Page 15 - history_Classical

The missing treasures that Rai accounts for are only from
five vaults buried five feet under the temple’s floors.

It was in July 2011 -after Rai’s first report- that the outside

world came to know of the existence of six vaults out of which

five purportedly housed more than Rs 100,000 crores
treasure. Of the six, vault B still remains shrouded in secrecy.

The Travancore Royal family had staunchly opposed the

opening of this vault that is rumored to house many treasures.

Though it was

presumed to be
unopened till then, but

Rai had cited temple

records to show that

vault B had been opened
twice in 1990 and five

times in 2002.

The legends and superstitious myths surrounding the

opening of the B vault in the temple had resurfaced at that

time with a vengeance, a few of which are mentioned here:

• The Curse

The first ruling by the Supreme Court to assess the wealth

of the temple came after advocate TP Sunder Rajan had filed
a writ petition in a Kerala court. Sunder Rajan passed away in

July 2011.The unexpected death of Sunder Rajan was held by

many as a divine backlash. Many believed that opening the
vault without the prescribed puja would invoke the curse.