Supreme Court handed over treasury of Shri Padmanabha temple entrusted to royal family
The Supreme Court upheld the authority of the Travancore royal family in the administration of the historic Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala. The administrative committee managing the affairs of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple will be chaired by the District Judge of Thiruvananthapuram.
The court quashed the Kerala High Court’s order of 31 January 2011 asking the state government to set up a trust to take control of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple.
A bench headed by Justice UU Lalit said that as an interim step the administrative committee managing the affairs of the temple will be chaired by the district judge of Thiruvananthapuram. The apex court gave this decision while hearing the petitions challenging the order of the High Court in this case. One of these petitions was filed by the legal representatives of the Travancore royal family.
[amazon box=”B0819H77TB” “small”]
This grand temple was reconstructed in its present form in the 18th century by the Travancore royal family, who ruled southern Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu adjacent to it before merging with the Indian Union in 1947.
It is believed to be the richest temple in India. A few years ago this temple came into the limelight when more than one lakh crore treasure was found there, it is said that more than this is locked in the cellars there. Now this temple is once again in discussions. In 2016, gold worth Rs 186 crore was also stolen from here.
It is said that this temple was built in the 10th century. However, at some places there is mention of this temple being of 16th century. But it is quite clear that in 1750 Martand Varma, a warrior from Travancore, increased wealth by conquering the surrounding areas.
The rulers of Travancore had dedicated their kingdom to God to grant divine approval to the rule. He declared God as the king. An idol of Lord Vishnu is also found from the temple which is made of Shaligram stone.
