Treasure worth over 1 Lac crore unearthed from padmanabhaswamy temple vault

Parthy

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It is getting big

Temple of boom in Thiruvananthapuram: Rs 1 lakh crore and counting

Call it the mother of all treasure hunts. The stock-taking by a panel of experts at the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple has catapulted the shrine located in Thiruvananthapuram to the country's richest, with reports claiming that the value of recoveries may have touched close to Rs 1 lakh crore, more than Kerala public debt of Rs 70,969 crore.

With one more "secret" vault yet to be opened, the figure in all likelihood will go up further. But sources said the figures could only be speculation as it wasn't possible to determine the antique value of the precious gems and jewellery. "These are antique pieces and it's not possible to determine their prices," said historian and former director of Indian Council of Historical Research M G S Narayanan. In other words, the worth of the treasure could be intimidatingly higher.

The Supreme Court-appointed committee on Sunday refused to confirm reports about the value of the recoveries, saying that its mandate is limited to making an inventory of the assets.

Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy said the treasure would remain with the temple. "The wealth belonged to the temple and it will be preserved where it was found. There is religious and historical significance to the findings. The state will ensure its security," Chandy told reporters on Sunday.

Chandy said the police would patrol the shrine 24X7 and a control room had already started functioning. "Permanent security arrangements will be put in place only after consultations with the chief priest of the temple and the Travancore king who is the caretaker of the shrine," the CM said.

A source said the seven-member panel was stunned by what it found in the secret vault marked `A' during its inspection on Thursday. There were close to 1,000 kg of gold coins, some of these from the East India Company era and Napolean's period, about one tonne of gold in the form of rice trinkets, sack full of diamonds said to be from Burma and Sri Lanka, a rope made of gold and thousands of pieces of rare 'sarappoli' necklaces.

The stock-taking continued next day as only 30% of the assets could be counted on Thursday. Again there were surprises in the form of a three-and-a-half feet tall idol of Lord Vishnu studded with diamonds, emeralds and rubies, an 18-feet-long ornament used to adorn the deity and weighing 35 kg and 1 feet tall human figurines weighing 1 kg each. There were coins marked 1772 indicating they were from the era of former Travancore ruler Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma better known as `Dharma Raja' for his strict adherence to the rules of 'dharma'.

Entry was strictly forbidden for the media and public to the site. There are six vaults marked A to F in the shrine. The A and B cellars have never been opened after 1872. The panel had set out on the job on June 27 and opened three vaults marked C, D and F till Wednesday.

The observers, retired Kerala high court judge Justice M N Krishnan and Justice C S Rajan, said it was difficult give an exact date when the stock-taking would be completed. The B and E vaults remain to be opened.

Narayanan said there were specific documents called 'Mathilakam records' which speak about the history of the shrine and about how the assets came into it. "The temple has been known since the 9th Century and figures in the writings of that time. Native ruler of Travancore (then pricely state) Marthanda Varma had given away all the wealth to the deity and ruled the kingdom as the Lord's agent."

"Travancore was a very prosperous state and with its port facilities, traded in spices, sandalwood and ivory. The foreign currency recovered from the vaults may have come in through the trade route," he added.



Temple of boom in Thiruvananthapuram: Rs 1 lakh crore and counting - The Times of India
 

Phenom

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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.
Unlikely

Most Ancient temples in India are still active, so the chances of hidden treasures are very rare. Even in this case, it's likely that the people knew there were treasures in the temple, they just didn't value it.
 

Iamanidiot

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Unlikely

Most Ancient temples in India are still active, so the chances of hidden treasures are very rare. Even in this case, it's likely that the people knew there were treasures in the temple, they just didn't value it.
Tirupathi is one place full of intrigue and its the most opaque temple I know there is also a shadow organization other than TTD which is in chargte of Tirupathi and they are one hell of a bunch
 

Parthy

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British would have already rubbing their noses to find out how did they missed out this bunch of gold while looting the Kohinoor and all other wealth from India... :D
 

nitesh

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The funny part is that, this is not even the tip of the iceberg, we don't know how much of such treasures are still waiting to be unearthed.
 
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I read somewhere that only 2% of the knowledge of the vedas are known in the present age. The other 98% is still hidden.
 

nrj

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There are heavy gold idols furnished with emeralds of the size of adult human palm. These should be established in form of existing or new temples. They are part of our rich heritage. Let them remain to the Hindu trusts. Screw all who ask to dissolve it into public money or declare ownership of any sort.

AFAIK Video screening of counting process was denied however security is tight.
 

shuvo@y2k10

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the total worth has now crossed 1lakh crore and still 1 room is left to open.this treasure trove will make it the richest religious institution in the world.but it still can't beat a.raja or the wealth amasssed by gandhi family in swiss banks.
 

The Messiah

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Break down all hidden treasure "chambers" and distribute to the poor.

God doesn't benefit from money but poor people can.
 

Sabir

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It is a bad tradition we, the Indians have to accumulate wealth in religious place. It not only corrupt the priests but bring menace (like Mahmood or Bakhtiyar Khilji) upon these religious institutions. Had they utilised that wealth for some good reasons, atleast for the defence of the state, the Indian history would have been different. It should go to government treasury after proper valuation.
 

ganesh177

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If i am not wrong, then 1 lakh crore INR converts to $22.4 billions. Correct me if wrong.
 

Tomcat

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sabir and messiha i have an idea why dont you guys donnate all the gold that you guys have to the so called "POOR"

then we can tell the Emperor of Tranvancore to donate his or better still ask you local MLA MP etc to do the same

first of all the assole who gave this complaint is a Moron I AM ASHAMED that insted of saving it and treating it as the Property

of the temple it is being trash talked why dont the Hoooooooooo so seculers and Help the Poor janta go and ask the Political

shemales and berucratic Whores to declare the amount of welth they have in swiss banks i am so sadened for the fact that the

so called Inviglators hadnt even the smallest senes of Temple Traditions .

but hey we are living in the 21st century right and we should not be talking all this BS about traditions and temples it is so arachic man

I rest my cases

To qoute Christ " Ho father forgive them for they do Not know what they do"

and the Baghavat gita " Hey arjuna i am the arogence of the arrogent "
 
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nrj

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There are countless temples who feed poors on daily basis. These temple trusts should also take such initiative. Why submit it into Government & then it'll use it for poors? Our distribution system & administration is majorly inefficient last time I checked. Success of Mid-day meal is still debatable. These trusts will be atleast feeding lakhs daily in form prasaad. Temples should re-establish those idols eventually helping spread of Hinduism & showcasing our wealthy past. At the same time they can keep agreeable assets in bank & Gov/Trusts benefit from interests, whichever way works out for them. But converting entire treasure into Government money is nonsense.
 
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Sabir

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sabir and messiha i have an idea why dont you guys donnate all the gold that you guys have to the so called "POOR"

then we can tell the Emperor of Tranvancore to donate his or better still ask you local MLA MP etc to do the same

first of all the assole who gave this complaint is a Moron I AM ASHAMED that insted of saving it and treating it as the Property

of the temple it is being trash talked why dont the Hoooooooooo so seculers and Help the Poor janta go and ask the Political

shemales and berucratic Whores to declare the amount of welth they have in swiss banks i am so sadened for the fact that the

so called Inviglators hadnt even the smallest senes of Temple Traditions .

but hey we are living in the 21st century right and we should not be talking all this BS about traditions and temples it is so arachic man

I rest my cases

To qoute Christ " Ho father forgive them for they do Not know what they do"

and the Baghavat gita " Hey arjuna i am the arogence of the arrogent "
Temple tradition???? What is it? Accumulating wealth for God? Is God a crazy kid that he is need tobe placated by gift and other stuff? Which Hindu scriptures talk about keeping wealth in temple? If you are not a dumb, you would have understood those are nothing but the wealth squeezed from the people by the Priest class over the years. (No religion is free from this desease). Yes, there are corruption among politicians, bureaucrats but that does not justify the corruption of the religious people. Here people try to bribe God, and you are asking for honest politicians and bureaucrats.....Religion is an important aspect of Indian life. If it is corrupted , all other aspects will follow........The same politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen dont hesitate to donate some part of their black money in temple and other religious places thinking this bribe to God would wash off their sins....
 

Tomcat

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as i said sabir i rest my case there is no case in talking about this if you guys dont want here or look at the other side of the coin
 

Anonymous

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Okay, so the people want the money to be used to help the poor, but the temple says screw that and the government agrees it's the temple's money to do with what they please, and in order to protect all that money, they're going to need to use the people's money?
 
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SLASH

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What should the government do now. Does the temple have a trustworthy trust? What if the trust members decide to misuse the treasure? The treasure does not belong to anyone. Other than Lord Vishnu the second most eligible entity for this treasure is the government. We can't distribute it to the people. I think the centre should take the treasure and add it to our gold reserve. But than again the same would also have to be applied to all temples, mosques and churches. Tricky situation. This money is a waste just lying over there. It can be better utilized.

BTW any guesses about the total amount of money accumulated by religions in India?
 

Anonymous

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The Central govt. under the supervision of Supreme Court should take this (atleast 99%) money and use it for education and building infrastructure for the country. Education and infrastructure are the biggest problem in India which money can solve. That money can be put towards reforming the country.
 

Yusuf

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The situation is such that people would love to lay their hands on the treasure and take control but they don't want to ask as well!!!

One thing is for sure, no matter what the security, the treasure is in danger of being pilfered. The amount and size is such that anyone's "iman" will get bhrasht. Imagine if someone had a chance to take one brick of gold. I am sure he would. Even if it's the one on duty to secure the treasure.

I hope a fool proof way is found to secure and utilize it than not take any decision and leave the treasures to the vultures.
 

GPM

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What should the government do now. Does the temple have a trustworthy trust? What if the trust members decide to misuse the treasure? The treasure does not belong to anyone. Other than Lord Vishnu the second most eligible entity for this treasure is the government. We can't distribute it to the people. I think the centre should take the treasure and add it to our gold reserve. But than again the same would also have to be applied to all temples, mosques and churches. Tricky situation. This money is a waste just lying over there. It can be better utilized.

BTW any guesses about the total amount of money accumulated by religions in India?
So far the trust is trust worthy. Same cannot be said about our sickular govt.

Treasures are not saleable, like treasures in our national museum are not saleable.

Apply it to mosques an churches? Forget it. But wakf boards have idle assets worth thusands of crores. Church is perhaps the largest land holder in India.

No question of govt controlling church assets

TNN Aug 5, 2009, 05.10am IST
PANAJI: The All India Catholic Union (AICU) on Tuesday said that the Christian community in India rejects government intervention in religion "in any form and in any guise".
The AICU was reacting to reports in the media on a seminar held in Goa last week, where speakers had called for a law to govern church properties that would be enacted in consultation with the church.
"There is no question of government control on church and community properties," AICU official spokesman John Dayal said at a press conference in Panaji. Dayal said the AICU represents the Catholic laity in the country.
**

You got your answer reg church properties.
 
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