Indiana
Jones would have braved an army of warriors to get his hands on this
treasure. Kerala’s Sree
Padmanabhaswamy temple with its treasures worth hundreds of millions coupled with elements of royal grandeur, power, mystery and spirituality has the potential to spawn many a film script.

Located in the southernmost
state of the country, Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple towers over the state capital Thiruvanathapuram while its cellars hold secrets and a treasure estimated to be worth Rs one
lakh crore. And taking into consideration the historic and antique value of the
collection, researchers have put the figure well over one trillion dollars,
making the temple the richest in the world.

So, what
exactly is in the the vaults that has caught the attention of the whole world
since the controversy surrounding its ownership resurfaced in 2007? Lying
hidden in the dark, according to reports,  are heaps of gold and precious stones in forms as varied as
jewellery and coconut shells. There are more than 3000 tonnes of gold and gems
including a hundred thousand gold coins etched with history, some as old as 200
BC.

Coins stamped by almost all civilizations of the world – Romans, Dutch, Napoleonic,
Mughal and Vijayanagara – are sure to woo any collector of antiques. Sacks are filled
to the brim with 110-carat diamonds. A gold throne adorned with hundreds of
diamonds, an armour made of solid gold and 18-feet-long gold chains studded
with precious stones are part of the ‘treasure.’ A Vishnu idol made of gold and
gems alone is believed to be worth 30 million dollars.

More than
the monetary figures, it is the antiquity that matters. And history. Along with
all the royal rituals reported to have contributed to the wealth, scholars and
researchers point out that the treasure is linked to the reputation that Kerala
once enjoyed as the hub of trade with foreign lands. Spice and textiles ensured
a steady inflow of money to the princely states, and visitors from other
countries too paid rulers abundantly for favours in this land.

According to
historian M G Sasibhooshan, author of ‘World’s Richest Temple’, royal families
used to keep valuables in temples as it offered protection from armies of
invaders and of other states. Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple would have acted as
the best place to keep valuables hidden in that battle-ridden era. This wealth
must have accumulated over the years. And when the Travancore King surrendered
his kingdom to the deity, the temple became a silent guard of a treasure till
it was found by a Supreme Court-appointed team in 2011.