Religion and mythology are much more than old grandma’s tales or the babbling of staunch believers. It is the basis of human existence. Every religion is a way of life. Textbooks enable us to survive but, faith is something that helps us to live. Religion varies from person to person. But the basic teaching of every religion is the same; love for the entire mankind and peaceful cohabitation.
Just like religion, mythology also has various forms but many of them closely resemble each other at certain points. The expanse of Hindu Mythology is beyond the comprehension of a common man. There are many other mythologies in the world which have great similarities with the Hindu Mythology. ‘Kangiten’ (The God of Bliss), is an elephant-headed god in the Shingon and Tendai schools of Japanese Buddhism. He is considered as the Japanese Buddhist form of Hindu God of Wisdom, Lord Ganesha. ‘Sun Wukong’, commonly known as ‘The Monkey King’ is an ancient character from the 16th century Chinese Novel ‘Journey to The West’. It is believed to be a magnificent amalgamation of Hindu and Chinese Culture. The character of Sun Wukong takes inspiration from the monkey-god, Hanuman, and also from the Chinese Legends of the White Monkey from the ‘Chu Kingdom’ (700-223 BC) which revered gibbons. Also, the people in Fuzhou, China worship monkey god’s way before the character of ‘The Monkey King’ was popularised. And just like that, Greek Mythology also resembles Hindu Mythology. ‘The Holy Trinity’ of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades are comparable to the ‘Tridev’ Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara (Shiva).
‘Mahavishnu’ or Lord Narayana is one of the prime gods worshipped in the ‘Sanatana Dharma’. He is regarded as the Preserver of the Universe and is shown in various scriptures to have incarnated in the mortal form to save mankind in every Yuga. He is considered as ‘Anadi’ (the one who has no beginning) and ‘Anantha’ (the endless one).
Shri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple, situated in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of the Indian state, Kerala, is one of the major temples in the world, dedicated to Mahavishnu who is also known as Lord Padmanabha. Thiruvananthapuram in Malayalam translates to ‘The City of Lord Anantha’ referring to Anantha Padmanabha. The major deity of the temple, Lord Padmanabha manifests in the ‘Anantha Shayana’ (eternal yogic sleep) posture, reclining on the divine serpent, ‘Adi Sheshanaga’. Five hoods of Sheshanaga can be seen facing inwards, signifying contemplation, and devotion. The Lord’s right hand is placed over a Shiva Lingam. Brahma, the creator, emanates from a lotus, which originates from the navel of Mahavishnu and hence is the Lord known as Padmanabha. Sridevi (MahaLakshmi) and Bhudevi (the goddess of Earth), the two consorts of Vishnu are by his side. The platforms in front of the Vimanam and where the deity rests are both carved out of a single rock and hence called “Ottakal-Mandapam”. To perform darshan, one has to ascend to the Mandapam. The deity is visible through three doors. The reclining visage of Mahavishnu and the Shiva Lingam underneath his hands can be seen from the first door. Sridevi and Bhirgu Muni in Katusarkara, Brahma seated on the lotus emerging from the Lord’s navel, gold Abhishek idols of Lord Padmanabha, Sridevi and Bhudevi and Utsava Murthi of Padmanabha are visible through the second door. The third door offers the view of the Lord’s feet, Bhudevi, and Rishi Markandaya in Katusarkara. The idols of goddesses holding Chamaram, Garuda, Narada, Tumburu, Surya, Chandra, Saptarishi, the divine forms of the six weapons of Lord Vishnu, Madhu and Kaitabha are also present in the Sanctum.
The ancient temple has been mentioned in various important Hindu scriptures such as ‘Brahma Purana’, ‘Matsya Purana’, ‘Skanda Purana’, and even in the ‘Mahabharata’. It has also been referred to in the Sangam Tamil literature and poetry. The 8th century poet-saint Alvar Nammavalar sang glories of Padmanabha. The temple is considered as one of the 108 ‘Divya Desams’ (Holy Abodes) in Vaishnavism (the sect of Hinduism which worships Lord Vishnu) and is glorified in the ‘Divya Prabandha’. The temple has been built with an astounding amalgamation of Chera and Dravidian styles of architecture that features high walls and a 16th-century Gopuram. The consecration of the main idol has been attributed to Lord Parshurama, the warrior sage- the sixth avatar of Vishnu, in Dwapara Yuga, whereas another version attributes it to the legendary sage Vilvamangalathu Swamiyar who resided near ‘Ananthapuram’. Although, Lord Padmanabha rests within the ‘Anantha Padmanabhaswamy’ temple, ‘Ananthapuram’ in Kasaragod district of Kerala is believed to be his “Moolasthanam” (The original seat). During the 17-18 century, there were many attempts to plunder the wealth of Lord Padmanabha but in vain.
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma ascended the throne in the first half of the 18th century, as the successor of his uncle, King Rama Varma, following the matrilineal customs of the Travancore Royal Family. He commenced the last major renovation of the temple right after his ascension to the throne. The idol was reconsecrated 1731 CE using the 12,008 Shaligrams (Aniconic representations of Mahavishnu) brought by Marthanda Varma from the banks of the Gandaki river in Nepal. On 17 January 1750, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma surrendered the kingdom of Travancore to Lord Padmanabhaswamy and pledged that he and his descendants would be the vassals of the Lord and serve the kingdom as Padmanabha Dasa.This donation of the king to the deity was known as Thrippadi-Danam and since then the name of every king of Travancore was preceded by Sree Padmanabha Dasa and the ladies of the royal family were known as Sree Padmanabha Sevinis.“No deviation whatsoever should be made regarding the dedication of the kingdom to Padmanabhswamy and all future territorial acquisitions should be made over to the Devaswom”, were the clearly outlined final wishes of Anizham Thirunal before passing away at the age of 53.
VAULTS OF PADMANABHASWAMY
The temple and its assets belong to the Lord Padmanabhaswamy and were controlled by a trust headed by the Travancore Royal Family for a long time. But after T.P. Sundararajan litigations, things changed vastly.
In June 2011, the Supreme Court of India ordered the authorities of archaeological department and fire services to open the secret vaults of the temple for inspection and detailed inventorying of its contents. The temple has six known vaults, labeled as A to F, for bookkeeping purposes. However, in April 2014, the Amicus Curie report by Justice Gopal Subramaniam stated the discovery of 2 more subterranean vaults which have been named as G and H.
While Vault B has not been opened in centuries, Vault A was probably opened in the 1930s and the rest of them from C to F have been opened from time to time. The Apex Court directed that vaults C to F could be opened for the usage of articles within them for everyday rituals whereas Vault A and B were to be opened only for inventory purposes. The review of the temple’s underground vaults was undertaken by a 7 membered, Supreme Court-appointed panel. Vaults A, C, D, E, and F were opened along with their antechambers and the discovery was shocking. From solid gold, idols to vastly long gold chains, from diamonds to rubies, from gigantic thrones to gem-studded gold crowns, from enormous hordes of gold coins to weapons such as maces and swords, the assets from the vaults were unimaginable, whose current market value could be well over 1.2 Lakh Crore INR. If the cultural and antique value were taken into account, the total may get multiplied by 10, which already makes it the wealthiest temple in the whole world. And surprisingly, even if only 5 smaller vaults have been opened(the larger vaults B, G, and H and all their antechambers remaining closed till now), the treasure found so far is considered to be by far the largest collection of items of golds and precious stones in the recorded history of the World. The treasure is believed to have accumulated as a result of thousands of years of donations from various dynasties such as the Cheras, the Pandyas, The Travancore Royal Family, The Pallavas, the Cholas, traders from Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, etc. Several articles, which were used in everyday rituals were not inventoried as that was opposed by the priests of the temple. The discovery of a gold plating machine further added to the suspicions of mismanagement and corruption which may have roots deeper than what’s visible to the naked eye.
Vault B, the most mysterious vault of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple has still not been opened. An inventory report by the Travancore Royal Family that dated back to the 1880s stated that vault B housed the assets of marked value 12000 crores within itself. Considering inflation, the current market value can be well over 50 trillion INR, excluding cultural value. Or maybe more! The main chamber of Vault B is sealed by an iron door with the image of a cobra. There are various legends and folklores regarding the mysterious vault. It is believed that the said Vault has been sealed by Nagapasham and can only be opened by the chanting of Garuda Mantra by a ‘Siddha Sadhaka’. Some believe that Lord Padmanabha, in his true form, rests behind the sealed door of the Vault B. There’s also a belief that Vault B is guarded by Adi Shesha and uncountable cobras. The folklores also suggest that Vault B is directly connected to the sea and forcefully opening it may be the harbinger of Tsunami. All in all, every legend or folklore surrounding the secret Vault indicates devastating consequences if efforts are made to open it forcibly.
On July 4, 2011, the Supreme Court-appointed team decided to postpone the opening of vault B. The priests and also the Travancore Royal Family strongly opposed the opening of the vault citing the fear of incurring the divine wrath as the reason behind it. An Ashtamangala Devaprasnam conducted by the temple authorities revealed the Lord’s will i.e. any attempts to forcibly open the Vault B would invite devastating consequences. The matter seemed even more ominous when the original petitioner, T.P. Sundararajan, died in July 2011, under inexplicable and mysterious circumstances. On 8 February 2016, the Pushpanjali Swamiyar of Naduvil Madhom sent letters to the Chairperson of the Administrative Committee and the Executive Officer expressing his strong opposition to the opening of Vault B. also, the Pushpanjali Swamiyar of Munchira Madhom, in May 2018, led a Ratha Yatra from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram, campaigning against the opening of the Vault (Kallara).
With all the mysteries surrounding the temple, Padmanabhaswamy still stands as the wealthiest place of worship in the World, even before the opening of the three larger vaults. The age-old history, the presence of divinity, and the suspense of the Vault B, everything makes the temple unique and magnetic. What do you think about the contents of Vault B? Unimaginable Wealth? Or The Divine Wrath? Only time will tell, with due permission from Lord Padmanabha.
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Good content.
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Thank you Rishitha.
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