Time for vault B to bare secret asset

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : All eyes are on the sealed vault B of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, one of the richest shrines in the world, with Supreme Courtappointed amicus curie Gopal Subramanium expected to arrive at the state capital on Tuesday to hasten the process.

The 16th century temple, situated in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram, shot to fame six years ago when one of its six vaults (later codenamed A) was found to contain ancient valuables estimated at ₹1 lakh crore.

During the last hearing, Subramanium had impressed upon the apex court the need to open the vault B of the temple in order to complete the inventory of its assets. He will meet members of the erstwhile Travancore royal family, the temple’s former custodian, and other stakeholders to evolve a consensus.

The royal family and a section of devotees have opposed the opening of the sealed chamber on the grounds that such an action would “violate the sanctity of the temple”. They had earlier conducted an astrological ritual – devaprasnam – to perceive the mood of the deity, and informed the court that opening the vault amounted to violating the temple tradition in a manner that would invite divine wrath. The apex court, however, rebuked the royal family for putting superstition before the law.

There are many beliefs surrounding the B vault, including one claiming that it houses an underground tunnel linking the temple to the Arabian Sea.

However, a team of experts from the Centre for Earth Science Studies has ruled out the presence of any such passage. Though the team – led by Dr Ajay Kumar Verma – did find small cavities and drains around the structures, they were deemed insignificant.

Another myth states that the sree chakra – a place that symbolically contains the powers of the deity as well as the universe – is located just beneath the vault, and opening the door would displace it.