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| Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple |
A treasure trove of gold and silver jewellery, coins and precious stones said to be worth billions of dollars has been found in a Hindu temple in Kerala, officials said yesterday.
The valuables have an estimated preliminary worth of over Rs500bn ($11.2bn), said Kerala Chief Secretary K Jayakumar, catapulting the temple into the league of India’s richest temples.
The thousands of necklaces, coins and precious stones have been kept in at least five underground vaults at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple which is renowned for its intricate sculptures.
“We are yet to open one more secret chamber which has not been opened for nearly 140 years,” Jayakumar said.
The actual value of the treasure haul can be ascertained only after it is examined by the archaeological department, said Jayakumar.
The temple, dedicated to Hindu lord Vishnu, was built hundreds of years ago by the king of Travancore and donations by devotees have been kept in the temple’s vaults since.
A necklace found on Thursday was 18ft long. Thousands of gold coins have also been found.
The vaults were opened after the Supreme Court ordered the state government to take over the temple’s assets from a trust controlled by the royal family of Travancore.
The temple’s executive officer V K Harikumar said the estimates being discussed were imaginary, and that the valuation of the rare gems would be done by experts who would submit a report to the Supreme Court.
Some experts have questioned the quick estimates saying it would take several weeks to make an assessment. “Antique value cannot be fixed overnight,” P J Cherian, director of the Kerala Council for Historical Research, said.
The inspections at the temple began after the Supreme Court endorsed a Kerala High Court order asking the state government to take over the temple and its assets.
The high court order was given after a local lawyer, Sundar Rajan, filed a petition saying the temple should be taken over as the trust running it did not have the capacity to ensure adequate security for the temple’s assets.
The temple was built in the 16th century by the kings of Travancore. The descendents of the royal family had appealed to the Supreme Court against the petition for the takeover.
Princely states in India merged with the Indian republic after the country gained independence from British rule in 1947. Initially, the princes were allowed to retain their titles and some property and given funds in lieu of the revenue they earlier earned. But the funds and their titles were abolished by the government in 1971.
The descendants of the Travancore royal family, however, continued to control the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple through the trust.
Legend has it that the Travancore kings had transferred loads of wealth, meant for use during famines or scarcity, to the secret chambers and sealed them with huge stone walls to protect them from the British.
According to the present head of the royalty, the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act 1950 (TC Act) was enacted by incorporating a covenant that vested the management of the temple with the erstwhile ruler of Travancore which was done as the king wanted to retain control of the temple after the agreement of accession was signed with Indian union.
Until now, the Tirupathy temple in Andhra Pradesh was believed to be India’s richest temple with offerings from devotees worth Rs320bn.
The revelation about the huge riches in the Padmanabhaswamy temple has forced police to sharply step install security cameras and alarms.
Authorities also plan to set up a commando force for security, Kerala Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose said.
“Now it’s known all over the world that the Padmanabhaswamy temple has jewels worth billions of rupees we have decided to assign it maximum security,” Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said.