Haul soars in temple treasure hunt

The estimated value of the treasure unearthed so far from the hitherto sealed underground lockers of the iconic Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram, has mounted to Rs 90,000 crore.

This makes the deity, after whom the city is named, the richest in the country; it may also be noted that so far only four of the six sealed treasuries have been opened by the Supreme Court-nominated panel. So far, the Venkateswara temple at Tirumala, uphill of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, was considered the richest, with an estimated wealth of around Rs 50,000 crore.

The estimates so far are approximate and consider only the estimated phsycial value, not the antique value of the treasure found, which would be priceless. It is quite possible that even the recovery from what is termed Chamber-A, sealed for the past 150 years, may itself be about Rs 90,000 crore; there is no official word. The other chamber sealed for 150 years, B, is to opened this coming week, as is one chamber (‘E’) sealed since the 1950s.

 

Yesterday, in addition to what had been unearthed in earlier days, the SC panel found a golden Vishnu idol, studded with more than 1,000 jewels. Other statues, chains, bangles, masks and ropes, all of gold, and bars of gold and silver were discovered.