The royal chapel of Travancore’s erstwhile kings was the 16th century Kerala temple located within India. It gained notoriety five years ago when one of its six vaults, designated A, was unlocked, revealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold coins, jewels, and diamonds.
An expert panel tasked with inventorying assets at Kerala’s iconic Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple has petitioned the Supreme Court for permission to access an as-yet-unopened vault, a vault housing inconceivable treasures, sparking a with religious officials.
The temple, which is located in India’s heartland, is hailed as the country’s wealthiest and is one of the numerous h̫i̫n̫d̫u̫s̫a̫n̫c̫t̫u̫a̫r̫i̫e̫s̫ that house massive sums of gold and valuable stones. Over many years, the riches were gathered by sacred donations from followers.
Six rooms are hidden deep under the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Two of them are opened every six months and two more are unlocked during daily rituals. The remaining two – A and B – are vaults that are kept hidden. According to temple insiders, the antique coins discovered in the rooms alone weighed more than 600 kg. Around 200,000 pieces were documented, with 600 of them containing valuable stones. A single locket was said to have 997 jewels in it. According to accounts, the inventory list contained diamonds, valuable stones, necklaces, golden crowns, and pots.
According to the India Times, an examination of the assets revealed that a significant amount of gold had inexplicably vanished. Up to 769 gold pots and silver bars have gone stolen, according to reports. Some speculate that there are hidden tunnels beneath the Chamber that allowed the architects to lock the doors from the inside, making it hard to breach. This hidden passageway appears to have allowed for many years of ʟooтιɴԍ the treasure trove without being discovered.
The existence of the concealed inner Chamber beyond Vault B, however, has not been officially confirmed by the Indian Court. This Chamber is claimed to have thick walls made of pure gold, and it is where the true wealth is said to be hidden, dwarfing what has so far been discovered. It might very well hold the world’s largest undiscovered treasure. The temple is not only coated in gold, but it also appears to be filled with it.
Rumors that the B vault includes an underwater tube connecting to the Arabian Sea have also been debunked by an expert panel from the Centre for Earth Science Studies. Dr. Ajyakumar Verma’s team discovered minor holes and drained them around cellars they deemed inconsequential.
The Temple’s official Treasury does not include Chamber B. The sacred Chamber holds deity idols and a variety of other items used to boost the Principal Deity’s power.