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| Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, India |
Richest temple in the world and Supreme Court ruling decision.
Have you heard or seen the stock pile
of massive treasure in
the history of mankind ever? Well, hold your breadth, such a place is in India
in the city of thiruvananthapuram in
kerala, treasure amasing in quantity given by the devotess for centuries. Such a
massive treasure that was locked untill recently and treasure still on counting even
after reaching the counted treasure to whopping amount of 1 trillion Dollar
2011 making it, the
richest temple in the world.
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| control yourself Frodo Baggins |
For the longest time, the folks at Padmanabhaswamy Temple went
about their business without being aware that in its premises lay a treasure
that would put all other treasures to shame. To put this into perspective, the
entire Mughal treasury at the zenith of its power could be valued at $ 90
billion.
Interesting facts about the temple
1. It is the richest temple in the world with
treasure worth $1 trillion in 2011.
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| Golden statue |
2. The walls and design of the temple are Dravidian styles,
one of the rarest and most fascinating designs.
3. It has 5 chambers, out which Chamber B cannot be opened as
it is believed to be cursed and offcourse more treasure.
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| Treasure vault B |
4. The Temple has a dress code of dhoti or mundu for men and
saree for women @traditional attire.
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| Brahmin(Priest) in Traditional attire Dhoti |
5. The
temple has Z security mark, it is the most secure temple with foolproof plans.
6. The temple has three and a half feet gold statue of
Mahavishnu in the chamber which weights 30 kg.
Ruling by Apex court
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the right of
the erstwhile royal family of Travancore as the custodian of the properties
belonging to the deity of sree
Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, overruling a 2011 Kerala High Court judgment
that the state government take control of the temple and its vast riches. The
SC had in 2011 stayed the High Court ruling and ordered an assessment of the
temple’s wealth. Following this, jewellery, coins and precious stones with a
nominal value of Rs 1 lakh crore were discovered after one of the six kallaras, or
vaults, was opened to public audit for the first time.
The history
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| Royals of Travancore in festivities |
The centuries-old temple complex is an eclectic mix of
Dravidian and classic Kerala architecture. Its definite age is not known —
perhaps 6th or even 3rd century — but the structure we see today is the result
of a renovation undertaken during the reign of Anizhom Thirunal Marthanda
Varma, between 1729 and 1758 CE. In 1750, the king surrendered his kingdom and
the wealth to the deity. After India became a republic, the administration of
the temple was vested in a trust under a 1949 agreement of the accession
between the then ruler, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, and Govt of India.
About the vault
The temple has six vaults. Four of these
are periodically opened as per rituals. Vaults A and B are said to have not
been opened for centuries. In 2011, the SC ordered they be for “making an
inventory of the articles and then closed”. Vault A was opened, but the royal
family opposed the opening of Vault B, saying it would disturb the spiritual energy and bring
ill-fortune.
About the rights
In 2007, a lawsuit by devotees alleged
mismanagement by the trust and challenged the right of Utradam Thirunal
Marthanda Varma, the younger brother of Chithira Thirunal, who died in 1991. In
2011, Kerala High Court ruled that the state has the administrative right over
the temple since the 26th amendment of the constitution, 1971, had abolished
privy purses and privileges of erstwhile rulers of princely states.
The apex court’s further decree
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| Apex Court of India |
latest ruling said the royal family’s
shebaitship survives the death of the ruler. But it directed the formation of a
committee, with Thiruvananthapuram district judge as the chairperson, to
administer the temple. A nominee of the trustee (the family), the chief priest,
a nominee of the state and a nominee of the Union ministry of culture would be
the other members. An advisory committee headed by a retired High Court judge
will also be set up. SC did not rule on the vaults, leaving the decision to the
committees.
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