Padmanabhaswamy Temple Thiruvananthapuram Kerala History and Interesting Facts

Padmanabhaswamy Temple Quick Facts

Padmanabhaswamy Temple Overview

Padmanabhaswamy Temple, one of the richest temples in India, is a famous Hindu temple located in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. This temple is also called the Tirumala temple. It is believed that Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, has been named after the serpent named 'Ananta' of the Lord.

Padmanabhaswamy Temple History

There is a belief behind the construction of this temple that an idol of Lord Vishnu was First found at this place, after which the temple was built here. The existence of this Temple is also mentioned in the texts of the 9th century, but the present form of this magnificent temple was built by King Martanda of Travancore in the 18th century. It is believed that this royal family had dedicated themselves to Lord Padmanabha and for this reason the kings of Travancore handed over all their wealth to the Padmanabha temple.

The kings of Travancore ruled till the year 1947. After Independence it was merged with India, but the Padmanabha Swamy Temple was not taken over by the government. It was allowed to remain with the royal family of Travancore, since then the Padmanabha Swamy temple was run by a private trust under the royal family.

In 1991, after the death of the last Maharaja of Travancore, Balarama Varma, in 2007, Sundararajan, a former IPS officer, filed a petition in the court challenging the authority of the royal family.

In the year 2011, the Supreme Court opened the basement and asked to prepare the details of the treasury. The work of opening the basement was started on 27 June 2011 by a committee formed according to the order of the Supreme Court of the country. So far, in the five cellars opened in the Temple, assets worth about one lakh crore have come out, while one cellar is still not opened, after which it has become the richest of the temple.।

Padmanabhaswamy Temple Interesting Facts

1. The Padmanabhaswamy temple, built in a mixed style of Dravidian and Kerala, is situated amidst beautiful beaches on one side and hills in the Western Ghats on the other.
2. The complex of this grand temple is very huge, its height is 7 storeys. The gopuram is decorated with very beautiful artifacts.
3. There is also a golden pillar in the temple, which adds to the beauty of this temple even more.
4. A large idol of Lord Vishnu is seated in the sanctum sanctorum of Temple. In this idol, Lord Vishnu is seated in a sleeping posture on his ride Sheshnag, to see which thousands of devotees come here daily from far and wide.
5. There are also many pillars in the corridor of this temple, on which amazing carvings have been done, which adds to its grandeur.
6. There is also a lake called 'Padmatirtha Kulam' near the temple.
7. Men can only enter the temple wearing dhoti and women wearing saris.
8. The entry of only people of the Hindu religion is mandatory in this temple, which is about 260 years old.
9. Every year only two important festivals are organized in the temple, one in the months of March and April and the other in the months of October and November.
10. This Temple is built in an area where there has never been any foreign attack. Tipu Sultan tried to capture the temple in 1790 but was defeated in Kochi. Attempts were made to attack and capture this temple even before Tipu, but these efforts were never successful.
11. Since Independence, this temple was being managed by a private trust under the royal family, but at present, the Supreme Court of India has banned it.
12. In June 2011, according to the order of the Supreme Court, a committee of 7 people was formed to open the doors of the temple, including the Archaeological Department and the temple trustee. All cellars were named A, B, C, D, E, and F for ease of paperwork. Opening another heavy wooden door after the iron doors, digging 20 feet inside the ground opened the rest of the basement, but the B chamber could not open. The Supreme Court has banned the opening of this basement. The Supreme Court has ordered that this property belongs to the temple and the sanctity and security of the temple should be ensured.
13. Jewelry, Elephant sculptures, and guns worth Rs 1,32,000 crores of precious gems like Gold, Silver, and diamonds have been uncovered from the uncovered secret crypts of the temple. The most surprising thing was that a 28 kg bag was also found here, which contained national coins of 7 different countries, in which coins of Napoleon and Italian times were also present.