Mangaluru: In a world full of selfishness, an 80-year-old woman from Mangaluru and hailing from Kundapura has set an example by donating Rs. 1 lakh she raised through begging for the temple’s Annadana.
Ashwathamma has been begging in front of the Polali Rajarajeshwari Temple for the past several years. She donated Rs. 1 lakh of the money she got towards the Polali Temple’s Annadana. Her husband, a Kanchigodu native from the Kundapur Taluk of the Udupi District, died 18 years ago. The religiously conscious Ashwathamma then decided to beg in front of the temple.
However, she has donated more than Rs. 6 lakh to temples and ashrams and did not spend the money for herself.
She is a devotee of Lord Ayyappa and has been on the Sabarimala yatra for 36 years. In Sabarimala, Ashwathamma has performed Annadaana for over one lakh devotees at Pamba, Pandala, and Erumeli.
Ashwathamma donated the money she earned through begging in other places, especially during the Polali Rajarajeshwari Temple’s Jatra festival. The money collected by begging is given to a daily pygmy from morning to evening, and after depositing lakhs of rupees, the money is given to the Annadana.
She has donated Rs. 1 lakh to Sri Gurunarasimha Temple in Saligrama for Annadaana, Rs. 1.5 lakh to Ayyappa vritaadhaari at Polali Akhileshwara Temple for Ayyappa vritaadhaari, Annadaana at Gangolli Temple for Annadaana, and various other temples and ashrams.
“I have donated the money that the society has given me. May God bless everyone. My goal is to make sure that no one goes hungry,” said Ashwathamma.
