What secrets lie hidden inside 'vault B' of the historic Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram? Is it unfathomable riches, precious stones? The moment of revelation may be delayed further as the Travancore royal family, the custodians of the temple, has not acquiesced to the idea mooted by the apex court—to open vault B examine it.
The B vault is one of the six vaults inside the temple and it is believed to house a secret treasure trove. Apart from the B vault, all other chambers have been inventoried.
It is in this context that senior counsel Gopal Subramanium, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter, suggested that vault B of the temple should be opened. "Experts say the chamber should be opened because it has been opened earlier also,'' he said.
But that may not happen soon as the Travancore royal family is set against the idea. Padmanabha Swamy is their family deity. Members of the family had dedicated their kingdom to the deity and pledged that they would live as servants of Padmanabha.
The royal family is learnt to be apprehensive that opening the vault forcefully will affect the structure of the centuries-old temple. "There was a reason why vault B was closed. The royal family believes that reason still exists,'' said a source in the know of the matter.
The vault was closed on the apprehension that some mysterious energy emanated from it.
The amicus curiae is expected to meet the royal family personally. But a settlement seem unlikely, as the custodians are not keen to tamper with age-old rituals and traditions.
The royal family also maintains that the amicus curiae's argument that the vault B was opened several times is wrong. "It has not been opened for ages,'' said a source close to royal family.
Officials in charge had attempted to open the vault in 2011. But, in the process, one of the examiners cut his leg. The believers and custodians of the temple took it as a sign that the door should not be opened; the SC, too, directed that the doors should not be opened till further orders.
The SC is currently hearing petitions against the Kerala HC order which, in 2011, had ordered that a trust or other legal authority should take over the Padmanabhaswamy temple. The team sent by SC in 2011, to create an inventory of the valuables, had found hidden treasure worth Rs 1,00,000 crore in the temple's cellars.
