Trivandrum: All eyes are on the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum as Supreme Court appointed amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium arrived in the city on Tuesday.
Subramanium is in Trivandrum to meet the executive committee of the temple, members of the Travancore royal family and the government over the sealed vault B of the shrine which is considered to be one of the richest shrines in the world. The inventory committee will also inspect the idol of Sree Padmanabha as some cracks have been noticed on the idol.
The 16th century temple came into the spotlight around six years ago when one of its six vaults was found to contain ancient valuables worth Rs 1 lakh crore. Post that, Subramanium, in the last hearing, had told the SC that it was imperative to open vault B of the temple to ascertain the total inventory of assets.
The erstwhile Travancore family was of the view that vault B must not be opened as it was against God's will. The apex court, while hearing the case in July, had told Subramanium to take into account what the family and other stakeholders had to say about the opening of vault B.
The mystery around Vault A and B
The SC, in 2011, asked the temple authorities to open chamber A, which was secretive until then. The directive followed a petition filed by retired IPS officer TP Sundarajan who, in 2009, alleged misappropriation of valuables at Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple.
In the following years, the apex court ordered for the valuables to be inventoried, and the erstwhile Travancore royal family was stripped off its hold over the management of the shrine.
When vault A was opened, the antique coins found in the chamber weighed over 600 kg. There were over 2 lakh items that were checked by government officials, and many of them were found to be embedded with invaluable gems. The chamber also had crowns, necklaces, precious stones.
Officials now believe that vault B might have more wealth than the chamber that was opened.
'Opening the vault would harm God’s power'
There are many myths and legends surrounding the vault of the shrine. Legend has it that the vault opens to an underground tunnel that links the temple to the Arabian Sea. The myth, however, was questioned after a team of experts from Centre for Earth Science Studies found no such link.
Another myth speaks of the presence of the Sree Chakra — a place that contains the powers of the Universe and the Almighty (symbolically). Opening the vault, thus, would put it in disarray.
There are six chambers in the temple, marked from A to F, out of which two are unlocked twice a year, and others every day.
Comments
0 comment