Rs 90,000 cr in Padmanabhaswamy temple. What next?

O Hindus, now we have to unite together to save this treasure of the God from well-known looters i.e. Congress-led Kerala Govt. Congress is in business of looting Hindu Temples from last many years, which is evident from the examples of Sri Shirdi Saibaba Trust, Sri Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai and famous Tirupati Tirumala temple and now it will surely have its eye on the treasure found inside Sree Padmanabhswamy Temple !

Updates

• Rs 90,000 cr in Padmanabhaswamy temple. What next? (4 July 2011)
• Rs. 50,000 cr worth treasure in Kerala temple (3 July 2011)

Rs 90,000 cr in Padmanabhaswamy temple. What next?

July 4, 2011

Ashadh Shukla Trutiya, Kaliyug Varsha 5113

Even as priceless treasures found from cellars of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala is estimated to be around Rs 90,000 crore, the discovery has sparked a debate on how to protect and preserve the royal legacy which has surpassed everyone's imagination.

Opening of the long-locked chambers, on Supreme Court orders, which began on June 27 has so far revealed a large number of gold ornaments, gold and silver coins, stone studded crowns, idols and figurines inlaid with precious stones and jewels.

The exercise to assess the value of the articles, undertaken by a seven-member panel of observers, including two former high court judges, continues on Monday after a day's breather on Sunday.

Emergence of the temple as one of the richest Hindu shrines in the world has also thrown up security concerns with police as an interim step deploying two platoons of armed personnel.

According to the temple sources, the treasure trove has been so far estimated at around Rs 90,000 crore.

The question nagging historians, academics and enthusiasts of temple culture, however, is how to safeguard the treasure considering its immense historical and cultural values.

Many of them say the treasure symbolised the honesty and simplicity of erstwhile Travancore kings, who did not take away a single item from the pile whose existence they were aware of.

While similar treasures possessed by many other princely states in pre-colonial India were plundered by attackers, or wasted on luxuries by members of the royal houses themselves, the Travancore kings have zealously guarded them as reserves of the state, they said.

Narayanan, former Indian History Congress President said utmost care and thought should be given to protect the treasures.

"The state or Central government cannot take over these assets as they are part of the temple coffers according to the system followed by the Travancore kings," he said.

"We have the examples of many temples before us which have been taken over by the government and later plunged into mismanagement and irregularities. It should not happen to this shrine also," he said.

"In my view, a temple museum can be set up and some selected articles, recovered from the cellars, can be catalogued and exhibited. Other articles should be kept in a safer place."

Historian and writer M G Sasibhushan opined that the rare treasures, kept for centuries in the secret chambers of the shrine, should be preserved for future generations.

Coins from other princely states like Vijayanagar empire and European countries have also been found which might be part of the gifts received by the rulers of the time.

The coins also reflect on the revenue received by the royal state through its maritime spice trade.

While all major temples of the area were handed over to the Travancore Devaswom Board after merger of the princely state with the Indian Union after 1947, control of the Padmanabhaswamy temple was retained by the royal house through a covenant with the government.

Though the last royal ruler Sree Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma left the entire treasure untouched he was made 'Rajapramukh' (status equivalent to Governor) after the merger.

Meanwhile, outfits like VHP and community organizations like Nair Service Society and Sree Naryanad Dharma Paripalana Yogam have warned against any attempt on the part of the state to take over the treasure and wanted them to be declared as the temple asset.

Source: Rediff

Rs. 50,000 cr worth treasure in Kerala temple

July 3, 2011

Ashadh Shukla Dwitiya, Kaliyug Varsha 5113
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): The legend of El Dorado was definitely not set on the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. But the seven-member panel, which is drawing up a list of assets at the famed shrine here, had a feel of the lost city of gold as they set foot in one of the two secret vaults located inside the sprawling granite structure which gives the Kerala capital its name.

On Thursday, the team assisted by personnel from the fire services and archeology department opened the locks of vault A to find a narrow flight of stairs leading down to an underground granite cellar. Oxygen was pumped frequently into the chamber and artificial lighting provided to enable the observers to work inside.

What they saw inside was startling, sources said. Gold coins dating back thousands of years, gold necklaces as long as nine feet and weighing about 2.5 kg, about one tonne of the yellow metal in the shape of rice trinkets, sticks made of the yellow metal, sack full of diamonds, gold ropes, thousands of pieces of antique jewellery studded with diamonds and emeralds, crowns and other precious stones lay scattered in the chamber marked 'A'.

Friday threw up far more surprises in the form of 17 kg of gold coins dating back to the East India Company period, 18 coins from Napolean's era, precious stones wrapped in silk bundles besides over 1,000 kg of gold in the form of coins and trinkets and a small elephant made of the yellow metal, sources said.

There were also sovereigns bearing the 1772 seal indicating they were from the reign of the then native king Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma. There are a total of six vaults marked A to F in the shrine. The A and B cellars have never opened since 1872.

Reports said the value of the recoveries so far from vault A alone may exceed over Rs 50,000 crore. This doesn't take into account their antique value. With chamber B, yet to be opened, speculation was rife that the shrine would pip Tirupati Balaji, who too has been assessed at a little more than Rs 50,000 crore to a distant second. No official confirmation has been forthcoming on the value of the recoveries.

Retired Kerala high court judges — Justice M N Krishnan and Justice C S Rajan — appointed observers by the Supreme Court said, ''It's difficult to give an exact date about when the stock-taking would be completed. The B and E vaults remain to be opened. We think it may take another week.''

Asked about the value of the assets, Justice Krishnan said the committee was drawing up the inventory of items and were not determining their price. The panel had set out on the job on June 27 and opened three vaults marked C, D and F till Wednesday. Assets found in these chambers were estimated to be worth over Rs 1,000 crore.

The wealth discovery has raised questions on the shrine's security. As of now, the internal security is managed by the temple employees, but this may be inadequate in the light of the events.

Source: TOI

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