Thiruvananthapuram: Deep-rooted Belief Deters Committee from Opening Cellar B
Daijiworld Media Network – Thiruvananthapuram (SP)
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 6: Quoting people connected with Lord Ananta Padmanabha Swamy temple in the city, sources claimed that the decision to defer opening of the underground cellar of the temple, identified as ‘B’, was taken in tune with a deep-rooted belief about this particular cellar. It may be recalled that the seven-member committee appointed by the Supreme Court to check the contents of the six secret cellars and prepare a list thereof, abruptly decided on Monday July 3, not to go ahead with the opening of the only remaining cellar B for the present.
The committee has so far unearthed wealth estimated at over a lac crore rupees from five secret cellars. Eyes were glued on the remaining cellar B, which the people believe, contains unimaginable wealth on par with cellar A, in which jewellery and other items worth over Rs 50,000 crore was recovered.
The main door of this cellar has an icon of a serpent, and it is believed that opening this door will open the floodgates of disaster. Another belief is that a secret tunnel from the cellar directly leads to seashore. It is said that the members of the royal family have insisted on not opening this cellar, as they feel that it might give rise to calamities. Therefore, the committee has deferred its decision about this cellar to Friday. In the meantime, the committee proposes to get opinion from experts in the field. Retired judge, Justice M N Krishnan, a member of the committee, said that the committee cannot act on its own, and it respects the centuries-old beliefs about the cellars. He also said that acquiring knowledge of some technicalities is necessary before deciding on opening this cellar.
It is said that the details of the precious stones and ancient jewellery found from the cellars are recorded in the centuries-old records of the royal palace. The antique value of the items is guessed to be many times more than their actual market price. The details of the cellars are found in the royal history recorded in a work published in 1941 by Malayalam poet, Ullur S Parameshwaran Aiyar, and the palace records having 12 editions. As per records, the royal palace and Lord Ananta Padmanabha Temple are integrated and inseparable, and that they cannot be viewed as separate entities. Ullur claims that the records, maintained in secret scripts, have details of items stored in these cellars. These records are said to contain particulars of every valuable received as offering to Lord Ananta Padmanabha Swamy, including individual weights, studded jewels, etc. There are records of rich persons and royal family members regularly making offerings to the Lord by way of gold ornaments, invaluable jewels, diamonds, silver and gold utensils etc.
Gold coins weighing 14 kgs found in the cellars were minted in 1877 as per the order of then Travancore king, Ayilyam Tirunal. These coins bear the names of the state and the year of their manufacture in both Malayalam and English. Ullur has said that most of the riches found in the cellars were offerings made by the members of the royal family since centuries.
In the meanwhile, Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt, Jayendra Saraswati, has said that the valuables found in the secret cellars of the above temple genuinely belong to the royal family of Travancore, who had dedicated the temple to the society. He has argued that the wealth should continue to be reckoned as belonging to the royals, as the royal family has been overseeing the temple since ages, and that the wealth comprises their offerings to the Lord. He recalled that the kings of Travancore dynasty had dedicated their empire to the Lord, and had pledged to serve as the servants of the Lord. However, he has opined that these assets should continue to be preserved in the secret cellars as before on behalf of the royals.
The royal family members pay obeisance to the Lord every day without fail, and during their visits, the temple doors are closed for devotees. As per a practice, the royal family members have to offer certain amount of money to the temple if they are unable to visit the temple on any particular day. Even in the past, the royal family followed the rule that the treasure of the state should never be used for royal expenses, and that all the expenses should be met out of the profit earned from trading in spices.