Treasure worth Rs 700 cr unearthed from Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple

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Nikhil Menon

30 June, 2011

Based on a Supreme Court directive, a committee got the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple underground excavated to find treasure worth Rs 700 crore. The Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple has the ruling deity of the Travancore royal family.

FOLLOWING A Supreme Court order, the cellars in the local Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, which were being opened individually led to no concrete results. The temple operated by a trust of the royal family of Travancore had opened the cellars individually. The cellars were opened on a complaint filed by a private petitioner.

The cellars, located underground have been off-limits, and the valuables found inside three of the rooms, were assessed and announced by the officials on Tuesday night.

The valuables included jewels, bejewelled crowns, utensils, gold ornaments, and pearls, etc., which were used for the ruling deity of the Travancore royal family. It is also anticipated that the total value of the treasure trove is over Rs 700 crore. Meanwhile, the estimated amount was slammed by scholars who said that the figures were incorrect and the actual amount may surpass the expected value.

The Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram was built by Martananda Verma somewhere in the 18th century. On the directive of the Supreme Court ruling, a committee comprising of seven members was constituted that also included retired Kerala High Court Judges. They were directed to have the treasure excavated and calculate the total value. However, the private litigation filed also sought transparency and trust from the temple authorities.