Treasure worth 5,000 crore unearthed from temple vault

Treasure worth 5,000 crore unearthed from temple vault

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The seven-member team deputed by the Supreme Court on Thursday reportedly discovered a treasure trove of gold and diamonds worth Rs 5,000 crore in one of the two secret vaults of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple here.

The doors of the vault ‘A’ was opened by the team led by two former High Court judges M N Krishnan and C S Rajan on Wednesday. Though the vault was empty it led to a dark underground chamber. The members wearing oxygen masks resumed their effort on Thursday and walked through the passageway.

Sources say when the sand on the floor was removed, they found markings leading to the treasure which has been estimated to be worth Rs 5,000 crore. Among the treasure was a huge idol of Sree Padmanabha Swamy, three diamond-studded crowns, a gold bar, close to 1,000 traditional golden necklaces, one of them being about 18 feet-long. This apart, there were countless other jewellery, a gold sceptre, diamonds, and artefacts studded with Belgian stones and gems.

The team is expected to enter the ‘B’ vault on Friday and prepare an inventory of the articles there. Vaults C, D and E have already been examined while vault ‘F’ had puja articles in it. It was during the reign of Sri VishakamThirunal Rama Varma in the 1880s that the vaults were opened. These were considered the treasury of the Travancore kings who ruled the state as “Padamabha dasas” or servants of the Lord.

It is believed that VishakamThirunal’s successor Sri MulamThirunal, (1885-1924) and Dewan C P RamaswamyAiyer (1936-47), also opened the tombs during times of famine. The treasure contains gifts given to the kings of Travancore by royalty across the world during the 19th century.

The temple known for its architectural elegance and long rows of granite columns with exquisite engravings has Lord Vishnu reclining on the thousand-headed serpent Anantha as the presiding deity. The temple is run by a trust floated by the Travancore royal family for whom Lord Padmanabha is the family deity.

Kyewords: Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, Sri MulamThirunal, kings of Travancore,

Temple treasure belongs to royal family

KANCHIPURAM: The huge treasures found in Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram are the "exclusive property" of Travancore royal family that dedicated their kingdom to the presiding deity of the temple, Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi said today.

"For long the erstwhile royal family was the custodian of the temple and they dedicated their kingdom to Lord Sree Padmanabhaswamy. The treasures were offerings made by erstwhile rulers to the temple, hence the recoveries belonged to the royal family", he said.

"However, the treasures should be kept in the temple cellars itself", he added.

The cellars of the temple, closed for several decades, were ordered to be opened by the Supreme Court to prepare inventory while considering a private petition recently.

The deity of Padmanabha Swami Temple is the family deity of Travancore royal family. Members of the erstwhile royal family had dedicated their kingdom to the deity and pledged that they will live as servants of Padmanabha. The Shrine is run by a trust floated by the Travancore royal house.
Vast collection of gold, silver, precious stones and priceless jewellery were discovered in the cellars of the temple while preparing the inventory.

Presiding deity unhappy, says Astrologers

The ‘raasi pooja’ held at Padmanabhaswamy temple here as prelude to the astrological examination ‘deva prasnam’ showed that all is not well with the temple.

The pooja revealed that the ‘Devaprasnam’ was occurring in ‘vrichika rashi’ and this itself was inauspicious. Further, the astrologers who conducted the pooja found that the nine planets were in a bad position. This had occurred because of past sins and wrong acts in the temple, they felt. The seers suggested many acts of repentance including the ‘Mahamrityunjaya pooja’.

“Things are not going on well in the temple”, said Narayana Ranga Bhat, a senior astrologer who took part in the ritual. “We notice many bad omens. The devotees have to take the initiative to ensure the welfare of the temple.”

The three-day “Devaprasnam,” said to “discern the will of the god or a deity,” was begun on Monday at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The ‘Devaprasnam’ was done in the presence of temple ‘Thantri’ Tharanallur Parameswaran Namboodiri by a team of astrologers, which include Narayana Ranga Bhatt and Padmanabha Sharma, Haridas and Devidas.

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