News from Manorama Online (http://english.manoramaonline.com)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday deferred a move to open the B cell at Padmanabhaswamy temple which is rumoured to contain huge piles of treasure.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Special security zone around Padmanabhaswamy temple mooted
News Courtesy Mathrubhumi Online (www.mathrubhumi.com/english/)
Photo Courtesy www.skyscrapercity.com 
Thiruvananthapuram; Creation of a specialsecurity zone around the famed Sree Padmnabhaswamy temple here is on the anvil to protect the huge piles treasures found hid in its cellars. The details of the plan had been drawn up by the police and submitted to the Government as a permanent security cover for the grand temple located in the heart of Kerala capital, Government sources said. The plan would be finalised and implemented with the approval of the Supreme Court, which has ordered the inventory of the precious articles hid in the inner-chambers of the sprawling temple, managed by a trust controlled by the Travancore royal family, the sources added.
The proposal to create a security zone, drawn up by a team of top police officials under the supervision of Director General of Police, Jacob Punnose, suggested demarcation of an area of 500 metre radius around the temple as a special zone. Besides installing sophisticated surveillance equipment for round-the-clok monitoring of the complex and its immediate environs, a special squad would be formed in the police for guarding the temple. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who had discussions with top
police officers earlier this week on temple security, cleared that putting a fool-proof security in place would be done without coming in the way of the customs and rituals of the temple and inconvenience to devotees visiting the Lord Vishnu shrine will be avoided. The government is expected to inform the apex court about the plan to create a security zone through Additional Chief Secretary K Jayakumar, who is part of the seven-member panel of observers entrusted with the task of preparing the list of precious articles hid in the temple cellars.
Since the exercise began on Jun 27, the panel had opened five of the six cellars. They were found to contain invaluable articles like rare jewels, stone-studded crowns, heaps of gold and silver coins, idols and gold, silver and brass platters and lamps, whose value in money terms is estimated to run into nearly Rs 1 lakh crore. The observers, however, had made it clear that assessing the monetary value of the temple treasure was not their job as they had been mandated by the apex court only to prepare the inventory. PTI
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Don’t reveal details of temple treasure: Supreme Court
News from Manorama Online (http://english.manoramaonline.com)
Photo Courtesy: indianist.com 
The Court also aired its displeasure over statements made by one of the panel members Justice C.S. Rajan regarding the wealth of the temple.
Family members of the Travancore Royal family had approached the SC urging that media and the panel should be restricted from publishing details of the temple assets.
An apex court bench of Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice A.K. Patnaik also okayed videographing and photographing of the treasures found in the cellar.
Justice C.S. Rajan had opined Tuesday that the royal family had not removed any assets from the Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple. He also had said that the figures regarding the wealth currently published in the media might be higher or lower than their actual value.
Mathilakam documents throw light on Padmanabha Swamy Temple treasure
Courtesy Manorama Online (http://english.manoramaonline.com)
The Mathilakam documents which pertains to the history of Travancore and Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, throw light to the precious possessions of Sree Padmanabha, discovered from the long-locked chambers. In the documents, codified by literary great Ulloor, even the weight of the gold ornaments like the 'sarappoli' chains that have been offered to Sree Padmanabha in gold platters have been registered.
More than 2000 such 'sarappoli' chains and gold platters have already been
obtained from the temple coffers. Written in ancient Malayalam script, the Mathilakam document gives a detailed account of the total number, nature and name of each ornament under Lord Padmanabha's possession.
As mentioned in the document, the ongoing inventory has already recorded the findings of ornaments like 'ponnali pattathali' that is inlaid with precious stones like coral, sapphire and emerald.
Mathilakam document also lists the idols, figurines, gold and silver utensils that have been ceremoniously offered to Lord Padmanabha by the erstwhile
kings of Travancore and Venad. It even goes into details like the people who
accompanied Eravi Eravi Varma on his way to offer twelve silver pots to Sree
Padmanabha.
Fourteen kilograms of gold coins that have been discovered from the temple cellars dates back to 1877 when the then Travancore ruler Ayilyam Thirunal ordered to mint such coins. The coins bear the name of the state and year, both in Malayalam and English. An inscription, 'R.V.' , also have been made in English on these coins.
The offerings laid before their presiding deity Sree Padmanabha by the erstwhile rulers thus constitute the lion's share of the treasure, unveiled by the ongoing inventory.
Temple treasure: Royal family moves SC
Courtesy Manorama Online (http://english.manoramaonline.com)
Photo Courtesy: skyscrapercity.com
The court will take up the petition, filed by Moolam Thirunal Ramavarma, who also wants the family to be a party in the case.
Supreme Court orders filming of treasure in Padmanabhaswamy Temple
News from Kerala Kaumudi
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today ordered that the treasure found at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple will now be filmed and photographed.
The statues, some made in gold, and a jaw-dropping array of jewels have been discovered at the 16th-century Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram.
Photo: Courtesy www.sreepadmanabhaswamytemple.com
The vaults of the temple, sealed for close to 150 year according to some estimates, have been opened on the instructions of the Supreme Court after a local city lawyer alleged poor security and mismanagement by the trust that handles the temple.
Much of the treasure is believed to have been deposited by the royal family of Travancore. After independence, descendants of the royal family continue to control the temple, which honours Lord Vishnu.
The inventory of the treasure is being supervised by two former judges of the Kerala High Court, appointed observers by the Supreme Court.
Representatives of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and members of the temple trust have also been present as the vaults were unsealed. The Supreme Court reprimanded one of the observers for speaking to the media.
The Supreme Court also said today that it wants to appoint an expert to suggest ways in which the treasure can be preserved. It will give further directions on Friday on this matter.
Legend Halts Padmanabhaswamy Temple stocktaking
News from Kerala Kaumudi
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A legend on Monday halted for now the stocktaking at the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple here where treasures said to be worth Rs.1 lakh crore have been found.
Monday was the seventh day of knowing how much valuables were packed in the six chambers, two of them not opened for nearly 150 years. The Supreme Court had ordered the exercise.
Retired judge M.N. Krishnan told reporters that "some sort of expertise" would be needed to open chamber B.
Krishnan said a seven-member committee appointed by the Supreme Court and headed by him will meet Friday. "I have nothing more to say."
The committee is making an inventory of the six chambers in the temple premise.
The estimated worth of the gems and jewellery found in five of the six chambers is unofficially put at a whopping Rs.1 lakh crore ($22 billion). The committee has not confirmed this figure.
The erstwhile royal family of Travanacore, which maintains the temple, believes that opening chamber B would be a bad omen.
A royal family source told IANS that many legends were attached to the temple and that chamber B has a model of a snake on the main door.
"This is a clear indication that the door should not be opened because opening it might be a bad omen. I don't think the team can open it because there is a lot of faith attached to the temple," said the source.
Another legend says that there is a tunnel at the bottom of the chamber that leads to the sea.
The stocktaking was ordered by the Supreme Court following a petition by advocate T.P. Sundararajan over alleged mismanagement of the temple affairs.
The team is expected to present an interim report to the Supreme Court.
Tight security arrangements are in place in the temple premises.
A 24-hour police control room has been opened and round-the-clock mobile patrolling is on.
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