'Kerala temple treasures belong to royal family'

The huge treasures found in Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram were the "exclusive property" of Travancore royal family that dedicated their kingdom to the presiding deity of the temple, Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi said on Tuesday.

"For long the erstwhile royal family was the custodian of the temple and they dedicted their kingdom to Lord Sree Padmanabhaswamy.The treasures were offerings made by erstwhile rulers to the temple, hence the recoveries belonged to the royal family", he told PTI in Kanchipuram. "However, the treasures should be kept in the temple cellars itself", he said.

The cellars of the temple, closed for several decades, were ordered to be opened by the Supreme Court to prepare inventory while considering a private petition recently.  

The deity of Padmanabhaswamy Temple is the family deity of Travancore royal family. Members of the erstwhile royal family had dedicated their kingdom to the deity and pledged that they will live as servants of Padmanabha. The shrine is run by a trust floated by the Travnacore royal house.

Vast collection of gold, silver, precious stones and priceless jewellery were discovered in the cellars of the temple while preparing the inventory.