THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, July 3, 2011 (TImes of India): Treasure continued to tumble out of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple here on Saturday with a Supreme Court-appointed committee finding more gold idols, coins and other assets on the sixth day of inspection in the shrine’s hidden vaults. Unconfirmed reports said the total value of all assets recovered from the shrine could be worth nearly US$17 billion.
[HPI note: the counting continues, and as of the time of this publication the treasure is estimated at US$ 22 billion.]
Among the notable discoveries was an ancient gold statue of a three-and-a-half feet tall Lord Vishnu studded with precious diamonds and emeralds. Sources said its value could not be assessed due to its antiquity. There were also human figurines made of pure gold, each weighing 2.2 lbs. as well as 18-foot-long jewelery weighing 77 lbs. used to adorn the Deity. Bags of coins and precious stones were also found in chamber A, one of six vaults marked A to F.
The treasure trove in Kerala temple includes a gold sheaf weighing 500 kilos, a 36-kilo golden veil, 1200 ‘Sarappalli’ golden chains, some sporting ‘navaratnas’, three gold stone-studded crowns, diamonds, precious stones, including cat’s eye, rubies and emeralds and 1,000 kg of gold coins.
Acting on a petition, the Kerala high court had in January asked the state government to take over the administration of the temple and also prepare an inventory of its assets. The shrine is run by a trust constituted by the royal family. On appeal, the SC stayed the take over part but gave nod to stock-taking.
History has it that the shrine is inextricably linked to the Travancore royal family. The erstwhile ruler of Travancore in the 1700s, King Marthanda Varma, had dedicated the state and all his wealth to the Deity and ruled as ‘Padmanabha Dasa (servant of Padmanabha). According to legend, the Travancore kings had transferred loads of wealth, meant for use during famines to these secret chambers to protect them from the British.