In June 2011, the Padmanabhaswamy Hindu temple in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the South Indian state of Kerala, was found to contain treasures worth $23 billion. The fate of the jewels is decided today by the Supreme Court of India.
In the fall of 2009, a retired police officer, former bodyguard of Indira Gandhi and lawyer T. Sundarajan applied to the Kerala High Court. He accused the temple's business manager, Padmanabhaswami, of negligent performance of official duties, which resulted in the loss of significant material assets. On January 31, 2011, the Supreme Court ordered the state Government to appoint a new administrator of the temple property. But the trustees of the temple challenged the court's decision. The case went to the Supreme Court of India, and on May 2, it ordered a full inventory of the temple's treasury. A special commission of seven well-known lawyers, including Sundarajan, was formed to check the case.
On June 27, 2011, members of the commission, armed with oxygen masks, entered the temple storerooms, and the world learned about the existence of one of the largest collections of jewelry in modern history. The treasure is constantly guarded by 60 special forces with the support of 150 policemen. Helicopters are circling in the sky above the city.
I CAN'T COUNT THE DIAMONDS
The hiding place was set up in the altar area, on either side of a gilded statue of the supreme guardian god Vishnu, reclining on a five-headed serpent Ananta. Padmanabhaswami is one of the epithets of Vishnu, meaning " the lord from whose navel the lotus grows." The storerooms are hidden deep under the gray granite floor tiles. A stone staircase of four steps leads up to them. Of the six cameras, five were opened - A, C, D, E and F.
Half of the finds were recovered from Cell A. These are golden statues of Vishnu and Krishna, an ancient crown, 2 thousand gold chains, one of which is 5.5 m long and weighs 10 kg, golden coconuts, bags of precious stones and pearls, and thousands of French, Dutch and Venetian gold coins of the XVI-XVIII centuries. The last time chambers A and B were opened was 136 years ago. Storerooms C and E contained 450 gold goblets, necklaces and bracelets decorated with precious stones, a golden statue of Garuda in the form of an eagle with a human body, a crown, a rod, an umbrella, a conch shell, a flower vase and numerous bells made of gold. Finally, storerooms D and F contained rich clothing and items used in religious rituals, 400 gold chains, a golden bow, and golden snake heads. The total weight of gold bars and coins alone exceeds a ton. The estimated value of the treasure is $23 billion 1.
In addition to the material, the finds are of great historical and artistic value. This is the first time that ancient statues cast in gold have been discovered in South India. Experts hope that the authorities will still allow them to study cultural monuments of the past, describe them and publish the results.
As for Camera B, it still remains sealed. According to written sources, it contains one hundred copper barrels filled with objects and coins made of silver and other precious metals. The Supreme Court considers it premature to open it while the inventory of gold products continues, and all the storerooms will not be properly preserved.
The most incredible rumors are being spread about the Padmanabhaswami Temple. It is said that anyone who encroaches on its treasures will face the punishment of the gods and terrible torments. On the massive door of cell B there is a security sign - a two-meter image of a cobra. Influential astrologers claim that the one who opens this chamber, as well as his family members, will certainly be bitten by venomous reptiles.2 However, the fears of believers are not without reason. On July 17, T. Sundarajan, a member of the Supreme Court commission and the initiator of the inspection of storerooms, died suddenly. He was 70 years old. According to colleagues, he felt good and did not complain about his health. However, relatives say he suffered from a fever that worsened in recent weeks.
TRAVANCOURT GAMBIT
Padmanabhaswamy Temple is the largest in Kerala. He had safely escaped the mu invasions-
Sulman conquerors and was the first to open the doors to the untouchables under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi's agitation. The temple was built in the tenth century by the Ayas, vassals of the powerful South Indian Cher dynasty. Since the XI century. it is mentioned in many written sources.
The temple acquired its modern appearance during the reign of Maharaja Marthanda Varma (1729-1758), the founder of the principality of Travancore. In 1750, the maharaja solemnly laid his sword before the altar of Vishnu and declared himself a " servant of Padmanabha." This event did not make any significant changes in social and political life, but it helped to strengthen the authority of the monarch in the eyes of his subjects.
Travancore stretched along the Malabar coast of Hindustan from Cochin to Kanyakumari and was considered a medium-sized principality in India. His maharajas were renowned as enlightened rulers. They built schools, roads, and hospitals. On the eve of India's independence in 1947. Travancourt ranked first in terms of literacy. 68% of the male population could read and write 3. In 1834, the first English school appeared here, in 1873 - a college, and in 1937 a university was opened.
The rulers of Travancore took part in all the temple rituals, processions and festivals. They performed a cleansing rite every time they shook hands with a representative of the British colonial authorities. The maharajas lavished gold and precious stones on the temple. It is possible that the treasury of the principality was kept in it.
Temple storerooms were also replenished by Europeans. For example, in 1741, Travancourt's ally, the Dutch Admiral Justatius de Lenoy, presented Padmanabha with several caskets of gold coins. At the end of the 19th century, the British resident in Travancore, Colonel N. Monroe, presented the temple with a horse in expensive harness and a gold umbrella inlaid with green crystal.4
In July 1949, after lengthy negotiations, Travancore became part of the Union of India, and in 1950 it was transformed into the state of Travancore-Cochin. Maharaja Chithira Thirunal Varma became its governor. Under the terms of the integration agreement signed by him and the Government of India, the Padmanabhaswami temple remained under the care of the Maharaja, while other Hindu temples were taken over by the local administration. In 1956, the state of Travancore-Cochin was named Kerala. The state passed an agrarian reform that deprived the temple of land holdings and land rents. But the Kerala government agreed to pay the temple an annual compensation of $ 600,000. Rs. In addition, the Maharaja shared with the temple his state pension of 1.8 million rupees, which he received until 1971, as a former ruler of the principality.
However, after the Maharaja's death in 1991, the only source of financial income for the temple remained voluntary donations from believers. Maharaja Uthradom's younger brother Thirunal Varma did not inherit the title, but he did not relinquish his duties as temple guardian. Uthradom Thirunal Varma is 89 years old. Every morning, he slowly wanders to the temple, where, according to tradition, he performs darshan - the rite of seeing the image of God. He trusts the predictions of astrologers and claims that his three-story palace is visited by snakes whenever something goes wrong in the temple, such as a sudden power outage. 5
WHO WILL GET THE TREASURE?
The Padmanabhaswamy Temple complex covers an area of a quarter of a hectare in the southern part of Thiruvananthapuram. Outside, it is surrounded by a granite wall with a height of 4.5-6 m. The western entrance to the temple is decorated with a seven-tiered gopuram gate tower. It rises to 30.5 m and is clearly visible from afar. Gopuram is decorated with numerous sculptural compositions on mythological themes. Beyond the wall, a wide corridor with raised columns stretched along the perimeter. There are 324 of them in total. In addition to the Padmanabhaswami temple, the complex includes the temples of Krishna, Narasimha and Ayyappa, the most revered god in Kerala, and a large rectangular pond for ritual ablutions. The temples are designed in the traditional Dravidian style. The complex is adjacent to a large city market, jewelry centers, a bus station and is surrounded by narrow streets packed with residential buildings, shops, offices of companies, wedding halls and small temples.
The fate of the treasure caused a lot of heated debates in the country. The beginning of the controversy was set by former Supreme Court member K. Ayyar. He offered to put the jewelry up for auction, and use the proceeds to help the poorest segments of the population and implement food and educational programs.
Well-known historians of K. Panikkar, R. Gurukkal and some of their colleagues believe that the treasure should be transferred to a museum, like the treasures of the Pharaohs in Egypt. There they will be stored and studied by specialists. You will give your consent-
Their role as experts has already been confirmed by the staff of the National Museum in Delhi, the Scientific Laboratory for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Lucknow and the Archaeological Commission of India.
But most Indians believe that items found in storerooms belong to God and should remain in the temple. This view is supported by the leaders of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, led by the Indian National Congress, and the opposition National Democratic Alliance, led by the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party.
The position of the heirs of the dynasty that ruled Travancore was voiced by lawyer K. Venugopal. According to his statement, Uthradom Thirunal agrees to use the treasures extracted from the storerooms for religious and social needs, and transfer the rarities to the museum. V. Achuthanandan, the former Chief Minister of Kerala and a member of the leadership of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), remarked that according to his information, Uthradom Thirunal used the temple's riches for many years and took gold coins past the guards, hiding them in a plate of sweet rice.6
The current Chief Minister of the state, Ummen Chanda, has stated that the Padmanabhaswamy Temple is the pride of Kerala and its riches will remain intact.7 However, the Supreme Court has the final say. And the courts in India last for years and even decades.
1 India Today. 18.7.2011. Temple Treasure Up For Grabs? - http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/m.d. -nalapat-on-kerala-padmanabhaswamy-temple-treasure/1/144102.html
2 The Indian Express. 16.8.2011. Temple Treasure: VS Slams Astrologers http://www.indianexpress.com/news/temple-treasure-vs-slams-astrologers/832304
Jeffrey R. 3 Travancore: Status, Class and Growth of Radical Politics, 1860 - 1940 // People, Princes and Paramount Power. Delhi, 1978, p. 138.
4 The Hindu. 9.7.2011 - http://www.the-hindu.com/today s-paper/tp-index/?date-2011 - 07 - 09
5 The Hindu. 21.7.2011 - http://www.the-hindu.com/todays-paper/tp-index/?date=2011 - 07 - 21
6 The Indian Express. 24.8.2011 -http://www.indianexpress.com/archive/news/24/8/2011/
7 Frontline. 29.7.2011. Treasures of history - http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2815/stories/20110729281512500.htm
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