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Considered the world’s richest Hindu temple,

Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram is
dedicated to Lord Vishnu. While the origin of the temple is

believed to be “lost in antiquity”, Sree Padmanabha Swamy

temple finds mention in ancient texts including Sangam Tamil

literature.

Unlike other temples in Kerala, Sree Padmanabha
Swamy and its assets were managed by a trust controlled by

the Travancore Royal Family.

The temple contains six vaults built under the sanctum

sanctorum. While five of the six vaults have been opened,

Vault-B, the secret vault remains unopened, opposed by the
royal family on the grounds that opening the vault would

invite God’s anger.

In 2014, the Supreme Court entrusted the

administration of the temple to a five-member committee and

directed former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai to
undertake the audit of the temple properties, assets and

accounts. The apex court has also deferred the opening of

Vault-B until the enumeration of other vaults were completed
by the committee.

According to a special audit report that was submitted

by a committee headed by Vinod Rai, 769 pots of gold worth

Rs 186 crores and sale deeds of 2.11 acres of land that were

sold in 1970 are missing, while around 263 kilos of gold are

deemed lost in purification procedures from the Sree
Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram.