Treasure worth over 1 Lac crore unearthed from padmanabhaswamy temple vault

[anooj]

Offerings made by Hindus at temples whether such offerings are done by Kings ( ie crores of rupees ) or by a poor man ( just one rupee coin) is basically given to God in GOOD faith for public welfare

Thereafter what happens to the money is the temple administrators responsibility

Whether they siphon off the money or use it wisely and then bring more devotees to the temple

We are NOT going to see a queue of people saying I want my money back

The government can use it for education , health and other such purposes AND if the money is really HUGE as some are saying Rs 50000 crores Then it can be even used for wiping out Kerala's DEBT

All state govts these days are having huge debts

this is devaswom property,so the government wont be able to spend this for public welfare programs or to clear its debts

 

[Iamanidiot]

This actually pales in comparison to what Tirupathi has in jewels.The public is hardly aware of 1% of the gods jewels in tirupathi

 

[anooj]

This actually pales in comparison to what Tirupathi has in jewels.The public is hardly aware of 1% of the gods jewels in tirupathi

these are estimated figures after examining 70% of cellar A (cellar B and F yet to be opened)...media reports says thirupathi temple got gold and diamonds worth 52000 crore (Lord Padmanabha in Kerala now richer than Lord Balaji of Tirupati | Deccan Chronicle )

 

[Iamanidiot]

Do you know that you are not even allowed to dig on the seven hills

 

[anooj]

Do you know that you are not even allowed to dig on the seven hills

sorry i dont know...

 

[Yusuf]

What is the usual practice to handle the funds temples get? How is it utilized?

Is the offerings made in gold then valued and converted to cash to be utilized later or just stored as it is?

 

[anooj]

What is the usual practice to handle the funds temples get? How is it utilized?

Is the offerings made in gold then valued and converted to cash to be utilized later or just stored as it is?

offering are on gold and precious jewels ...what method they used for evaluation is still unkown..these cellars were remained closed for 130 years..opened lat monday

 

[Yusuf]

offering are on gold and precious jewels ...what method they used for evaluation is still unkown..these cellars were remained closed for 130 years..opened lat monday

What's come out of the vault is old treasure. Even today people make offerings in gold etc. I asked about that. Is that also put into vault or utilized to make idols or something?

What about the cash that comes as offerings? How is that used? What's the general practice like?

 

[Arunpillai]

This treasure trove belongs to the temple which is administered privately by a trust.. The valuable treasures unearthed here are not the offerings by countless devotees, but the riches amassed by the Travancore royal family since last 200years.. Since traditionaly the Travancore royal family have dedicated their kingdom at Lord Padmanabhaswami's feet and they only ruled over their vast land in the name of Lord as Padmanabha dasa (probably how kerala came to be called as God's Own Country) , all the riches which they collected through conquests, wars, taxations, trade, etc were deposited at the temple of Lord..
Coming days will be interesting as to the controversy about whom should the treasure belong to? A) government B)temple management C)royal family.. Already right wing hindu groups have already made noises about the voilating the sanctity and traditions of the temples. State Government could be in a tight spot as it is already perceived to be pro minority..

 

[GPM]

Valuation is hard, considering the antique value. Price by weight can be determined in a jiffy, so to say.

State govt depends on ML and KC MLAs for suvival, 31 out of 72 of the NDF in power. It cannot but be pro minorities.

 

[RAM]

Rs 75,000 cr and counting: More treasure tumbles out of shrine

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: 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.

Among the notable discoveries was an ancient gold idol of 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 1 kg as well as 18-foot-long jewelery weighing 35 kg used to adorn the deity. Bags of coins and precious stones were also found in the chamber marked A.

Unconfirmed reports said the total value of all assets recovered from the shrine could be worth Rs 75,000 crore.

The temple has six vaults marked A to F. On Saturday, the committee completed stock taking in vault A. They had already drawn up the inventory of items in C, D and F. The B chamber, which hasn't been unsealed after 1872, and the E vault remain to be opened. The inspection will continue on Monday.

The state police has decided to put in place a three-tier security for the shrine which has emerged as the richest in India. Additional Director General of Police Venugopal K Nair, who is given charge of the temple security, said "We have only begun the process. A detailed plan will be put in place soon."

At present, two platoons of special armed police have been deployed for the shrine's security.

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 aninvetory 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 Marthanda Varma had dedicated the state and all his wealth to the deity and ruled as 'Padmanabha Dasa (servant of Padmanabha), who consequently gained the status of nominal head or 'perumal.

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.

The score is gettin better..I prefer Royal rule in kerala or even india. I prefer a Royalpal to lokpal as loyality to state was never been undermined.

 

[Phenom]

I'm surprised this news is not getting more national coverage

 

[sob]

Hands off the treasures that belong to Lord Vishnu

The opening of the vaults in the Sri Padnamanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, according to a court order comes at a dangerous time for our polity.

The mainstream media continues to sensationalise the size of the treasure. One of them gushes that "treasures tumble out of the temple" — as though this is illegal money stashed in the Cayman Islands. Let's be clear: these treasures were donated by the temple's devotees over centuries, and rightfully belong to Lord Vishnu, who cannot even be fully seen from any angle by devotees. He is the true owner of this wealth and this truth should be internalised
The mainstream media continues to sensationalise the size of the treasure. One of them gushes that "treasures tumble out of the temple" — as though this is illegal money stashed in the Cayman Islands.


The present times are most inappropriate to try to list the billions of rupees worth of diamonds and rubies and sapphires owned by our temples. We all know that a significant portion of our politicians have a criminal background and even parts of the judiciary are corrupt. The bureaucracy is compromised by a saga of loot and plunder.

In this context, where government finances are completely out of alignment with revenue realities, the temptation will be to use these invaluable treasures to fulfill the insatiable personal and political greed of our politicians to fund populist schemes like "food security" for all with resources belonging to Lord Vishnu. Already more than 80% of the incomes of major temples is used for "secular" causes rather than for "sacred" purposes.

The unaccountable civil society group under Sonia Gandhi – also called the National Advisory Council — might formulate a bill (since they are the law framers in the present dispensation) to open up all vaults from the Amarnath to Ayappa temples and from Somnath to Kamakhya.

There will be half-baked debates about using it for "social justice". The only people who can have some say on this wealth are those who visit the temple on a daily basis and who can chant, in this case, the Vishnu Sahasranamam. I am not even sure if those who are counting these treasures are eligible to deal with the "sacred" on the orders of the "secular". One can say that this is the last battle waged by Nehruvian secularists against the 'sacred" even though, in this particular case, it might appear to be a simple case of counting.

Hands off the treasures that belong to Lord Vishnu | Firstpost

 

[Yusuf]

100,000 CR and counting. This is just face value and not accounting for the antique value.

They have set up police protection and police control room.

How trustworthy are the temple workers up to the highest level of the priest? Are they honest or corruptible? One way or the other, the treasure is in trouble as many would lay their eyes on it.

 

[Yusuf]

Will the finding of this treasure lead to potential treasure hunting in other temples too? This raises questions about security of temples at the hands of treasure hunters.

 

[sob]

This is the biggest worry. I expect some sort of knee jerk reaction on this. For decades antiques have been stolen from Indian temples as they have always been unguarded, and are sold in the global black market for antiques.

 

[sob]

I propose that for all those temples that have huge wealth should adopt 10 districts which are in the vicinity.The money should be used only for education, clinics/hospitals and infrastructure of villages in these districts. This should be done after keeping a certain percentage for the upkeep pf the temple and the for the salaries of the priests.

 

[sandeepdg]

It will easily reach a figure of around 50 billion USD if we take into account the antique value, other than just the cost of gold and other precious stones. Obviously, now that it is in the limelight, there's a serious issue about its security, but it was a known fact at least to many in Kerala that the Padmanabhaswamy temple is home to treasures of the erstwhile rulers of Travancore for the past 8-10 centuries, I don't think anybody tried to steal them. But, that was then. The state government has stated that the treasure belongs to the temple and it is responsible for its protection.

 

[Godless-Kafir]

Just imagine how much the British must have looted from India!!! This is just a small temple compared to the ones the looted! Anyone think the BBC will say it as its? Tough luck.. F...ing pigs.

Holy crap!! I knew these temples should have had a lot of money accumulated but i have no idea this much was there!

 

[Dark_Prince]

These figures should be made public that too in the open, so that the corrupt people do not loot these treasures and transfer them to Swiss banks or sell them as antiques in the west.