Treasure belongs to 'Lord' or people?
Last Updated : 04 Jul 2011 08:46:01 AM IST
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The hidden treasure is out in the open. Debates are on as to what should be done with the mountain of wealth. But the milliondollar question remains unanswered. Who does this money belong to the Lord or to his people? Even the historians seem divided in tackling the tricky question. If there is one factor that mesmerises historians, it is that Padmanabhaswamy Temple here has remained unscathed by invasions of any sort in the past. Whether the rich temples next door in Tamil Nadu or up in the Northern states like Rajasthan, none has escaped from the eyes of plunderers. But Padmanabha swamy Temple did, the reason why such a huge wealth accumulated, historians think.But the argument that it is people's money does not stand any ground with many of them. "The tax collected from people went into the tax treasury, and the presents, tributes to the Lord and possibly the wealth accumulated by winning battles, went into the temple treasury. 'Mathilakom' (related to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple) documents clearly state that tax treasury was called 'karuvalam' and temple treasury was 'ituveippu'. So, there is no confusion, the treasure now unearthed belongs to the Lord,'' says historian M G Sasibhushan. Backing the opinion is another renowned historian M G S Narayanan who says that it was the 'ettarayogam' which had handled the money of the Lord initially."Our history puts it down clearly that the money belongs to the temple. The treasury was different those times," he says.Therefore,the money should not be given out. "It is legally and morally wrong to take the money out of the temple. It should be preserved," he adds. However, there are those who endorse the view that going by the kind of measureless wealth that has been discovered, it may not be just the donations and offerings but some of people's money too.
Topics: