Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple
Posted on: 16/May/2013 11:19:26 AM
The Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum is now the richest temple in the world, overtaking by leaps and bounds the Tirupati Tirumala Temple that held the position till now. The discovery came into view after the Supreme Court received petitions claiming that the royal family of Travancore, who oversee the temple and its administration, were misusing their power. The Court then ordered a committee to audit the contents of the sex sacred vaults in the temple.
This committee consists of Director General of National Museums C.V. Ananda Bose, representatives from the ASI (Archeological Survey of India), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), retired judges of the Kerala High Court, the Maharaja of Travancore Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma and Additional Chief Secretary of Kerala Jaya Kumar.
Of the six vaults, nothing surprising was found in the first four. However, when the fifth vault (named A) was opened, the committee found crowns, gold coins, gold chains and deities among other things. Unconfirmed reports estimate the ‘treasure’ to be worth over 38 billion dollars. It is said that the fifth and sixth vaults (A and B) have not been opened for centuries.
Within days of opening Vault A, the chief petitioner in the case T.P. Sundara Rajan died suddenly, leading to rumours that the divine forces killed him. The door of the last vault has an image of a snake and is considered unlucky. Many are afraid that a calamity may befall the royal family or the world if the vault is opened.
Currently, there has been no progress in the case. Many commoners believe that the royal family is virtuous and has integrity.
