On July 13, 2020, the Supreme Court has upheld the rights of the former royal family for the administration and control of the Padmanabha Swamy temple, Kerala. The Apex Court set aside the January 2011 verdict of Kerala High Court which ruled that the state government should take over the control of the temple from a trust headed by the former royal family.
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The controversy pending for the last nine years came to an end after the Supreme Court's verdict. The family was alleged of financial irregularities in the temple. SC has also ruled out that it is up to the former royal family of Travancore whether to open the secret vault or not that has been shut for several years now. This is because the family has argued that opening the secret vault will bring misfortune due to a mythical curse. However, advocate Gopal Subramanium who was acting as Amicus Curiae, told the court that the secret vault has been opened in the past on a number of occasions.
About Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple
Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple located in Kerala, India. Several Hindu texts such as Brahma Purana, Matsya Purana, Varaha Purana, etc. have mentioned this shrine. As per several historians, the temple was called 'The Golden Temple' as it was wealthy at that time. In addition to this, Tamil literature has mentioned that the walls of the temple and the city has been made of gold. The Ananthapuram temple in Kasaragod is believed to be the original seat of Padmanabhaswamy.
Significance of the Temple
The temple is amongst the 108 principal Divya Desams in Vaishnavism and is glorified in the Divya Prabandha. It is believed that Parasurama has placed the idol of Sree Padmanabha in Dwapara Yuga.
Another view is that the legendary sage Vilvamangalathu Swamiyar prayed to Lord Vishnu for his darshan and the Lord is believed to have come in the guise of a mischievous little boy who damaged the Idol kept there. The sage became furious over the boy and chased him until the boy disappeared before him. The sage soon realised that the boy was the Lord himself and wept for forgiveness. He requested for another Darshan of the Lord to which he heard a voice to visit Ananthankadu.
One day, the sage heard the name of Ananthankadu from a lady and reached the spot as directed by her. Upon reaching, he saw a boy merging into an Indian Butter Tree. The tree fell down and became Anantha Sayana Moorti of an extraordinarily large size, with His head at Thiruvattar near Thuckalay Tamil Nadu, Body or Udal at Thiruvananthapuram, and lotus-feet at Thrippadapuram near Kulathoor and Technopark (Thrippappur)-- eight miles in length. The sage requested the Lord to shrink to a smaller proportion and the Lord heard his request. It is believed that the Idol kept in the temple is the same shrink version that the sage requested the Lord for.
Travancore Royal Family
At the beginning of the 18th century, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma succeeded his uncle Rama Varma as king at the age of 23. After his accession to the musnud, the idol was reconstructed in 171 CE.
On January 17, 1750, Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma surrendered the Travancore Kingdom to Padmanabha Swamy (deity of the temple) and pledged that he and his descendants will be the agents of the deity, serving the kingdom as Padmanabha Dasa. The male members of the family were known as Sree Padmanabha Dasa while the female members were known as Sree Padmanabha Sevinis.
Temple Structure
In sanctum sanctorum, Padmanabha reclines on the serpent Anantha or Adi Sesha having five hoods facing inwards. The Lord's right hand is placed over a Shiva lingam while Goddess Lakshmi and Bhudevi, consorts of Vishnu are by his side. Brahma emerges on a lotus emanating from the navel of the Lord. The deity of Padmanabha is covered with Katusarkara yogam. This helps in keeping the deity clean.