The will of Sree Padmanabha or the order of the Supreme court -- which of the two should be implemented? The future of the huge treausure discovered in the Sree Pdamanabha temple now has to contend with a new factor that took the form of the three-day Devaprasnam.
An astrological ritual supposedly to know the attitude of the temple deity towards various issues, the Devaprasnam started today at the Sree Padmanabha Swami temple at Thiruvananthapuram. This time, it is to know the will of the lord on the opening of secret chamber B and the scientific valuation of the teasure so far opened, by a Supreme Court-appointed experts panel.
The decision to perform Devaprasnam is crucial as its findings would have a bearing on the opening of the final chamber and the valuation. Earlier, Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma in his affidavit before the apex court had pointed out that Devaprasnam should be performed before opening the B chamber. The Supreme Court had neither given sanctioned nor restricted it.
The decision to perform the Devaprasnam was taken on Saturday after a meeting of Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the head of the Travancore Royal Family with the temple tantris. The Travancore Royal family is the custodian of the temple and its wealth. The Saturday's meeting took a quick decision in the light of the commencement of valuation of the treasure from the five chambers of the temple.
The question now being asked is that, if the will of deity is against the valuation and opening of the last chamber, would it be a clash between the Hindu belief and the judiciary?
Some legal experts told Business Standard that the Supreme Court should consider the outcome of the Devaprasnam and should make futher direction to the experts panel as this is a matter of tradition and belief. If the valuation process is stopped as per the outcome of the Devaprasnam, the matter would be sub judice, said a lawyer of the Kerala High Court.
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It is learnt that CV Ananda Bose, who heads the Supreme Court-appointed committee would submit a report on the fresh development and seek furrther directions from the Court. The expert committee had its first meeting on August 1 and decided to start the valuation from August 10. That is also the day when the Devaprasnam would end.
In July, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice RV Raveendran and Justice AK Patnaik had appointed the expert committee to assess the value of various articles found in the chambers. The Court ordered the process of assessment to be carried out secretly.
The Court also kept in abeyance the opening of the B chamber, supposed to be the largest and said to be having huge stock of gold and silver. The committee should also examine the possibility of opening this chamber and report to the Court. It also directed that the valuation be a continuous process and there should not be a break till the completion.
The Court directed that the articles be graded in three categories having historic and antique value, having only physical value, and utensils and jewellery of daily use in the temple. The court criticised the media for publicising sensational reports on the value of the treasure, and directed the committee to not reveal any information on the assessment to the media.
The committee includes MV Nair of the archeological department, VK Harikumar, executive officer of the temple, BV Raja of Archeological Survey of India, and Vikas Sharma of Reserve Bank of India.
As news spread about the treasure during last 5-6 weeks, it caused a huge flow of pilgrims to the temple in the state capital, especially on the weekends. According to reports, the number of pilgrims jumped ten times during the last month and has created lapses in the temple's security.
On an average, 120 litres of 'payasam' is prepared daily, and this increased to 450 litres now. Also, the number of receipts for archana inside the temple have increased to 2,000-plus, from 250-300 earlier. A major chunk of the devotees are from outside the state and the number of overseas visitors are also on the increase. High security arrangement, including Commandos has been deployed in and outside the temple now.