KERALA, INDIA, July 4, 2011 (India Today): Opinion is divided on the ownership of the treasure at the Kerala’s Padmanabha temple. The discovery has sparked off a controversy as to what happens to the treasure now. Does it belong to the public or to the royal family?
Former High Court Judge M.N. Krishnan said, “We are expected to take the inventories and submit before the Supreme Court.”
Two of the six underground vaults of the temple have not been opened in 136 years. One chamber was last opened 140 years ago. The last remaining chamber – the oldest one termed the B vault, will be opened after July 8. Meanwhile, security has been heavily beefed up in and around the temple complex.
But the question is who the wealth belongs to. What happens to this treasure now? Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said, “The government will assist in safeguarding the treasure.”
Former High Court Judge Justice C.S. Rajan said, “That is for the court to decide who is the owner.”
Legal Expert V.R. Krishna Iyer said, “The wealth should be used in public interest. The treasure should be handed over to a national trust and spent for the welfare of the poor.”
Activist Jaya Jaitley told Headlines Today, “People offer money to the God. The God’s represented by the temple. There is no question that the state can say it has a right over the wealth. There will be huge turmoil in that event. Leave it to the temple.”
“The money belongs to the temple. It’s a great treasure we have found — it’s atrocious to suggest it’s black money,” Sabrimala temple spokesperson Rahul Easwar told Headlines Today.
The government, though, says that the treasure will be used in public interest, but only if the Supreme Court allows. Till the time SC decides on who gets the treasure, the world’s richest temple will continue to be the guardian of God’s own wealth.
Experts believe the value of the treasure trove is nearly three times the annual budget size of Kerala. It is almost double of the annual budget of Bihar.
How the Kerala temple compares to other rich temples
Five hundred and twenty two silver bricks were recovered from the ancient Jagannath temple in Puri in February this year. The bricks weighing 18 tonnes were worth US$ 30 million. The recovery, from a room that had remained closed for decades, had been a surprise.
It was the Balaji Temple in Tirupati that was the richest Hindu temple in the world, till the Padmanabha Swamy temple surpassed it. The insurance cover for Tirupati Balaji’s jewels is whopping US$ 12 billion.
The Tirupati temple is also known to have 3000 kg of gold, worth US$ 120 million. One third of this gold was deposited with the State Bank of India last year.
With one more vault left to be opened, the wealth of Lord Padmanabha could possibly be the largest in the world – larger than even the most celebrated religious repository of treasure, the Vatican.
While the Vatican has more artefacts of proven artistic, historical and religious value, most of them cannot even be quantified in terms of money. Its US$ 325 million annual revenue pales in comparison to the treasure of Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple.
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, maybe priceless, but the gold from the Kerala temple would earn more interest per year, year after year.