Kerala Temple Treasure Inventory to be Recorded

The Supreme Court appointed expert panel on Saturday decided to go ahead with the scientific documentation of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple treasure. The expert panel decided to start the process from 9 November. The documentation will involve digital archiving of temple antiques, preparing a computerised data base and recording 3-D images of the treasure, which is said to be valued more than 100,000 crores.

The Kerala State Electronic Corporation will implement the documentation process and ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre will provide the technical expertise. The state government will bear the cost of the documentation process. The Supreme Court had ordered a detailed scientific documentation of the temple treasure after a local activist in Thiruvananthapuram accused the trust which governs the temple of mismanagement. The temple trust controlled by the erstwhile Travancore royal family.

Five of the six underground vaults at the 16th-century temple have so far been explored. They have delivered unimaginable treasure, much of it allegedly donated by devotees led by the royal family of Travancore. The Supreme Court has ruled that the ornaments, cash and gold discovered at the temple need to be digitally archived before the last secret chamber is forced open. Vault B has not been touched so far. Local superstition warns of bad luck if it is entered. The Supreme Court has said that while it will be mindful of tradition and the sentiments of devotees, it will decide when the vault should be opened at its own discretion and not in consultation with priests.