Rs 50,000 cr worth treasure in Kerala's Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple

by Guest Sat Jul 02, 2011 3:21 am

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The legend of El Dorado was definitely not set on the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple.
But the seven-member panel, which is drawing up a list of assets at the
famed shrine here, had a feel of the lost city of gold as they set foot
in one of the two secret vaults located inside the sprawling granite
structure which gives the Kerala capital its name.

On Thursday,
the team assisted by personnel from the fire services and archeology
department opened the locks of vault A to find a narrow flight of stairs
leading down to an underground granite cellar. Oxygen was pumped
frequently into the chamber and artificial lighting provided to enable
the observers to work inside.

What they saw inside was
startling, sources said. Gold coins dating back thousands of years, gold
necklaces as long as nine feet and weighing about 2.5 kg, about one
tonne of the yellow metal in the shape of rice trinkets, sticks made of
the yellow metal, sack full of diamonds, gold ropes, thousands of pieces
of antique jewellery studded with diamonds and emeralds, crowns and
other precious stones lay scattered in the chamber marked 'A'.

Friday threw up far more surprises in the form of 17 kg of gold coins dating back to the East India
Company period, 18 coins from Napolean's era, precious stones wrapped
in silk bundles besides over 1,000 kg of gold in the form of coins and
trinkets and a small elephant made of the yellow metal, sources said.

There were also sovereigns bearing the 1772 seal indicating they were from the reign of the then native king Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma. There are a total of six vaults marked A to F in the shrine. The A and B cellars have never opened since 1872.

Reports said the value of the recoveries so far from vault A alone may
exceed over Rs 50,000 crore. This doesn't take into account their
antique value. With chamber B, yet to be opened, speculation was rife
that the shrine would pip Tirupati Balaji, who too has been assessed at a
little more than Rs 50,000 crore to a distant second. No official
confirmation has been forthcoming on the value of the recoveries.

Retired Kerala high court judges — Justice M N Krishnan and Justice C S
Rajan — appointed observers by the Supreme Court said, ''It's difficult
to give an exact date about when the stock-taking would be completed.
The B and E vaults remain to be opened. We think it may take another
week.''

Asked about the value of the assets, Justice Krishnan
said the committee was drawing up the inventory of items and were not
determining their price. The panel had set out on the job on June 27 and
opened three vaults marked C, D and F till Wednesday. Assets found in
these chambers were estimated to be worth over Rs 1,000 crore.

The wealth discovery has raised questions on the shrine's security. As
of now, the internal security is managed by the temple employees, but
this may be inadequate in the light of the events.

GOD'S OWN BOOTY

* Gold coins dating back thousands of years, gold necklaces as long as 9
feet and weighing 2.5 kg; one tonne of gold in the shape of rice
trinkets; sticks made of gold, sack full of diamonds, gold ropes and
thousands of pieces of jewellery studded with diamonds and emeralds

* 17 kg of gold coins dating back to the East India Company period; 18
coins from Napolean's era, precious stones wrapped in silk bundles
besides over 1,000 kg of gold in form of coins and trinkets and a small
elephant made of gold

* The value of recoveries from vault A
alone may exceed over Rs 50,000 cr. With chamber B yet to be opened,
speculation is rife the shrine would pip Tirupati Balaji's assets, which
too has been assessed at over Rs 50,000 crore

link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/Rs50k-cr-worth-treasure-in-Kerala-temple/articleshow/9069757.cms

by truthbetold Sat Jul 02, 2011 11:21 am

Have you not read the follow up story on this topic?

Govt has decided that the funds discovered will be placed in a trust to be run by eminent members of Temple devotees. Items of historical value will be placed in a museum working with Archaeological dept to preserve and exhibit them. Temple will also start a Hindu religion fund to support religious activities and Improve and reopen historically sensitive temples. However bulk of the money will be used to open schools, hospitals, research institutes in the Temple area to benefit the the region long term.
Govt has also decided to give up its claim to any of the items and recognize them as belonging to temple and its devotees.

Thump. That hurts. I fell of my bed. I was just dreaming. As usual Govt will take over the funds and politicians will find a way to get their hands on the ancient wealth.

by Guest Sat Jul 02, 2011 2:31 pm

ha ha ha. but it is quite astonishing how much wealth there was in south india. the nizam, although under the suzerainty of the mughal emperor, sat on a wealth base larger than the emperor could dream of.

by truthbetold Sat Jul 02, 2011 2:42 pm

Nizam was said to be the richest man in 1940s. Part of Nizam's wealth was due to stones (read diamonds/ other precious stones) found in his kingdom. He also robbed the people of all wealth leading to current backwardness of Telangana.

by truthbetold Mon Jul 04, 2011 9:46 am

The temple wealth is now set at 90,000 cr. Amazing.

As expected, plans to control this wealth are on and what has survived the invading armies will not survive the corrupt politicos. All in the name of god and people.

by Another Brick Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:07 am

around 900 rupees for every person in india. that's a lot of money.

by Guest Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:16 am

add tirupati balaji's 50k crores or rs 1500 for every person in india.

by Merlot Daruwala Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:51 am

truthbetold wrote:The temple wealth is now set at 90,000 cr. Amazing. As expected, plans to control this wealth are on and what has survived the invading armies will not survive the corrupt politicos. All in the name of god and people.

TBT, stick to facts. There were no invading armies in Travancore. This was the wealth amassed by local chieftains and kings through taxes on ordinary people, and handed over to a deity for some divine favor. This treasure sat in the vaults while the temple was under the control of a private trust all these years, serving absolutely no productive purpose and not at all benefiting the common man who'd actually paid for it.

And now, when someone suggests that this be put to productive use for the people of Kerala - such as wiping off Kerala's Rs 30,000 cr debt or to build infrastructure to attract industry, you're belittling those suggestions with cynical references to "corrupt politicos". Is it your stance that we should stop all investment in infrastructure development just because politicians and people down the line make money on those contracts? Do you have any better ideas on what is to be done with all that gold and jewelry?

by Guest Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:00 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:And now, when someone suggests that this be put to productive use for the people of Kerala - such as wiping off Kerala's Rs 30,000 cr debt or to build infrastructure to attract industry,

is this how it is going to be used? sound noble. what happens to such wealth of temples? actually i have no idea and am curious. i understand the supreme court is involved in this too too.

by Another Brick Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:03 am

and several other shrines and temples each worth several hundred crores (shirdi, for example) ...

by Merlot Daruwala Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:05 am

Yes, the Kerala HC agreed with the petitioner's argument that the private trust (basically the royal family) which currently runs the temple is not competent to manage the temple's assets. The SC upheld that.

As of now, none of the political parties have said anything (for fear of invoking the wrath of Hindus) but various NGOs have come forward and demanded that the money be put to productive use to benefit the people of Kerala.

by Guest Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:41 am

temple's assets? trust's assets? i take it there is no law by which this automatically becomes govt.'s property. the asset will always belong to the temple or trust or another body that replaces the trust?

by Merlot Daruwala Tue Jul 05, 2011 4:20 am

Yes, but if the state govt takes over the management of the temple, and that is what the courts are laying the grounds for, then they can dispose of the assets as they deem fit.

Which is why the NGOs are clamoring for clear avenues for such disposal - such as infrastructure devpt in terms of roads, bridges, schools, hospitals etc, lest it goes into some governmental black hole.

by Guest Tue Jul 05, 2011 4:39 am

very cool. i guess a temple is not a juristic person and whoever administers it (trust or govt.) "owns" or "manages" the wealth.

by Guest Tue Jul 05, 2011 4:50 am

ugh, what i just said is obvious. never mind.

by Merlot Daruwala Tue Jul 05, 2011 4:52 am

No, the deity is a person under Indian law and all of the temple's assets are really the deity's possessions, but managed on His/Her behalf by the administrator.

I've no idea on the basis for this treatment of deities but it's quite hilarious. It's common to see deities listed as respondents or petitioners in various court cases involving temples.

by Guest Tue Jul 05, 2011 4:56 am

quite interesting!

by Guest Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:41 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:No, the deity is a person under Indian law and all of the temple's assets are really the deity's possessions, but managed on His/Her behalf by the administrator.

I've no idea on the basis for this treatment of deities but it's quite hilarious. It's common to see deities listed as respondents or petitioners in various court cases involving temples.

Isnt a company also a "person" according to the companies act?

by Guest Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:46 am

yes. a company is a juristic entity (legal person). a partnership firm isn't otoh.

by Guest Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:47 am

oops, a partnership firm is if it is registered. an unregistered partnership isn't.

by Guest Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:01 am

just checked on the net. a firm is not a juristic person in the eyes of law. but civil procedure code does allow a registered firm to sue as an exception.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:25 am

So Balaji has 50,000 Crores

Padmanabhaswamy has 97,000 crores (as of today)

Sriranganathaswamy yet to decide on his wealth.

In essense these Gods very inefficient compared to what our politicos made:

P.S. How come Lord Shiva does not seem to own anything ?

A Raja: 115,000 crores in just 2 years

Jagan Reddy: 400 crores in 5 years

The politicians should revising their "loot" goals and setting higher levels looking at God's wealth.

by indophile Tue Jul 05, 2011 10:55 am

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:P.S. How come Lord Shiva does not seem to own anything ?

Lord Shiva (Iyer god) represents detachment (vairaagyam), whereas Vishnu (Iyengar god) is suposed to be "alankaara-priya," one who likes good adornments (which cost money):- Smile

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Tue Jul 05, 2011 11:20 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
truthbetold wrote:The temple wealth is now set at 90,000 cr. Amazing. As expected, plans to control this wealth are on and what has survived the invading armies will not survive the corrupt politicos. All in the name of god and people.

TBT, stick to facts. There were no invading armies in Travancore. This was the wealth amassed by local chieftains and kings through taxes on ordinary people, and handed over to a deity for some divine favor. This treasure sat in the vaults while the temple was under the control of a private trust all these years, serving absolutely no productive purpose and not at all benefiting the common man who'd actually paid for it.

And now, when someone suggests that this be put to productive use for the people of Kerala - such as wiping off Kerala's Rs 30,000 cr debt or to build infrastructure to attract industry, you're belittling those suggestions with cynical references to "corrupt politicos". Is it your stance that we should stop all investment in infrastructure development just because politicians and people down the line make money on those contracts? Do you have any better ideas on what is to be done with all that gold and jewelry?

Sorry....why should HINDU money be spent on public projects - when the public is only 50% hindu, 20% Christians and 30% muslims ?

Once they resolve this issue, then the 97K crore money can be released to the politicos for their enjoyment.

How about Hasan Ali ? - he seems to be richer than Mr. AP Swamy.

by Guest Tue Jul 05, 2011 11:27 am

so why cant a deity be a person and have property?

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Tue Jul 05, 2011 11:32 am

When people want to become deitites, it is only fair that the Deities have the right to be people. In fact, the politicians will take away all the loot and Mr. Swamy will have to seek help even to bring light to his abode.

by Merlot Daruwala Tue Jul 05, 2011 12:25 pm

nutmeg wrote:so why cant a deity be a person and have property?

Of course, they have every right to be persons and own lots of property. And as HNIs (high net-worth individuals) enjoying hefty annual incomes, it's time they started chipping in with the nation-building by paying wealth tax and income tax.

by Propagandhi711 Tue Jul 05, 2011 1:07 pm

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The legend of El Dorado was definitely not set on the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple.
But the seven-member panel, which is drawing up a list of assets at the
famed shrine here, had a feel of the lost city of gold as they set foot
in one of the two secret vaults located inside the sprawling granite
structure which gives the Kerala capital its name.

On Thursday,
the team assisted by personnel from the fire services and archeology
department opened the locks of vault A to find a narrow flight of stairs
leading down to an underground granite cellar. Oxygen was pumped
frequently into the chamber and artificial lighting provided to enable
the observers to work inside.

What they saw inside was
startling, sources said. Gold coins dating back thousands of years, gold
necklaces as long as nine feet and weighing about 2.5 kg, about one
tonne of the yellow metal in the shape of rice trinkets, sticks made of
the yellow metal, sack full of diamonds, gold ropes, thousands of pieces
of antique jewellery studded with diamonds and emeralds, crowns and
other precious stones lay scattered in the chamber marked 'A'.

Friday threw up far more surprises in the form of 17 kg of gold coins dating back to the East India
Company period, 18 coins from Napolean's era, precious stones wrapped
in silk bundles besides over 1,000 kg of gold in the form of coins and
trinkets and a small elephant made of the yellow metal, sources said.

There were also sovereigns bearing the 1772 seal indicating they were from the reign of the then native king Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma. There are a total of six vaults marked A to F in the shrine. The A and B cellars have never opened since 1872.

Reports said the value of the recoveries so far from vault A alone may
exceed over Rs 50,000 crore. This doesn't take into account their
antique value. With chamber B, yet to be opened, speculation was rife
that the shrine would pip Tirupati Balaji, who too has been assessed at a
little more than Rs 50,000 crore to a distant second. No official
confirmation has been forthcoming on the value of the recoveries.

Retired Kerala high court judges — Justice M N Krishnan and Justice C S
Rajan — appointed observers by the Supreme Court said, ''It's difficult
to give an exact date about when the stock-taking would be completed.
The B and E vaults remain to be opened. We think it may take another
week.''

Asked about the value of the assets, Justice Krishnan
said the committee was drawing up the inventory of items and were not
determining their price. The panel had set out on the job on June 27 and
opened three vaults marked C, D and F till Wednesday. Assets found in
these chambers were estimated to be worth over Rs 1,000 crore.

The wealth discovery has raised questions on the shrine's security. As
of now, the internal security is managed by the temple employees, but
this may be inadequate in the light of the events.

GOD'S OWN BOOTY

* Gold coins dating back thousands of years, gold necklaces as long as 9
feet and weighing 2.5 kg; one tonne of gold in the shape of rice
trinkets; sticks made of gold, sack full of diamonds, gold ropes and
thousands of pieces of jewellery studded with diamonds and emeralds

* 17 kg of gold coins dating back to the East India Company period; 18
coins from Napolean's era, precious stones wrapped in silk bundles
besides over 1,000 kg of gold in form of coins and trinkets and a small
elephant made of gold

* The value of recoveries from vault A
alone may exceed over Rs 50,000 cr. With chamber B yet to be opened,
speculation is rife the shrine would pip Tirupati Balaji's assets, which
too has been assessed at over Rs 50,000 crore

link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/Rs50k-cr-worth-treasure-in-Kerala-temple/articleshow/9069757.cms

God's own booty discovered in kerala? when did JLo go there?

by truthbetold Tue Jul 05, 2011 11:03 pm

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
truthbetold wrote:The temple wealth is now set at 90,000 cr. Amazing. As expected, plans to control this wealth are on and what has survived the invading armies will not survive the corrupt politicos. All in the name of god and people.

TBT, stick to facts. There were no invading armies in Travancore. This was the wealth amassed by local chieftains and kings through taxes on ordinary people, and handed over to a deity for some divine favor. This treasure sat in the vaults while the temple was under the control of a private trust all these years, serving absolutely no productive purpose and not at all benefiting the common man who'd actually paid for it.

And now, when someone suggests that this be put to productive use for the people of Kerala - such as wiping off Kerala's Rs 30,000 cr debt or to build infrastructure to attract industry, you're belittling those suggestions with cynical references to "corrupt politicos". Is it your stance that we should stop all investment in infrastructure development just because politicians and people down the line make money on those contracts? Do you have any better ideas on what is to be done with all that gold and jewelry?

My earlier post in this thread is reproduced here. Communication is a two way street. Listening (in this case reading other's opinion) is a prerequisite to communication.

"Govt has decided that the funds discovered will be placed in a trust to be run by eminent members of Temple devotees. Items of historical value will be placed in a museum working with Archaeological dept to preserve and exhibit them. Temple will also start a Hindu religion fund to support religious activities and Improve and reopen historically sensitive temples. However bulk of the money will be used to open schools, hospitals, research institutes in the Temple area to benefit the the region long term.
Govt has also decided to give up its claim to any of the items and recognize them as belonging to temple and its devotees."

by truthbetold Tue Jul 05, 2011 11:07 pm

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2162463.ece

Please read the above new item from Hindu. It contains the views of eminent person Narayan swamy. He answered many of the questions raised in this thread and he answered them with legal and historical knowledge.

by Merlot Daruwala Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:20 am

truthbetold wrote:My earlier post in this thread is reproduced here. Communication is a two way street. Listening (in this case reading other's opinion) is a prerequisite to communication.

I read your earlier post, so you didn't have to reproduce it all over again. Yes, you had listed all the uses the treasure is likely to be put to by the government, but later, in your subsequent post, you lamented:

truthbetold wrote:As expected, plans to control this wealth are on and what has survived the invading armies will not survive the corrupt politicos. All in the name of god and people.

It was this judgemental post that I highlighted as unconstructive cynicism.

by Guest Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:46 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
nutmeg wrote:so why cant a deity be a person and have property?

Of course, they have every right to be persons and own lots of property. And as HNIs (high net-worth individuals) enjoying hefty annual incomes, it's time they started chipping in with the nation-building by paying wealth tax and income tax.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:39 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
nutmeg wrote:so why cant a deity be a person and have property?

Of course, they have every right to be persons and own lots of property. And as HNIs (high net-worth individuals) enjoying hefty annual incomes, it's time they started chipping in with the nation-building by paying wealth tax and income tax.

Agree... Do I understand that you expect all the iSalamic and Krishtian organizations/religious trusts to pay wealth tax and the Govt. to have the right to control those trusts as well ?

by Guest Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:00 am

since their prophets are dead, they will be exempted from this classification. only immortal hindu gods like shiva, vishnu, durga and their avatars will be included here. case closed.

by Propagandhi711 Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:04 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Merlot Daruwala wrote:
nutmeg wrote:so why cant a deity be a person and have property?

Of course, they have every right to be persons and own lots of property. And as HNIs (high net-worth individuals) enjoying hefty annual incomes, it's time they started chipping in with the nation-building by paying wealth tax and income tax.

I must say I dont understand this LOL.

by Merlot Daruwala Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:16 am

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:
Merlot Daruwala wrote:
nutmeg wrote:so why cant a deity be a person and have property?

Of course, they have every right to be persons and own lots of property. And as HNIs (high net-worth individuals) enjoying hefty annual incomes, it's time they started chipping in with the nation-building by paying wealth tax and income tax.

Agree... Do I understand that you expect all the iSalamic and Krishtian organizations/religious trusts to pay wealth tax and the Govt. to have the right to control those trusts as well ?

Unkil, looks like all that meditation under the tree have not made you any wiser. Still the same old same old. Anyway, since you require everything to spelt out: here's something for you to meditate over: Is an Islamic trust a person? Is the church a person?

by Kayalvizhi Thu Jul 07, 2011 2:24 am

Another Brick wrote:around 900 rupees for every person in india. that's a lot of money.

Why should every "indian" get Rs 900? It belongs to Kerala. If the 900 is correct, every Keralite will get about 20,000 Rs.

by Another Brick Thu Jul 07, 2011 2:27 am

Kayalvizhi wrote:Why should every "indian" get Rs 900? It belongs to Kerala. If the 900 is correct, every Keralite will get about 20,000 Rs.

i am sorry, shaktimaan.

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