Padmanabhaswamy Temple treasure

The Padmanabhaswamy Temple treasure is a collection of valuable objects including gold coins, statues and ornaments, diamonds and other precious stones. It was discovered in the subterranean vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram in the Indian state of Kerala, when five of its six vaults were opened on 27 June 2011. The vaults were opened on the orders of the Supreme Court of India, which was hearing a private petition seeking transparency in the running of the temple. The discovery of the treasure attracted widespread national and international media attention as it is considered to be the largest collection of items of gold and precious stones in the recorded history of the world.^[1]

The vaults

The temple management authorities were aware of the existence of six vaults. They are situated very close to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on its western side. For documentation purposes, these vaults have been designated as vaults A, B, C, D, E and F. Subsequently, two more vaults have been identified and they have been designated as vaults G and H.^[2][3]

• Four of the vaults, namely those designated as B, C, D, and F, are in the custody of the temple priests. They are opened at least eight times every year and the contents stored in them are routinely taken out for use on special ceremonial occasions such as temple festivals, and thy are deposited back after use.
• As per the orders of the Supreme Court of India, a court appointed committee opened the vaults on 30 June 2011 and entered vault A. They unlocked an iron grille and a heavy wooden door, then removed a granite slab from the floor. Beneath, five or six steps led to a small, dark room which stored the treasure. The various items found scattered everywhere, They were not arranged systematically. There were baskets, earthen pots, copper pots, all containing valuable objects. It took about 12 days to carry the treasure outside, and to take an inventory of it.
• Vault B has not been opened. The Supreme Court appointed committee members opened the metal-grille door to Vault B, and discovered a sturdy wooden door just behind it. They opened this door as well, and encountered a third door, made of iron, which was jammed shut. The observers considered forcing their way in, but deemed this improper; they decided to hire a locksmith. Then, in mid-July, before the locksmith came, the royal family got an injunction from the Supreme Court against opening vault B.

Inventory of the treasure

The Supreme Court of India had ordered an amicus curiae appointed by it to prepare an inventory of the treasure. Full details of the inventory have not been revealed. However, newspaper reports gave an indication of the possible contents of the vaults.^[1]

• A 3.5-foot (1.1 m) tall golden idol of Mahavishnu, studded with diamonds and rubies and other precious stones.
• An 18-foot (5.5 m) long gold chain
• A gold sheaf weighing 500 kilograms (1,100 lb)
• A 36-kilogram (79 lb) golden veil
• 1,200 'Sarappalli' gold coin-chains encrusted with precious stones
• Several sacks filled with golden artifacts, necklaces, diadems, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, gemstones, and objects made of other precious metals
• Ceremonial attire for adorning the deity in the form of 16-part gold anki weighing almost 30 kilograms (66 lb)
• Gold coconut shells studded with rubies and emeralds
• Several 18th century Napoleonic era coins
• Hundreds of thousands of golden coins of the Roman Empire
• An 800-kilogram (1,800 lb) hoard of gold coins dating to around 200 BC
• A pure golden throne, studded with hundreds of diamonds and precious stones, meant for the 18-foot (5.5 m) idol of deity
• According to varying reports, at least three, if not many more, solid gold crowns all studded with diamonds and other precious stones.
• Hundreds of pure gold chairs
• Thousands of gold pots and jars

A brief history of the legal battle that led to the opening of the vaults

• Until 1991, the temple was managed by the late Maharaja of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma. After his death in 1991, his younger brother, Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma, became head of the family and the temple's new trustee. Soon after the transition, devotees began expressing misgivings about the temple’s management. Precious items seemed to be disappearing and valuable temple lands seemed to be changing hands.
• On 2 August 2007, the temple trustee Marthanda Varma issued a circular stating that the vaults would be opened on 3 August 2007 for taking photographs of the ornaments kept there for preparing an album. Two devotees of the temple, N. Vishwambaran and R. Padmanabhan, approached Adv. T. K. Ananda Padmanabhan, a lawyer in Thiruvananthapuram, requesting his help to move the court to restrain the Maharaja from opening the vaults. They got a stay order from Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sub-Judge who restrained the Maharaja from opening the vaults.
• On 18 December 2007, the Sub-Judge ruled that a separate administrative body may be set up for the administration of the temple. He appointed a two-member panel, and vested them with the authority to open particular vaults to take out the jewels and utensils required for festivals and other important occasions. Marthanda Varma challenged the order in the Kerala High Court without success. Later, he filed an appeal before the Supreme Court of India.
• Meanwhile, in 2009, the late T. P. Sundara Rajan, Padmanabhan’s uncle and a retired officer of the Indian Police Service, filed a case before the High Court, challenging Marthanda Varma’s authority in governing the temple affairs.
• In January 2011, the Kerala High Court ruled that the family of Marthanda Varma had no hereditary right to manage the temple. The court ordered Kerala State authorities to take over the temple's administration, and to make provisions to open the vaults and inventory their contents. Marthanda Varma appealed to the Supreme Court which stayed the temple’s handover to the Kerala Government. But it also established the first committee to open the vaults, paving the way for the opening of the vaults.

Evaluation of the treasure

Given the nature of the assets and their antiquity, an assessment of the monetary worth of the contents of the treasure could only be an intellligent guess. The monetary worth has been variously estimated.

Source of the treasure

It was after Marthanda Varma's accession to the throne in 1729 that Travancore's fortunes began to rise. In 1750, the king dedicated his entire kingdom and all rights over it to Lord Padmanabha, making the deity the de facto head of state. As Travancore’s fortunes rose so did the deity’s. Valuables looted from conquered principalities were placed in temple vaults. Ruling family members and local elites donated generously to the temple and its reigning idol. On a royal child’s first birthday, the infant was weighed and an equivalent amount of gold presented to the deity. Almost all ruling family members on their birthdays, or on auspicious days, made donations to the temple. From 1766 until 1792, Travancore also provided refuge to around a dozen other Hindu rulers, who had fled their own princely states along the Malabar Coast, due to fears of possible military defeat and forced conversion to Islam by Tipu Sultan. They came with whatever valuables they had in their palace and they would have donated valuables generously to Lord Padmanabha. Many of these rulers, and their extended family members, also donated generously when they finally returned home following Tipu Sultan’s military defeat by British forces in 1792. Temple coffers were further enhanced by local elites, prosperous traders and others, all seeking protection.^[1][2][4]

Further reading

• Report of Amicus Curiae dated 29 October 2012 submitted in the Supreme Court of India: Gopal Subramanium. "Report of Amicus Curiae" (PDF). Retrieved 1 December 2015. 
• A report on the opening of the vaults in 1931: A. Srivathsan (June 6, 2013). "When the vault was opened in 1931". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 November 2015. 
• K. N. Ganesh (January 2013). "To Whom Does Temple Wealth Belong? A Historical Essay on Landed Property in Travancore". Review of Agrarian Studies 3 (1). Retrieved 27 November 2015. 

References