temple. The Bahmani and Adil Shahi sultans of the South granted tax-free land to numerous temples. Rajput kings within the Mughal court commissioned the construction of magnificent temples in Orchha and Vrindavan. In essence, the policy was not uniform; temples were looted when the need arose, yet also built when it served political interests.

Looting was not exclusive to Muslim rulers. King Harsha of Kashmir became a *Devotpatana-nayaka* (destroyer of temples) in 1089 CE; he had gold and silver temple idols melted down to raise funds. In the eleventh century, the Chola king Rajadhiraja attacked the Chalukya capital, Kalyani, and looted its temples. Romila Thapar observes that in the medieval period, a temple symbolized a king's authority; destroying it signified an ideological defeat of the enemy monarch. Consequently, temples were always targets during warfare, regardless of the attacker's identity.

**British Rule and the Acquisition of Assets**

The approach changed with the arrival of the British. Following the events of 1857, the assets of many temples were confiscated. Through the Inam Commission, the government seized hundreds of thousands of acres of land dedicated to religious sites. Under the Religious Endowments Act of 1863, the government took over temple administration; priests became salaried employees, and temple offerings were diverted to the state treasury. Plundering Offerings at Religious Sites in the Modern Era

The nature of theft changed after independence. Robberies are no longer committed with swords; instead, locks are broken, and the pen is used to facilitate the crime. A theft occurred at the Bharatkoop Ram-Janaki temple in Chitrakoot in 1980, and such incidents continue today. The only difference is that while earlier the attackers were outsiders, now insiders are often complicit.

Rising Thefts and Organized Crime

Look at the records from the last 20 years. Consider the Vijay Kumar Shukla gang from Chitrakoot. After being granted bail in a murder case in 2004, he had himself declared dead on official records. Over the next 20 years, he looted fifty temples—stealing idols, silver ornaments, and brass bells. Photos of over three hundred temples, taken during reconnaissance, were found on his mobile phone. He would clear his path by feeding poisoned sweets to dogs.

Incidents escalated between 2024 and 2026. On the night of May 11, 2025, an *Ashtadhatu* (eight-metal alloy) idol of Shani Dev was stolen from Delhi's Chandni Chowk; it was fifteen years old and valued at one lakh rupees. The thief was captured on surveillance camera. In Bharatkoop, Chitrakoot, eight silver crowns belonging to the 'Ram Parivar' (deities of the Ram family) were stolen, weighing a total of 1.7 kilograms. When the price of gold rose in Bhagalpur, a crown, a necklace, and the donation box were looted from a Durga temple. A 125-year-old Durga idol and a *Shivling* were stolen from Kahalgaon. On April 19, 2026, a silver *chhatra* (ceremonial umbrella) weighing 250 grams and five thousand rupees in cash were stolen from a Sai temple in Bulandshahr; despite the presence of twenty-one surveillance cameras, the thieves managed to enter wearing raincoats and gloves. A silver crown (500 grams), gold (120 grams), and silver *chhatras* were stolen from a Durga temple in Sirsa, with total losses exceeding twenty lakh rupees. On May 24, 2025, a gold *abha-mandal* (halo) weighing 1.3 kilograms and a silver tortoise weighing 3 kilograms were stolen from the Swasti Dham Jain temple in Bhilwara; the value was 1.25 crore rupees. The thief had entered during the day under the pretext of worship and remained hidden on the roof until nightfall. On September 30, 2024, jewelry worth ₹32 lakh was stolen from the Mauganj Naigarhi Fort temple; the thieves even stripped off the metal plating embedded in the pillars and cut the surveillance camera wires. Silver jewelry weighing over three kilograms was stolen from the Ashapuri Mata Temple in Ujjain; there were three thieves, and one of them actually bowed in reverence before committing the theft.

Allegations of theft of offerings at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir

The biggest blow came in Ayodhya, with allegations regarding the theft of offerings at the Ram Mandir. In June 2025, Akhilesh Yadav raised the issue of a ₹7 crore misappropriation; however, when a petition was filed in the Supreme Court, the figure The Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising administrative officer Vijay Vishwas Pant and police officer Kiran S. The investigation revealed that ₹10 lakh in cash was found at the home of Lavkush Mishra, an employee responsible for counting donations; some of it was hidden in a cupboard, while the rest was stashed in a dung heap. Two employees, whose salaries ranged from ₹18,000 to ₹20,000, had acquired assets worth ₹1.5 crore and ₹40 lakh, respectively. Nine employees were found to have recently purchased expensive phones and vehicles. Ramshankar Yadav (alias Tinnu), the former driver of Champat Rai, faced allegations of amassing assets worth ₹50 crore in Ayodhya and Lucknow, with reports of gold being recovered from his home. His nephew, Manish Yadav—who used to count currency notes—led investigators to a stash of ₹36 lakh. During the two-month Kumbh period, ten lakh devotees visited daily, and donation boxes would fill up every two hours; this period is suspected to be when the most significant irregularities occurred.

**Modus Operandi and Motives**

The pattern is clear. The targets include gold, silver, idols made of *ashtadhatu* (an eight-metal alloy), crowns, ceremonial canopies (*chhatras*), and cash from donation boxes. The thefts occur at night when the temple is closed. Methods involve reconnaissance, disabling surveillance cameras, scaling walls, and entering through the roof. While earlier thefts were committed by outside gangs, employees of the management committee, priests, and drivers are now also implicated. The driving factors are the rising prices of gold and silver and lax security measures.

Temples are estimated to hold assets exceeding ₹1 lakh crore. The vaults of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple alone yielded a massive treasure, and the annual offerings at Tirupati Balaji exceed ₹3,000 crore. Such immense wealth inevitably breeds greed. In the past, invaders wielded swords; today, the threat comes from "white-collar" individuals. Previously, they came from places like Ghazni; now, they emerge from the very streets around us.

**Security Concerns and Lack of Transparency**

The core issue is security. Major temples employ central security forces, anti-terror squads, and aerial surveillance systems, yet they struggle to prevent theft. This is because external security and internal accounting are two distinct matters. While the Ram Temple has stringent external security, the very employees counting the donations are under suspicion. In contrast, smaller temples often lack even basic surveillance cameras, leaving the priest to manage everything alone. Breaking the lock of the donation box is a daily occurrence.

The conclusion is that offerings at places of worship have been a target for plunder for a thousand years. Mahmud of Ghazni hauled the loot away on camels; Vijay Shukla carted it off in sacks; Lavkush Mishra smuggled it out hidden in cow dung. The names and methods changed, but the intent remained the same. As long as temples hold immense wealth and lack transparency in accounting, such robberies will continue. From Somnath to the Ram Mandir, the story remains the same; only the face of the looter has changed.