Mangaluru(Karnataka): An 80-year-old woman has donated Rs 1 lakh to a temple in Mangaluru that she earned through begging. Ashwathamma, who hails from Kundapura Taluk in Karnataka's Udupi district, has donated about Rs 9 lakh to various temples till now. She has been begging near various temples during festivals for the past 18 years.
On Monday, she arrived at the Bappanadu Durga Parameshwari temple in Mulki on the outskirts of Mangaluru and donated Rs 1 lakh for the "annadana" (food donation) of the temple. After accepting the donation, the priest of the temple, Narasimha Bhat, offered prasad to her. Administrative Moktesar Manohar Shetty honored her on behalf of the temple. Priest Prasad Bhatt, accountant Sivashankar Verma, Karthik Kotyan, and others were present.
She was forced to beg after the death of her husband 18 years ago. Later, the death of two children was another major setback for her. After their death, she became disgusted with life and started begging near Sri Gurunarasimha temple in Saligrama and started staying on the temple premises. She donated the money to the Gurunarasimha temple for the first time. After that, she made donations to various temples over the past 18 years.
During Covid, Ashwathamma went to Sabarimala temple and donated Rs 1.5 lakh for annadana. After that, she donated Rs 1 lakh each to Gangolli temple, Kanchugodu temple, Shree Rajarajeshwari temple, and Akhileshwari temple. She uses only a small portion of her earnings for her personal expenses, and the excess money is deposited in a bank through a daily deposit collector so that it is used for donations to temples and charities.
