MUMBAI: In a quiet hamlet of Bhandavpur in Rajasthan, Jayantsen Surishwarji Maharajsaheb, spiritual mentor to lakhs of Jains, passed away on Monday. The next morning, over 50,000 Jains thronged the granite district of Jalore.Many were there for a unique community ritual: to bid for the right to perform the last rites of the 81-year-old senior Jain monk . A leading business family from Ahmedabad bid a whopping Rs 33.5 crore to light the pyre, and various other aspects of the funeral rites saw a record Rs 57 crore raised.There were bidders for giving him the last bath, applying a paste of sandalwood, and for covering the body with a woolen shawl. Each bid crores of rupees to do the honours.The practice of bidding or ghee bolo started 450 years ago to catalyse community charity. "At that time, devotees didn't contribute even a penny to the temple box. So something had to be done to raise funds to build more Jain temples and spread the religion," explained Vimal Sagar Maharajsaheb, a Jain monk. "That was when the idea of ghee bolo emerged. Over the years it has become a regular ritual."Manish Gala, president of the Kutchi Visha Oswal Sangh , said bigticket bidding is usually associated with those who have a huge following. "Apart from the sum garnered for the community's Jivdaya (targeted grant to im prove quality of life), what was unique was that the monk had left a note stating his family should be given the right to carry his body and place it in the palanquin in the lotus position (to symbolize attaining of moksha)," said Gala.According to Babulal Jain-Ujwal , a Kandivli resident who maps yearly data of Jain monks, Jayantsen Surishwarji Maharajsaheb had initiated close to 200 people into diksha and was responsible for the formation of 250 Jain temples. He said Jayantsen Surishwarji Maharajsaheb had a huge following and the family from Gujarat that bid for the rights to light the pyre was close to him."We wanted to be a part of his final journey . The bids can't be revealed as nothing is a lot for Maharajsahebji," said one of the groups that bid to be one of the pallbearers.(Inputs by Bhavika Jain)