The discovery was based on the request of an Indian lawyer, who asked of Supreme Court of India as a Hindu temple government to provide security and protect wealth housed.
Underground chambers of the temple, housing the incredible treasure, carved deep in stone and difficult to access. You can only get them down the narrow stairs under total darkness.
The discovery was made in Padmanabhaswamy temple which is located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. The Padmanabhaswamy temple was built in the sixteenth-century kings who ruled the kingdom of Travancore. Local legends say the Travancore kings sealed immense wealth hid between stone walls and vaults of the temple.
After gaining independence by India, the temple has been controlled by descendants of the Travancore royal family. After 1947, the kingdom of Travancore merged with the princely state of Cochin, and later became
the province of Kerala.
The temple is built in an intricate fusion of the indigenous Kerala style and the Dravidian style of architecture associated with the temples located in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu, featuring high walls, and a 16th-century Gopuram.
In June 2011, the Supreme Court directed the authorities from the archeology department and the fire services, to open the secret chambers of the temple for inspection of the items kept inside.
Utharad Thirunal Marthanda Varma Maharaja, who was actually the manager Padmanabhaswamy temple official did not agree with the decision of the supreme court, according to BBC News. Varma maintains that it has every right to further control the temple, citing a special law adopted after the independence of India, the law that grants authority over the temple rulers of Travancore and their descendants.
The Supreme Court rejected the appeal filed by Marthanda Varma Thirunal Utharad, showing that in India today, the maharajahs do not have a special status, with the same rights and obligations as any ordinary citizen.
The temple has six hitherto known vaults (Kallaras), labeled as A to F, for book keeping purpose by the Court (Since, however, an Amicus Curie Report by Justice Gopal Subramaniam, in April 2014, has reportedly found two further subterranean vaults that have been named G and H). While vaults A and B have been unopened over the past many years the vaults C to F have been opened from time to time. The two priests of the temple, the 'Periya Nambi' and the 'Thekkedathu Nambi', are the custodians of the four vaults, C to F, which are opened periodically. The Supreme Court had directed that "the existing practices, procedures, and rituals" of the temple be followed while opening vaults C to F and using the articles inside while Vaults A and B would be opened only for the purpose of making an inventory of the articles and then closed. The review of the temple's underground vaults was undertaken by a seven-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court of India to generate an inventory, leading to the enumeration of a vast collection of articles that are traditionally kept under lock and key.
Ceremonial attire for adorning the deity in the form of 16-part gold anki weighing almost 30 kilograms (66 lb), gold coconut shells studded with rubies and emeralds, and several 18th-century Napoleonic era coins were found many other objects. In early-2012, an expert committee had been appointed to investigate these objects, which include lakhs of golden coins of the Roman Empire, that were found in Kottayam, in Kannur District. According to Vinod Rai, the former Comptroller-and-Auditor-General(CAG) of India, who had audited some of the Temple records from 1990, in August 2014, in the already opened vault A, there is an 800-kilo hoard of gold coins dating to around 200 B.C, each coin priced at over 2.70 crores (US$ 0.5 million). Also found was a pure Golden Throne, studded with hundreds of diamonds and fully precious stones, meant for the 18-foot-long Deity. According to varying reports, at least, three, if not many more, solid gold crowns have been found, all studded with diamonds and other precious stones. Some other media reports also mention hundreds of pure gold chairs, thousands of gold pots and jars, among the articles recovered from Vault A and its antechambers.
Considering the huge amount of treasure, it's no surprise that controversy quickly arose. Treasure claimed both Buddhist believers and by the Hindus. Authorities say all the pieces to be exhibited in a museum
Many intellectuals, including former Supreme Court judge, VR Krishna, expressed the opinion that the temple wealth for the public good should be used. Currently, the Supreme Court ruled that the treasure remains the property of the temple, which is controlled by the royal family of Travancore-by.
The penetration in the sixth underground room, it is a difficult mission for experts. They managed to open the outer door but gave in over an iron wall that protects wealth. When and how will enter the last room, the Supreme Court will decide. "Are further examinations before he opens the last room. We will analyze all aspects after the Court's decision, "said NM Krishnan, chairman of the Committee of Experts. Until then, local police installed video cameras, alarm systems and surrounded the house with troops standing guard.
Being so well defended, researchers assume that the treasure room will be the last and most precious. According to the ancient temple records, this room was opened last 136 years ago.
There are several temples in India harboring such treasures worth millions of euros, the majority of assets being raised from donations of gold jewelry and the expense of institutions that would require funds - hospitals, schools and universities.
Researchers say that the wealth amassed by maharajah of Travancore is largely due to trade routes that crossed the territory of the former feudal kingdom. "Merchants who came from all parts of India and abroad, bringing spices and other goods on these roads. They used to make large donations to temples to get the blessings of the gods and the land through which leaders goodwill," says PJ Cherian, director of Kerala Council for Historical Research, said.
A witness to India's transformation from imperial rule to a democratic polity, 90- year-old 'Maharaja of Travancore' Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma has both pleasant and unpleasant memories but his two meetings with British Queen Elizabeth II are something he still cherishes.
The ex-head of the erstwhile royal house of Travancore, which ruled south Kerala before India became independent in 1947 and the princely states integrated into the Indian Union, he was struck by the sharp memory and knowledge of the Queen.
Elizabeth II was just seven years old when Uthradom Tirunal first met her in England in 1933. To his surprise, 21 years later, she recognized him and recalled their first acquaintance when they met again in Bangalore.
"She is a person of sharp memory and has great knowledge about India. I met her first in 1933 during my maiden visit to England. It was long before her coronation. She was then Princess Elizabeth. Her father, then Duke of York, was also there when I saw her," he told PTI in Thiruvananthapuram.
She had become the Queen of England when he met her during her Indian tour after the country's independence.
Going down the memory lane, he said, "In 1954, I was invited to a tea party hosted in honor of the Queen in Bangalore. She came with her husband to the party held at the Vidhan Soudha. I was keen to meet the Queen personally."
Uthradom Tirunal became head of the Travancore royal family in 1991 succeeding his elder brother Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma, the last princely ruler of Travancore.He was all praise for the British administration in India except on a few counts. "I have never felt animosity towards the British. It is just because they had always shown respect and consideration towards Travancore rulers. They wanted some kind of treaty of friendship between us," he said.
"It is a state which contributed kings who had fasted with their people when they suffered in lean times. It is the land which taught rules the lessons of humbleness, compassion, and simplicity. No other place could be like my motherland."
On the recent discovery of priceless treasures in the vaults of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, the family shrine of Travancore royals, he said, "It has been in the temple vaults for centuries and the royal family has been well aware of that...It is the wealth of Lord Padmanabha and we have never ever felt any interest in it. It should be preserved as God's wealth in future also."
The ex-head of the erstwhile royal house of Travancore, which ruled south Kerala before India became independent in 1947 and the princely states integrated into the Indian Union, he was struck by the sharp memory and knowledge of the Queen.
Elizabeth II was just seven years old when Uthradom Tirunal first met her in England in 1933. To his surprise, 21 years later, she recognized him and recalled their first acquaintance when they met again in Bangalore.
"She is a person of sharp memory and has great knowledge about India. I met her first in 1933 during my maiden visit to England. It was long before her coronation. She was then Princess Elizabeth. Her father, then Duke of York, was also there when I saw her," he told PTI in Thiruvananthapuram.
She had become the Queen of England when he met her during her Indian tour after the country's independence.
Going down the memory lane, he said, "In 1954, I was invited to a tea party hosted in honor of the Queen in Bangalore. She came with her husband to the party held at the Vidhan Soudha. I was keen to meet the Queen personally."
Uthradom Tirunal became head of the Travancore royal family in 1991 succeeding his elder brother Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma, the last princely ruler of Travancore.He was all praise for the British administration in India except on a few counts. "I have never felt animosity towards the British. It is just because they had always shown respect and consideration towards Travancore rulers. They wanted some kind of treaty of friendship between us," he said.
"It is a state which contributed kings who had fasted with their people when they suffered in lean times. It is the land which taught rules the lessons of humbleness, compassion, and simplicity. No other place could be like my motherland."
On the recent discovery of priceless treasures in the vaults of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, the family shrine of Travancore royals, he said, "It has been in the temple vaults for centuries and the royal family has been well aware of that...It is the wealth of Lord Padmanabha and we have never ever felt any interest in it. It should be preserved as God's wealth in future also."
Indian Maharaja was accused of stealing gold from the temple treasure, reports The Telegraph. Travancore Royal Family Leader Maharaja Uthradam Varma stole jewelry and coins from the treasure found in the
temple, according to some former employees of the temple. He is accused extracted valuables during morning prayers, the prime suspect after employees reported the thefts were fired from it.
Uthradom Tirunal died in 2013. His place was taken by his daughter Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma.
We will follow closely what will happen next with this treasure but the best thing would be for the entire Indian nation that treasures from temples to be made in favor of poverty eradication and educating young generations of Indians. Increased health of the population, solving huge problems with drinking water, ensuring a special status for children and young people so that they no longer have to work hard from a very young age, all these and many other problems that It could be solved only some of these treasures. It is sad that a people with such material wealth alone is not capable of solving development problems. We appreciate that spiritual wealth of India will be no change destination impaired by the objects of these treasures. But this is only the decision of the Indians, we can not be other than mere commentators.
foto credit: google.com
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