At the beginning of the 18th century, the principality of Travancore was formed in the southwest of the Hindustan Peninsula. For many centuries, busy trade routes passed through its territory. European traders of pepper, cloves and cinnamon appeared here in the 16th century, after the caravels of the Portuguese Vasco da Gama sailed here in 1498.
Foreign and Indian merchants who came to Travancore for spices and other goods usually left generous offerings to the god Vishnu to receive blessings on successful trading from higher powers and at the same time gain the favor of local authorities. In addition to donations, gold received from European merchants in payment for spices was stored in the temple.
In 1731, one of the most powerful rulers of Travancore, Raja Marthanda Varma (he ruled from 1729 to 1758), in the capital city of Trivandrum (now called Thiruvananthapuram - the capital of the present Indian state Kerala) the majestic Padmanabhaswamy Temple was built.
In fact, one of Vishnu’s 108 abodes has been located here since the 3rd century BC. e., and in the 16th century it was located temple complex. Raja built a gopuram at the same place - the main seven-row tower of the temple 30.5 m high. It is decorated with many statues and sculptures, each of which can be considered a real architectural masterpiece.
Leads inside the temple long corridor with a colonnade consisting of 365 beautiful granite columns. Their surface is completely covered with carvings, representing an example of the true skill of ancient sculptors.
The main hall of the temple building is decorated with frescoes depicting various mystical stories, and is intended to store the main shrine: a unique statue of Padmanabhaswamy - the form of Vishnu, staying in the Anananthasayanam pose, that is, in eternal mystical sleep.
Sculptural embodiment supreme god reclines on the giant thousand-headed snake Ananta Shesha - the king of all nagas. From Vishnu's navel grows a lotus with Brahma sitting on it. Left hand The statue is located above the lingam stone, which is considered the most important form and image of Shiva. His wives are sitting nearby: the earth goddess Bhudevi and the goddess of prosperity Sridevi.
The 5.5 m high statue is built from 10,008 Shalagramashilas (sacred stones) and is covered with gold and precious stones. She can be seen from three gates of the temple - through one her feet are visible, through others her body is visible, and through others her chest and face are visible. For several hundred years, the direct descendants of the Rajas of Travancore administered the temple complex and were trustees of Vishnu's earthly property.
However, several years ago it turned out that both the majestic temple and the magnificent sculpture are only the visible part of Padmanabhaswamy’s wealth. Moreover, an ancient curse hangs over the province of Kerala.
The fact is that in 2009, the famous Indian lawyer Sundara Rajan wrote a petition to the Supreme Court of India: he demanded to open the storerooms of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, sealed more than 130 years ago. The lawyer was worried that without proper supervision and accounting, the treasures could simply be plundered. Rajan, as a former police officer, pointed out the unacceptably poor security of the temple.
Local policemen confirmed his words: the Kerala police have no technical means, no experience in protecting such wealth. “We need to install laser alarms, video surveillance systems and other modern security systems, but we don’t have them", said the police officer.
In February 2011, the court found Sundar Rajan right and ordered the state to establish proper control over the temple in order to ensure the necessary protection of the valuables stored in its storerooms. According to court decision, historical monument placed under the jurisdiction of the Government of Kerala.
In one of the vaults they found crowns inlaid with emeralds and rubies, gold necklaces, a 5.5 m long gold chain, a 36-kilogram gold “canvas”, and rare coins different countries, as well as an amazing statue of the god Vishnu lying on the snake Ananta Shesha, made of pure gold and having a height of 1.2 m.
According to preliminary data, the treasures found are valued at almost a trillion Indian rupees, which exceeds $20 billion in gold equivalent. This is more than the budget of the entire Delhi Metropolitan Region!
According to Indian archaeologists and researchers, they had no idea how impressive the treasure found would be. Naturally, the state government took unprecedented measures to ensure the safety of the found treasures. Most of the state police were brought in to protect them. In the temple itself they urgently installed burglar alarm and surveillance cameras.
After this, the Hindus were seized by a real mania: grabbing metal detectors or armed with pure enthusiasm, crowds of “pilgrims” ran to the temples - what if similar treasures were found somewhere else? Those who had never been distinguished by piety also rushed to the “houses of the gods.”
Everyone knows that since ancient times, rich families of India generously donated jewelry to temples, and in addition, there was a custom during wars and civil strife to hide the city treasury in temples. But sacred buildings in India have always been inviolable, and not all Hindus rushed in search of treasures - believers are horrified by the actions of the “blasphemers” and claim that the gods will not forgive intrusions into their homes.
At the same time, the intrigue around the Padmanabhaswamy Temple continues to unfold. After all, only five treasuries were opened. After this, they were going to open the last of six underground vaults, where the most valuable part of the treasure is believed to be located.
However, the curses that the priests of Vishnu threaten stop the highest officials Kerala from decisive action. And the most striking example of the fact that it is unreasonable to brush aside the threats of the priests was the mysterious death of the initiator of sacrilege.
Less than a week after the opening of the treasures, seventy-year-old Sundar Rajan died suddenly, according to official version- from fever. A physically strong man, who had never complained of health before, died suddenly, and the autopsy did not establish the exact cause of his death. Of course, many Hindus did not believe the press reports and regarded his death as a punishment from Vishnu for disturbed sleep.
The descendant of the rulers of Travancore is not going to give up either. He declared that he would fight for the integrity of the last cache of treasures of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. This hiding place was not opened at the same time as the five other rooms, since it was sealed with a special “sign of the serpent” guarding the peace of Vishnu. And it’s not even about the treasures that are stored there.
The Mystery of the Sealed Door of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple
There is a legend that in a room sealed with the “sign of the serpent”, a kind of emergency reserve of the Vishnu temple is kept. Gold and jewelry stored there are prohibited from being touched.
Only in the most extreme case, when the fate of the principality and the people living in it is at stake, the priests, after a special ceremony, will be allowed to open the door to the treasury, which is guarded by a huge three-headed cobra with ruby eyes. Those who try to enter the dungeon without permission will face a terrible death.
This door does not have locks, bolts, latches or any other fasteners. It is believed to be hermetically sealed using sound waves.
They say that somewhere at the end of the 19th century, the British, who then felt like complete masters in India, despite all the warnings of the rajah and priests, decided to penetrate the forbidden treasury. But they never managed to do this.
The brave men who entered the dungeon with torches and lamps soon jumped out of there with wild screams. According to them, giant snakes attacked them from the darkness. The enraged reptiles could not be stopped either by sharp daggers or by shots. Several people were bitten by poisonous creatures.
In terrible torment, the sacrileges who encroached on Vishnu’s treasures died in the arms of their comrades. No one else dared to repeat their attempt to get into the forbidden storeroom.
So the treasured door is not yet open. One of the temple servants even testified under oath that it is impossible to open the “door with a snake” - this promises innumerable troubles for everyone. The Supreme Court ruled that the last sealed vault will not be opened until local authorities guarantee the integrity and security of the temple, and the treasures - proper assessment and protection, documentation, filming and professional attribution. However, as the judges noted, this has not yet been accomplished even for the wealth already found.
In the meantime, the supreme judges are dealing with ancient spells, historians and the public are arguing over who now owns the treasure and what to do with it. Vice-Rector of the University Mahatma Gandhi in Kerala Rajan Gurukkal is confident that regardless of whether this treasure was princely or temple, it is a unique archaeological treasure dating back several hundred years.
“And any archaeological site belongs to the nation.” After all, first of all, the temple treasure is of great value as a source of information about the society of medieval India and beyond, since treasures, especially such large ones, can contain coins and jewelry accumulated over fairly large periods of time. Gurukkal is confident that the state should take care of the preservation of the found historical and cultural objects, and calls for sending the treasure to the national museum.
But the former head of the Council of Archaeological Research, Narayanan, told the press that the authorities, on the contrary, should not interfere - the fate of the treasure should be decided by the temple council. Otherwise, it will be an attack on private property.
Representatives of the Indian intelligentsia, including former Supreme Court judge Krishna Iyer, propose using wealth for the benefit of society: in the country, 450 million people live below the poverty line.
The Supreme Court of India is now trying to decide the fate of the enormous wealth stored in the basements of the Vaishnava temple in the city of Thiruvananthapuram. We are talking about treasures whose value, according to the most conservative estimates, is $22 billion. On the one hand, they are claimed by the descendants of rajas who have been accumulating gold and precious stones for centuries. On the other hand, there are Hindu believers and the temple servants’ union. Meanwhile, the price of the issue could jump significantly higher, since not all of the temple vaults have yet been opened, and the total value of the treasures located there is likely equal to a trillion dollars.
“When they pulled back the granite slab, almost absolute darkness reigned behind it - it was only diluted by a dim ray of light from the doorway. I looked into the blackness of the pantry, and a stunning sight opened up to me: as if the stars were twinkling in the sky on a moonless night. Diamonds and other precious stones flashed, reflecting the faint light coming from open door. Most of the treasures were stored in wooden chests, but over time the wood turned to dust. Precious stones and gold simply lay in heaps on the dust-covered floor. I've never seen anything like it."
This is how one of the members of the special commission appointed Supreme Court India to view the treasury - the kallars, in which the rajas of Travancore, an ancient principality in the territory of the present state of Kerala, stored their wealth for centuries. In the presence of a descendant of the rajas, one of the vaults was opened to make sure that the ancient legends about the countless riches of the princely family do not lie.
Now Padmanabhaswamy is under 24-hour security of 200 policemen. All approaches to the temple are monitored by external surveillance cameras, a metal detector is installed at the entrance, and machine gunners are stationed at key positions. These measures do not seem excessive: although the commission members pledged to keep the full list of treasures found secret, according to the most conservative estimates, we are talking about values slightly exceeding the Croatian budget. Some of the most notable solid gold exhibits include a full-size throne studded with hundreds of diamonds and other precious stones, 800 kilograms of coins, a chain five and a half meters long and a golden sheaf weighing more than half a ton.
At the same time, members of Hindu communities insist on keeping the treasures in their original place, the article says. And one of them even threatened an action of mass suicide if the valuables were taken out of the temple. Angry Hindus argue that only the descendants of the maharajas who guard the temple treasures can decide what to do with them.
However, the head of the state government, Oommen Chandy, has already promised that all valuables will remain in the possession of the temple. He added that consultations are underway with the descendants of the rulers of Travancore and the chief priest of the temple in this regard.
On the other hand, many temples deposit their treasures in a bank (for example, the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in the east of the country, stores a third of its three tons of gold in a bank). Others actively invest in education and culture and build schools.
Persons particularly interested in the fate of the treasures, who were not at all surprised by what was found in the secret storerooms, were the princely family of Travancore.
PS: By the beginning of the 20th century, 80% of all the world's gold was concentrated in Asia, including India and China. It was the US Federal Reserve that tried to prevent this gold from entering global circulation...
Focus magazine published interesting data about wealth and luxury of Indian temples, and did not ignore wealth of Indian gurus. Religious leaders of India in fact, they have not been ascetics for a long time. Otherwise, they would not have created those powerful business empires, the value of which is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.
“The popularity of gurus in India is the result of the extreme religiosity of Hindus, which is growing despite modernization and the level of education in society,” historian Ramchandra Guha explains the phenomenon of worship. “Religiosity assumes that a Hindu will bring money or jewelry to a deity, and it does not matter to him whether it is a living person or a dumb statue.”
One of the most famous and revered spiritual mentors in India Sai Baba, died in April of this year at the age of 84 after a long illness. It was popular not only in India. Sai Baba's teachings also influenced the minds of Westerners, and among his followers were both local rich people and famous people, for example, Hollywood actress Goldie Hawn and Hard Rock Cafe founder Isaac Tigrett.
When the mentor passed away, gold and silver worth $5 million and another $2.8 million in cash were found in his house. In addition, among Sai Baba's things they found bags of diamonds, expensive perfumes and several hundred pairs of shoes. The village of Puttaparthi, where the guru was from, grew during his activities, acquired its own airport and hospital, a university and developed infrastructure appeared here. Disciples close to Sai Baba say that the guru never had bank accounts; apparently, he preferred time-tested hiding places. According to available information, the trust registered in the name of the mentor had about $10 billion. It is not known exactly who manages these assets today.
Even after the death of Guru Sai Baba, thousands of followers come to his temple. According to the Shidri Sai Trust, annual charitable donations from disciples amount to more than $80 million. In addition, the jewelry adorning the shrine is worth at least $8 million.
"The list of the very rich religious leaders of India quite long. They don't like to be called businessmen, but among Indian businessmen they are the most successful, says Swami Ji, one of the religious teachers who condemns his rich colleagues. “Many people claim that they build churches, schools and hospitals with donations. They should give everything they receive to charity. But they are unable to refuse fabulous wealth and, as a rule, distribute it among their family members.”
Believers made Indian gurus rich with their donations, but also contributed to wealth And luxury of Indian temples.
Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Kerala
After $22 billion worth of jewelry was found here a few weeks ago, the temple became the richest in India. Among the discovered treasures is a 1.2 m high statue of the god Vishnu cast in gold, diamonds, rubies, and dishes inlaid with precious stones.
Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh
The history of this temple dates back more than 12 centuries. Every day 65 thousand pilgrims cross its threshold, and in holidays- over 300 thousand. Last year, the temple collected donations worth $163 million. 5 tons of gold are also stored here, and another $140 million are placed in long-term deposits.
Sri Harmandir Sahib/Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple in Amritsar)
This is a shrine for the Sikh religion. The walls of the temple are covered with wooden plates inlaid with gold and silver. At least 40 thousand people come here every day. On holidays - up to 1.5 million. The temple stores 750 kg of pure gold.
Siddhivinayaka Temple, Mumbai
Last year, donations from pilgrims amounted to more than $11 million. The temple has $30 million in long-term deposits. In May of this year alone, donations amounted to $500 thousand, 727 kg of gold and 11.5 thousand kg of silver.
May all this countless wealth be enough for both the Indian gurus and the Indian people to feel rich spiritually and provided for their worldly needs.
Padmanabhaswamy Temple is located in the Indian city of Trivandrum, which is located in the state of Kerala. This religious building is considered one of the 108 abodes of Vishnu, the supreme god in the Vaishnava traditions of Hinduism.
Information! Read on May holidays
The image of the god is represented by a huge gilded and jeweled figure, lying on the giant snake Ananta-shesha in a pose of eternal sleep. There are also sculptures of his wife, the earth goddess Bhudevi, and the goddess of prosperity Sridevi.
In the navel of Vishnu there is a lotus in which Brahma sits. The left hand of the deity sculpture is directed towards the stone - the lingam, symbolizing the image of Shiva.
Padmanabhaswamy Temple - Divine Splendor
For almost 300 years, the temple has been the decoration and calling card of India. A tall structure, reaching a height of more than 30 meters, on which there are seven rows of superstructure, decorated with carvings by masters of that time. The gopuram houses many statues and compositional sculptures, which are considered masterpieces of Indian art.
The interior consists of a huge hall. Majestic relief pillars, as well as a golden pole topped with a flag, create an atmosphere of solemnity and harmony.
Frescoes depicting figures from ancient and religious legends cover the temple walls. It is believed that these images protect the peace of the deity.
Temple Riches
In 2011, incredible wealth was discovered in one of the rooms in the temple dungeon. It was suggested that the valuables found were stored in the premises of a temple that existed here a thousand years ago.
The rulers of the Principality of Travancore carefully guarded their wealth, hiding information about them even from their closest people. Therefore, the secret of the treasure remained unsolved for a long time. Thus, the main treasures of the temple were discovered, and the golden sculpture of Vishnu turned out to be part of the wealth.
According to legend, the rulers of Travancore continued to accumulate treasures, since the route of spice traders, which in those days was valued more than gold, lay here. Merchants from all over the world left generous offerings to the deity Vishnu, hoping for mercy and prosperity. Local authorities were not left without gifts either. All donations were collected at the Padmanabhaswamy Temple premises.
Local authorities, scientists and curious residents became interested in the historical past of the temple and the rulers of the principality. The legend about the riches of the temple has been passed on from mouth to mouth for centuries. Thus, in 2009, the Supreme Court of India decided to open the premises, access to which was prohibited by religious figures of the country and the ancestors of the founders of the temple.
It was believed that the treasures of a deity should not be desecrated by the gaze of a commoner. However, local law enforcement agencies insisted on opening the walled rooms in order to evaluate the treasures located there and establish security adequate to their size.
A commission organized by the Indian authorities opened five underground rooms. Information about the size of the wealth found shocked the imagination. Even those who expected to find a lot of jewelry in the secret rooms did not expect to see chests with tons of gold, jewelry and precious stones.
Unique items were found: a gold crown with emeralds and rubies, a five-meter gold chain, a cloth made of pure gold weighing 36 kilograms, rare coins from some countries of the world and a statue of Vishnu, displayed today in the temple for viewing and worship.
The treasures found are valued at a trillion rupees in local currency, which is much more than the budget of the capital city of India, Delhi.
Researchers around the world are wondering what exactly is hidden behind the mysterious iron door with an image of two cobras protecting her at the Padmanabhaswamy Hindu Temple in India. This door does not have locks, bolts, latches or any other fasteners. It is believed to be hermetically sealed using sound waves.
The history of the Vishnu temple, which stores untold riches inside itself, has long been shrouded in mystery and haunts the local rulers. In 2011, a government-created commission was able to open six secret vaults inside the shrine and discovered priceless treasure worth $22 billion. But they couldn’t open the seventh door.
The Supreme Court of India is now trying to decide the fate of the enormous wealth stored in the basements of the Vaishnava temple in the city of Thiruvananthapuram. We are talking about treasures whose value, according to the most conservative estimates, is $22 billion. On the one hand, they are claimed by the descendants of rajas who have been accumulating gold and precious stones for centuries. On the other hand, there are Hindu believers and the union of temple servants. Meanwhile, the price of the issue could jump significantly higher, since not all of the temple vaults have yet been opened, and the total value of the treasures located there is likely equal to a trillion dollars.
“When they pulled back the granite slab, almost absolute darkness reigned behind it - it was diluted only by a dim ray of light from the doorway. I looked into the blackness of the pantry, and a stunning sight opened up to me: as if the stars were twinkling in the sky on a moonless night. Diamonds and other precious stones flashed, reflecting the faint light coming from the open door. Most of the treasures were stored in wooden chests, but over time the wood turned to dust. Precious stones and gold simply lay in heaps on the dust-covered floor. I've never seen anything like it."
This is how the treasures of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple were described by one of the members of the special commission appointed by the Supreme Court of India to examine the treasury - the kallars, in which the rajas of Travancore, an ancient principality in the territory of the present state of Kerala, stored their wealth for centuries. In the presence of a descendant of the rajas, one of the vaults was opened to make sure that the ancient legends about the countless riches of the princely family do not lie.
Now Padmanabhaswamy is under 24-hour security of 200 policemen. All approaches to the temple are monitored by external surveillance cameras, a metal detector is installed at the entrance, and machine gunners are stationed at key positions. These measures do not seem excessive: although the commission members pledged to keep the full list of treasures found secret, according to the most conservative estimates, we are talking about values slightly exceeding the Croatian budget. Among the most notable solid gold exhibits are a full-size throne studded with hundreds of diamonds and other precious stones, 800 kilograms of coins, a chain five and a half meters long and a golden sheaf weighing more than half a ton.
Amazing discovery of Indian archaeologists
At the beginning of the 18th century, the principality of Travancore was formed in the southwest of the Hindustan Peninsula. For many centuries, busy trade routes passed through its territory. European traders of pepper, cloves and cinnamon appeared here in the 16th century, after the caravels of the Portuguese Vasco da Gama sailed here in 1498.
Foreign and Indian merchants who came to Travancore for spices and other goods usually left generous offerings to the god Vishnu in order to receive blessings for successful trade from higher powers and at the same time to gain the favor of local authorities. In addition to donations, gold received from European merchants in payment for spices was stored in the temple.
In 1731, one of the most powerful rulers of Travancore, Raja Marthanda Varma (he ruled from 1729 to 1758), built the majestic Padmanabhaswamy Temple in the capital city of Trivandrum (now called Thiruvananthapuram - the capital of the present Indian state of Kerala).
In fact, one of Vishnu’s 108 abodes has been located here since the 3rd century BC. e., and in the 16th century a temple complex was located. Raja built a gopuram at the same place - the main seven-row tower of the temple 30.5 m high. It is decorated with many statues and sculptures, each of which can be considered a real architectural masterpiece.
A long corridor with a colonnade consisting of 365 beautiful granite columns leads inside the temple. Their surface is completely covered with carvings, representing an example of the true skill of ancient sculptors.
The main hall of the temple building is decorated with frescoes depicting various mystical stories, and is intended to store the main shrine: a unique statue of Padmanabhaswamy - the form of Vishnu, staying in the Anananthasayanam pose, that is, in eternal mystical sleep.
The sculptural embodiment of the supreme god reclines on the giant thousand-headed snake Ananta Shesha, the king of all nagas. From Vishnu's navel grows a lotus with Brahma sitting on it. The left hand of the statue is located above the lingam stone, which is considered the most important form and image of Shiva. His wives are sitting nearby: the earth goddess Bhudevi and the goddess of prosperity Sridevi.
The 5.5 m tall statue is built from 10,008 Shalagramashilas (sacred stones) and covered with gold and precious stones. She can be seen from three gates of the temple - through one her feet are visible, through others her body is visible, and through others her chest and face are visible. For several hundred years, the direct descendants of the Rajas of Travancore administered the temple complex and were trustees of Vishnu's earthly property.
However, several years ago it turned out that both the majestic temple and the magnificent sculpture are only the visible part of Padmanabhaswamy’s wealth. Moreover, an ancient curse hangs over the province of Kerala.
The fact is that in 2009, the famous Indian lawyer Sundara Rajan wrote a petition to the Supreme Court of India: he demanded to open the storerooms of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, sealed more than 130 years ago. The lawyer was worried that without proper supervision and accounting, the treasures could simply be plundered. Rajan, as a former police officer, pointed out the unacceptably poor security of the temple.
Local police confirmed his words: the Kerala police have neither the technical means nor the experience to protect such wealth. “We need to install laser alarms, video surveillance systems and other modern security systems, but we don’t have them”, said the police officer.
In February 2011, the court found Sundar Rajan right and ordered the state to establish proper control over the temple in order to ensure the necessary protection of the valuables stored in its storerooms. According to the court decision, the historical monument has been transferred to the jurisdiction of the Kerala government.
In one of the vaults they found crowns inlaid with emeralds and rubies, gold necklaces, a 5.5 m long gold chain, a 36-kilogram gold “canvas”, rare coins from different countries, as well as an amazing statue of the god Vishnu lying on the snake Ananta Shesha, made made of pure gold and having a height of 1.2 m.
According to preliminary data, the treasures found are valued at almost a trillion Indian rupees, which exceeds $20 billion in gold equivalent. This is more than the budget of the entire Delhi Metropolitan Region!
According to Indian archaeologists and researchers, they had no idea how impressive the treasure found would be. Naturally, the state government took unprecedented measures to ensure the safety of the found treasures. Most of the state police were brought in to protect them. A security alarm and surveillance cameras were urgently installed in the temple itself.
After this, the Hindus were seized by a real mania: grabbing metal detectors or armed with pure enthusiasm, crowds of “pilgrims” ran to the temples - what if similar treasures were found somewhere else? Those who had never been distinguished by piety also rushed to the “houses of the gods.”
Everyone knows that since ancient times, rich families of India generously donated jewelry to temples, and in addition, there was a custom during wars and civil strife to hide the city treasury in temples. But sacred buildings in India have always been inviolable, and not all Hindus rushed in search of treasures - believers are horrified by the actions of the “blasphemers” and claim that the gods will not forgive intrusions into their homes.
At the same time, the intrigue around the Padmanabhaswamy Temple continues to unfold. After all, only five treasuries were opened. After this, they were going to open the last of six underground vaults, where the most valuable part of the treasure is believed to be located.
However, the curses threatened by the priests of Vishnu are stopping senior Kerala officials from taking decisive action. And the most striking example of the fact that it is unreasonable to brush aside the threats of the priests was the mysterious death of the initiator of sacrilege.
Less than a week after the opening of the treasures, seventy-year-old Sundar Rajan died suddenly, according to the official version - from a fever. A physically strong man, who had never complained of health before, died suddenly, and the autopsy did not establish the exact cause of his death. Of course, many Hindus did not believe the press reports and regarded his death as a punishment from Vishnu for disturbed sleep.
The descendant of the rulers of Travancore is not going to give up either. He declared that he would fight for the integrity of the last cache of treasures of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. This hiding place was not opened at the same time as the five other rooms, since it was sealed with a special “sign of the serpent” guarding the peace of Vishnu. And it’s not even about the treasures that are stored there.
The Mystery of the Sealed Door of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple
There is a legend that in a room sealed with the “sign of the serpent”, a kind of emergency reserve of the Vishnu temple is kept. Gold and jewelry stored there are prohibited from being touched.
Only in the most extreme case, when the fate of the principality and the people living in it is at stake, the priests, after a special ceremony, will be allowed to open the door to the treasury, which is guarded by a huge three-headed cobra with ruby eyes. Those who try to enter the dungeon without permission will face a terrible death.
This door does not have locks, bolts, latches or any other fasteners. It is believed to be hermetically sealed using sound waves.
They say that somewhere at the end of the 19th century, the British, who then felt like complete masters in India, despite all the warnings of the rajah and priests, decided to penetrate the forbidden treasury. But they never managed to do this.
The brave men who entered the dungeon with torches and lamps soon jumped out of there with wild screams. According to them, giant snakes attacked them from the darkness. The enraged reptiles could not be stopped either by sharp daggers or by shots. Several people were bitten by poisonous creatures.
In terrible torment, the sacrileges who encroached on Vishnu’s treasures died in the arms of their comrades. No one else dared to repeat their attempt to get into the forbidden storeroom.
So the treasured door is not yet open. One of the temple servants even testified under oath that it is impossible to open the “door with a snake” - this promises innumerable troubles for everyone. The Supreme Court ruled that the last sealed vault will not be opened until local authorities guarantee the integrity and security of the temple, and the treasures - proper assessment and protection, documentation, filming and professional attribution. However, as the judges noted, this has not yet been accomplished even for the wealth already found.
In the meantime, the supreme judges are dealing with ancient spells, historians and the public are arguing over who now owns the treasure and what to do with it. Vice-Rector of the University Mahatma Gandhi in Kerala Rajan Gurukkal is confident that regardless of whether this treasure was princely or temple, it is a unique archaeological treasure dating back several hundred years.
“And any archaeological site belongs to the nation.” After all, first of all, the temple treasure is of great value as a source of information about the society of medieval India and beyond, since treasures, especially such large ones, can contain coins and jewelry accumulated over fairly large periods of time. Gurukkal is confident that the state should take care of the preservation of the found historical and cultural objects, and calls for sending the treasure to the national museum.
But the former head of the Council of Archaeological Research, Narayanan, told the press that the authorities, on the contrary, should not interfere - the fate of the treasure should be decided by the temple council. Otherwise, it will be an attack on private property.
Representatives of the Indian intelligentsia, including former Supreme Court judge Krishna Iyer, propose using wealth for the benefit of society: in the country, 450 million people live below the poverty line.
The Supreme Court of India is now trying to decide the fate of the enormous wealth stored in the basements of the Vaishnava temple in the city of Thiruvananthapuram. We are talking about treasures whose value, according to the most conservative estimates, is $22 billion. On the one hand, they are claimed by the descendants of rajas who have been accumulating gold and precious stones for centuries. On the other hand, there are Hindu believers and the temple servants’ union. Meanwhile, the price of the issue could jump significantly higher, since not all of the temple vaults have yet been opened, and the total value of the treasures located there is likely equal to a trillion dollars.
“When they pulled back the granite slab, almost absolute darkness reigned behind it - it was only diluted by a dim ray of light from the doorway. I looked into the blackness of the pantry, and a stunning sight opened up to me: as if the stars were twinkling in the sky on a moonless night. Diamonds and other precious stones flashed, reflecting the faint light coming from the open door. Most of the treasures were stored in wooden chests, but over time the wood turned to dust. Precious stones and gold simply lay in heaps on the dust-covered floor. I've never seen anything like it."
This is how one of the members of the special commission appointed by the Supreme Court of India to examine the treasury, the kallar, in which the rajas of Travancore, an ancient principality in the territory of the present state of Kerala, stored their wealth for centuries, described the treasures of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. In the presence of a descendant of the rajas, one of the vaults was opened to make sure that the ancient legends about the countless riches of the princely family do not lie.
Now Padmanabhaswamy is under 24-hour security of 200 policemen. All approaches to the temple are monitored by external surveillance cameras, a metal detector is installed at the entrance, and machine gunners are stationed at key positions. These measures do not seem excessive: although the commission members pledged to keep the full list of treasures found secret, according to the most conservative estimates, we are talking about values slightly exceeding the Croatian budget. Some of the most notable solid gold exhibits include a full-size throne studded with hundreds of diamonds and other precious stones, 800 kilograms of coins, a chain five and a half meters long and a golden sheaf weighing more than half a ton.
At the same time, members of Hindu communities insist on keeping the treasures in their original place, the article says. And one of them even threatened an action of mass suicide if the valuables were taken out of the temple. Angry Hindus argue that only the descendants of the maharajas who guard the temple treasures can decide what to do with them.
However, the head of the state government, Oommen Chandy, has already promised that all valuables will remain in the possession of the temple. He added that consultations are underway with the descendants of the rulers of Travancore and the chief priest of the temple in this regard.
On the other hand, many temples deposit their treasures in a bank (for example, the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in the east of the country, stores a third of its three tons of gold in a bank). Others actively invest in education and culture and build schools.
Persons particularly interested in the fate of the treasures, who were not at all surprised by what was found in the secret storerooms, were the princely family of Travancore.
PS: By the beginning of the 20th century, 80% of all the world's gold was concentrated in Asia, including India and China. It was the US Federal Reserve that tried to prevent this gold from entering global circulation...