Analysis: The ancient temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu - Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple was built during the medieval period. Even though there were different rulers that ruled Southern India under Vijaynagar kingdom, Mughal dynasty and Tipu Sultan the treasure and it's secrecy was intact. If the British had an inkling of the treasure, today the same would have been in the British Museum or in the Bank of England's vaults or with the British Royalty as the Koh-i-noor diamond taken away and seized by the East India Company and became part of the British Crown Jewels when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877. Duleep Singh was the youngest son of Ranjit Singh and his fifth wife Maharani Jind Kaur. Duleep, aged 13, travelled to the United Kingdom to present the jewel. The presentation of the Koh-i-Noor to Queen Victoria was the latest in the long history of transfers of the stone as a spoil of war: By DTN News (K. V. Seth)
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 4, 2011: It's like a scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Even before the unlocking of the last of six secret vaults at Kerala's largest temple, the centuries-old treasure in gold, silver and precious stones is already estimated to be worth around $22 billion has been found in the secret cellars of the famous Kerala Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu - Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum.
The 7 member paper appointed by the Supreme Court of India, has been preparing the list of valuable found in the cellars of Sri Padmanabhaswami Temple. The temple has 6 Secret Cellars (Nilavara – a place to keep assets safe) from Cellar A to Cellar F. Opening of each of these chambers is revealing a virtual treasure trove with precious diamonds, golden ornaments, emeralds, jewelleries, rare antique silver and brass platters and golden idols. An estimation of above $22 billion treasure was valued at the completion of the 6th day of valuing the assets of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Golden idol of Mahavishnu worth over $100 million
Golden Coins, Ornaments, and Human figurine
Several golden coins were also unearthed yesterday which are believed to be issued during the reign of Krishnadeva Rayar in the 16th century AD. Numerous golden ornaments which were used to adorn the main deity were also found in the Vault marked A. Ornaments studded with emeralds were also found on Saturday. Numerous golden human figurine weighing 1 kg, golden bangles, golden rope, are other interesting treasure found in the Vishnu Temple.
Golden Coconut Shells
Another interesting finding was two coconut shells made of pure gold. One of this golden coconut shell was students with rare antique stones including emeralds and rubies.
"Though we knew that offerings made to the temple by devotees for the last 500 years were lying in these secret cellars, the scale of the treasure has definitely surprised us," temple official Hari Kumar told the media. "All of Kerala is celebrating this extraordinary find." Its discovery has made the Hindu temple of Padmanabha Swamy in the state capital Thiruvanthapuram the richest in India.
During the past week, a team of experts appointed by India's supreme court has opened five vaults dedicated to the deity Lord Vishnu to uncover an enormous hoard of gold idols, jewellery studded with diamonds, emeralds and other precious stones, antique silver, and even two golden coconut shells studded with rubies and emeralds.
The shrine dates back to the 10th century, but the present massive granite structure was built only in the 18th century after King Marthanda Varma expanded and consolidated the Travancore kingdom. It has historically been a royal temple, but offerings to the Lord Vishnu, in the form of gold and jewellery, have come not just from Travancore kings and other Kerala royalty but millions of ordinary devotees.
The vaults containing the offerings have remained locked at least since the 1930s, when the last inventory was reportedly carried out by Travancore's then rulers. India's supreme court ordered a fresh inventory of the treasure after a face-off between the current head of the former Travancore royal family and a lawyer who challenged them about the management of the temple wealth, claiming there was inadequate security.
"There are six vaults, from A to F, and only Vault B has still to be opened," says Kumar. "This vault has special locks, and we don't want to break them. So we're getting experts to examine them, and we should be able to open them on Friday."
The entire operation is going on under heavy police security, but nothing is being filmed or photographed. "Taking photos within the sacred space of the temple is strictly prohibited," says Kumar.
Kerala's chief minister Oommen Chandy has rejected the demand that the treasure should be used for public benefit. "It belongs to the Padmanabha Swamy temple and will be preserved there," he said.
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