Mahalaxmi 'mahavastram' auctioned for Rs2.26 lakh

The mahavastram, a silk saree of goddess Mahalaxmi, fetched Rs2.26 lakh in an open auction carried out on the premises of Mahalaxmi temple on Friday.

Baba Mahadik, a city-based jeweller, purchased the offering. “It is a prasad of the goddess. We are very happy that we could purchase the saree,” Mahadik, who accepted the saree along with her wife Sujata, told reporters.

The mahavastram is gifted by the Tirupati Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam annually on the 8th day of Navratri. The goddess is worn in this saree on Dassera.

“The mahavastram is being auctioned since 2008. In 2008, it fetched Rs9,000, while in 2009 and 2010 it has fetched Rs2.34 lakh and Rs2.51 lakh respectively,” Western Maharashtra Devasthan Committee member, Padma Tivale, told DNA.

Earlier, this committee was used to gift the mahavastram. However, it was decided in 2008 to make it open for the public.
“In an effort to make the temple more famous, we give newspaper advertisements one week before the auction,” he said. It has now been decided to hold the auction on Diwali Padwa.