B-chamber of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple may remain unopened as royal family's rights upheld

While the Supreme Court order on the centuries old Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram has upheld the rights of the erstwhile Travancore royal family, the curious question that remains is whether the 'B' chamber of the temple, which is believed to have priceless treasure, will remain shut for ever.

Welcoming the SC verdict, Aswathy Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bhai, a senior member of the royal family, said that the SC verdict should not be interpreted as a victory of the royal family. It was a blessing of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy to all devotees.

One of the most curious factor of the over a decade long legal battle over the temple was over the B-chamber. Of the six chambers of the temple labeled A to F, all other five chambers were opened and made an inventory by the SC monitored committee. The value of the treasures was believed to be around Rs.1.5 lakh crore.

But the royal family was strongly objecting opening of the chamber B close to the sanctum sanctorum citing mystical reasons. They also maintained that 'devaprasnam' rituals conducted a few years back had also mentioned that B-chamber should not be opened. They believe that opening of chamber B will lead to suffering and destruction. It was believed to have priceless treasure and guarded by serpents.

The strong objections raised by the royal family against opening B chamber became more curious as the SC appointed committee headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai reported that the B-chamber was opened at least seven times in 1990 and 2002 and gold and silver vessel and ingots taken. It also said that 263 kilograms of gold and 769 gold pots were missing. SC appointed amicus curiae also pointed out improper accounting of temple's valuables. With the SC upholding the rights of the royal family over the temple administrations, the chamber B might remain closed itself. But the royal family denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, the SC verdict could be considered as yet another embarrassment for the ruling left-front government over a temple row as the governments stand at the court was the erstwhile royal family have no special rights over the temple. The left-front government that faced embarrassments over the Sabarimala women entry row has now wasted no time on announcing that the government would implement the SC order. But the Congress and the BJP already launched attack against the left-front over the issue.