Treasure Worth 'Billions' Found In Hindu Temple In Southern India

A Hindu temple in southern India seems to have delivered the motherlode.

Archeologists have reportedly uncovered over $11 billion in treasure at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, according to AFP. The treasure has been found in at least 5 vaults.

The temple, which is typically known for its statues, is located in the Kerala state, near the Southern tip of the country. MSNBC reports that the foundation for the current tower, containing the treasure, was laid in 1566.

From AFP:

The valuables have an estimated preliminary worth of over 500 billion rupees ($11.2 billion), said Kerala Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar, catapulting the temple into the league of India's richest temples.

The thousands of necklaces, coins and precious stones have been kept in at least five underground vaults at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple which is renowned for its intricate sculptures.

Apparently, devotees have been donating to the temple for centuries. Among the treasure in the find was what archeologists described to be an 18-foot necklace. Other pieces have included gold, silver, coins, and precious stones.

However, the best may have been saved for last. According to the AFP, researchers are yet to have opened one secret chamber that hasn't been opened in 140 years.

The exact value of the treasure will be determined after archeologists take a closer look at the find.

Comments

[SkeeBee]

08:35 PM on 07/05/2011

Should....have...vacationed....in India...last .....fall...... as... planned.....
:(

>;P

[DoesItMatter]

05:11 PM on 07/07/2011

You can still plan. There are still lots of temples in the South; that escaped the wrath of Muslim invaders and European Colonialists.

[Nitin Kapoor]

06:00 PM on 07/05/2011

NO Doubt that India aka Hindustan aka Bharat used to be know as "Golden Bird"

[DoesItMatter]

04:34 PM on 07/05/2011

Alas, it is not going to remain with the temple or its trust. It will be gobbled up by the corrupt politicians and the Communist goons in Kerala.

[Jim NLN]

04:01 PM on 07/05/2011

This is what happens when you eliminate the inheritance tax. All the wealth gets accumulated by one family............forever!

[artboxone]

10:37 AM on 07/05/2011

Early Buried Treasure

Within "a temple fifty yards square, [was] a chamber in which he concealed forty copper jars each of which was filled with African gold dust. A treasure of three hundred and thirty mans of gold was buried there. Over it there is a temple in which there is an idol made of red gold, and trees are planted round the reservoir." It is related by historians, on the authority of 'Ali bin Muhammad ... He saw there an idol made of gold, and its two eyes were bright red rubies.

Muhammad Kasim ordered the idol to be taken up. Two hundred and thirty mans of gold were obtained, and forty jars filled with gold dust. They were weighed and the sum of thirteen thousand and two hundred mans weight of gold was taken out. This gold and the image were brought to the treasury together with the gems and pearls and treasure, which were obtained from the plunder of the city of Multan.

Chach-na'ma or Tari'kh-I Hind wa Sind, translated into Persian by Muhammad 'Ali bin Hamid bin Abu Bakr Kufi c. early 13th CE from an early Arabic manuscript.

In The History of India as Told by its own Historians. The Posthumous Papers of the Late Sir H. M. Elliot. John Dowson, ed. 1st ed. 1867. 2nd ed., Calcutta: Susil Gupta, 1956, vol. 7, pp. 32-115.
http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/h_es/h_es_indian_hist_frameset.htm

[artboxone]

10:14 AM on 07/05/2011

Here's the link to

"Calculating Britain's Debt to India"

http://www.kahany.com/stores/writing/0997britishdebt.html

[artboxone]

10:01 AM on 07/05/2011

Calculating Britain's Debt to India

In the 1870's Dadabhai Naoroji, later twice President of the Indian National Congress, estimated that Britain was bleeding India at the rate of three to four million pounds per year. Or was it thirty to forty million? I need to check on that. Anyway let's stick with the lesser amounts for now. Average those to 3.5 million pounds per year. Assume that that sum was constant from 1857 to 1947. Assume further that the British looted a paltry 1 million pounds per annum from 1767 to 1856. Assume a 7.875% rate of annual interest compounded yearly. Then we calculate

Sum_{n = 1997 - 1767}^{n = 1997 - 1856} (1.07875)^n +
3.5 * Sum_{n = 1997 - 1857}^{n = 1997 - 1947} (1.07875)^n = (0.07875)^(-1) [(1.07875^231 - 1.07875^141)
- 3.5 * (1.07875^141 - 1.07875^50)] million pounds.

That works out to about 521,000,000,000,000 pounds, to be divided between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Interest is currently accruing at the very serious rate of 41,000,000,000,000 pounds per annum. I haven't included damages, and interest thereon, for the Bengal famine, the Jallianwallah Bagh, and other like injuries. I haven't even included "gifts" like the Koh-i-noor.

On the basis of the current populations of India (946 million), Pakistan (140 million), and Bangladesh (119 million), unless we wish to make this a class action, India's share is 409 trillion pounds. That would give every Indian 400,000 pounds.

[kodimirpal]

10:16 AM on 07/05/2011

Superb accounting calculation, hope others will show similar calculation for other colonial powers like Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and so on.

One piece of information about India, within 10 years after independence ( 1947-1957) Indian Govt had built more schools and colleges compared to 150 years of British Raj in India, British education system was meant to produce clerks and office boys only to serve the colonialists.

Imagine the development of a colony like india if India got its independence in 1847, or if India had never been colonised
After all, colonialism was the most lucrative career for the west and they made huge profits out of it

[nulls]

08:12 AM on 07/10/2011

you heard of a bloody muslim king "tipu Sultan"? He attacked north kerala, killed men, raped women, looted the whole wealth and finally he reached south. It was at the time tipu was about the travancore, the king hide all their wealth very deep down.

[ga4ry]

08:43 AM on 07/05/2011

AAh the glories of religion, as men, women and children starve to death toe coffers of the faith grow richer and richer

[DoesItMatter]

05:00 PM on 07/05/2011

Travelogues written by several foreigners who visited India, especially the South India; narrate the rich people. They talk about how people were meagerly attired and make it a point that it is not because of poverty, but because of the climate. They do not mention about poverty. How can one after another miss the poverty if it existed during those times. It could only mean
1) It did not exist,
2) It existed, but not noticeable enough to mention.

[dtmfman]

08:40 AM on 07/05/2011

well...there's at least 1 country the US can stop sending aid to....next up...afghan, libia, pak...(insert country name here)!

This has been a public service announcement

[cricket]

09:17 AM on 07/05/2011

India doesnt get aid or aids from america.

[turkeylurky]

09:30 AM on 07/05/2011

Actually India DOES get aid from the Americans.
Approx $80M per year for civilian initiatives plus unknown $$$$ in military aid.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/US-slashes-aid-to-India-by-35/206710/

[Rohit Kh]

08:27 AM on 07/05/2011

Some of the posters dont understand
The kings of travancore have a great regard for their beloved temple.
Even thought they knew about the treasure, they never took a dime out of it.
The entire treasure was safegaurded becuase the kings of travancore and their descendents who still are the nominal controllers of the temple.

[ttowse]

08:19 AM on 07/05/2011

It is only wealth if there are buyers to buy. The government will find a way to keep the masses in poverty and drinking fertilizer from Monsanto because their corn is not resistant to drought. Good for India who cheered when Bush was elected the second term we think for real that time. Now can we tell them to piss off and send Bill Gates over to do it? He can stay, we don't want him back until he fixes windows.

[Rohit Kh]

08:22 AM on 07/05/2011

Indians dont use corn
We use wheat and rice as grains. Rice originates from India and you will be surprised by the types of rice we have. All of which are natural and non patented.

[DoesItMatter]

04:38 PM on 07/05/2011

It won't be long before MNCs from the West slap IP and what not to squeeze every ounce of currency from the poor.

[eva belle]

07:45 AM on 07/05/2011

I knew some guy from Kerala, he spoke of it as being this beautiful place. Hopefully this find can go into improving the lives of the local people.

[kodimirpal]

06:50 AM on 07/05/2011

How rich the hindu deities and who adorns them with gold and diamonds and why?
Recently, a political party leader and Karnataka tourism minister Gali Janardhan Reddy gifted the Balaji Lord with a 16-kg diamond-studded crown priced at Rs 45 crore. In the last 5 years,

Bellary Reddy brothers generated 4,000 crore of profit before tax from the iron-ore business in Bellary and delivered 1 % commission to their favourite god!

This is the eighth and the largest crown presented to the Hindu God by dirty money makers. The current estimate of gold ornaments with this Hindu Temple exceed 15 tons and valued at more than $7 billion.

Interestingly, a case against Janardhan Reddy for destruction of the 200-year-old Sugalamma Devi Hindu Temple located in the mining zone was dropped drown by Hindutva government in Karnataka state.

Balaji, Lord of Seven Hills, Andra Pradesh is the richest deity in the world. The facilitators of Balaji Temple, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), has more than Rs 1,000 crore in fixed deposits in various banks. The total annual income of Balaji temple trust is Rs 600 crore, the budget outlay for the year 2008-09 was Rs 1,925 crore. 20 lakh pilgrims visit Balaji temple per year. It receives around Rs 300 crore , 350 kg Gold & 500 kg Silver.

http://escapefromindia.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/richest-temples-poorest-worshippers/

[lloydc123]

06:23 AM on 07/05/2011

Don't tell Goldman, Morgan Stanley or the remnants of all those other sub-prime looters. They will turn it into no-doc loans.

[UnRed]

05:28 AM on 07/05/2011

How much do you think is stored in the Vatican coffers?

[SpaghettyIrish]

07:03 AM on 07/05/2011

I don't think numbers go that high.

[dtmfman]

08:44 AM on 07/05/2011

better question is...how many pedophiles are hiding behind the vatican doors???