Showing posts with label Temple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Temple. Show all posts

Monday, July 11, 2011

DTN News - INDIA NEWS: Kerala Temple’s Secret Vaults Yield $22 Billion In Treasure ~ Debate Over Ownership

DTN News - INDIA NEWS: Kerala Temple’s Secret Vaults Yield $22 Billion In Treasure ~ Debate Over Ownership
**Battle intensifies for Kerala temple's $22 billion treasure
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 11, 2011: A $22 billion treasure trove unearthed beneath Kerala’s Padmanabhaswamy Temple has sparked a fierce political and public debate over ownership and how best to put the vast wealth to use.
The vaults of the 16th century temple were prised open for the first time in June, since when public calls have grown for redistribution of the wealth to the poor.
Discovered in the vaults were a dazzling stash of gold ornaments, Napoleonic era coins and sacks of gemstones.
The archaeological find, one of the greatest ever made in India, has triggered a fierce legal battle for custodianship, pitting the royal family of Travancore, which controls the temple, against the Kerala High Court that has asked the state government to bring the temple under a public trust.
The current maharajah of the royal family, Marthanda Verma, has since challenged the court ruling in the Supreme Court, with the backing of some state politicians.
"The Supreme Court has stayed a Kerala High Court ruling asking the state government to take over the temple. We will go by the direction," Temple Affairs Minister V. S. Sivakumar said on Sunday.
While the royal family's guardianship of the temple's wealth over close to three centuries has drawn plaudits, critics say the fortune could go far to stimulate Kerala's local economy and improve living standards in a country with an estimated 450 million people living in poverty.
"The royal family had a great tradition of being progressive and it had been an integral part of the history and traditions of the temple. It would not be right to deny them any role in the temple's affairs," said Ramesh Chennithala, chief of the Kerala unit of the ruling Congress party.
A Supreme Court-appointed committee has so far opened and examined five of the six vaults but deferred opening of the sixth vault to ensure safety of the assets while armed commandos guard the site against looting.
The state government is of the view that the find will continue to remain the temple's property, mirroring the stance of Hindu groups who say the religious relics mustn't be removed.
Others say a museum should be established for the treasures.
"This will bring the capital city to world limelight and bring more tourists," said temple expert Malayinkeezh Gopalakrishnan.
The 500-year-old temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is unique in terms of architecture and mythology, with legends of a curse protecting the long-hidden treasure.
India's devout masses have occasionally bestowed great wealth to religious sites and trusts that run hospitals and educational institutions through donations.
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

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Monday, July 04, 2011

DTN News - INDIA NEWS: Kerala Temple’s Secret Vaults Yield $22 Billion In Treasure

DTN News - INDIA NEWS: Kerala Temple’s Secret Vaults Yield $22 Billion In Treasure
Analysis: The ancient temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu - Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple was built during the medieval period. Even though there were different rulers that ruled Southern India under Vijaynagar kingdom, Mughal dynasty and Tipu Sultan the treasure and it's secrecy was intact. If the British had an inkling of the treasure, today the same would have been in the British Museum or in the Bank of England's vaults or with the British Royalty as the Koh-i-noor diamond taken away and seized by the East India Company and became part of the British Crown Jewels when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877. Duleep Singh was the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his fifth wife Maharani Jind Kaur. Duleep, aged 13, travelled to the United Kingdom to present the jewel. The presentation of the Koh-i-Noor to Queen Victoria was the latest in the long history of transfers of the stone as a spoil of war: By DTN News (K. V. Seth)
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 4, 2011: It's like a scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Even before the unlocking of the last of six secret vaults at Kerala's largest temple, the centuries-old treasure in gold, silver and precious stones is already estimated to be worth around $22 billion has been found in the secret cellars of the famous Kerala Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu - Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum.
The 7 member paper appointed by the Supreme Court of India, has been preparing the list of valuable found in the cellars of Sri Padmanabhaswami Temple. The temple has 6 Secret Cellars (Nilavara – a place to keep assets safe) from Cellar A to Cellar F. Opening of each of these chambers is revealing a virtual treasure trove with precious diamonds, golden ornaments, emeralds, jewelleries, rare antique silver and brass platters and golden idols. An estimation of above $22 billion treasure was valued at the completion of the 6th day of valuing the assets of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

Golden idol of Mahavishnu worth over $100 million

The main treasure found on the 6th day was a one foot (12 angulams) height golden idol of Lord Mahavishnu and a 30 kg golden ‘anki’. This golden idol of Lord Vishnu is believed to be the replica of the ‘utsava vigraham' used in the temple. The golden idol of Padmanabhaswamy studded with more than 1000 previous stones is valued to around Rs. 500 Crore. Another golden idol of Lord Sree Krishna was also found which weighs around 5 kg.

Golden Coins, Ornaments, and Human figurine

Several golden coins were also unearthed yesterday which are believed to be issued during the reign of Krishnadeva Rayar in the 16th century AD. Numerous golden ornaments which were used to adorn the main deity were also found in the Vault marked A. Ornaments studded with emeralds were also found on Saturday. Numerous golden human figurine weighing 1 kg, golden bangles, golden rope, are other interesting treasure found in the Vishnu Temple.

Golden Coconut Shells

Another interesting finding was two coconut shells made of pure gold. One of this golden coconut shell was students with rare antique stones including emeralds and rubies.

"Though we knew that offerings made to the temple by devotees for the last 500 years were lying in these secret cellars, the scale of the treasure has definitely surprised us," temple official Hari Kumar told the media. "All of Kerala is celebrating this extraordinary find." Its discovery has made the Hindu temple of Padmanabha Swamy in the state capital Thiruvanthapuram the richest in India.
During the past week, a team of experts appointed by India's supreme court has opened five vaults dedicated to the deity Lord Vishnu to uncover an enormous hoard of gold idols, jewellery studded with diamonds, emeralds and other precious stones, antique silver, and even two golden coconut shells studded with rubies and emeralds.
The shrine dates back to the 10th century, but the present massive granite structure was built only in the 18th century after King Marthanda Varma expanded and consolidated the Travancore kingdom. It has historically been a royal temple, but offerings to the Lord Vishnu, in the form of gold and jewellery, have come not just from Travancore kings and other Kerala royalty but millions of ordinary devotees.
The vaults containing the offerings have remained locked at least since the 1930s, when the last inventory was reportedly carried out by Travancore's then rulers. India's supreme court ordered a fresh inventory of the treasure after a face-off between the current head of the former Travancore royal family and a lawyer who challenged them about the management of the temple wealth, claiming there was inadequate security.
"There are six vaults, from A to F, and only Vault B has still to be opened," says Kumar. "This vault has special locks, and we don't want to break them. So we're getting experts to examine them, and we should be able to open them on Friday."
The entire operation is going on under heavy police security, but nothing is being filmed or photographed. "Taking photos within the sacred space of the temple is strictly prohibited," says Kumar.
Kerala's chief minister Oommen Chandy has rejected the demand that the treasure should be used for public benefit. "It belongs to the Padmanabha Swamy temple and will be preserved there," he said.
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

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Monday, April 25, 2011

DTN News - THAILAND DEFENSE NEWS: Thailand And Cambodia Resume Fighting Along Border

DTN News - THAILAND DEFENSE NEWS: Thailand And Cambodia Resume Fighting Along Border
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 25, 2011:

Thai and Cambodian forces have clashed for a fourth day along their disputed border, despite calls by the UN for a ceasefire.

Field commanders on both sides said artillery, mortars and rifle fire were exchanged at nightfall on Monday around Cambodia's Ta Krabey temple.

Twelve soldiers have been killed and 36,000 people displaced in the recent clashes.

Both sides blame each other for the latest fighting, which began on Friday.

Thousands of civilians have fled the border area, seeking refuge from the three days of fighting [Reuters]

The death toll from three days of heavy fighting between Thai and Cambodian troops over a disputed border area has climbed to 12.

Officials on Monday said one soldier had been killed on each side following an exchange of fire in the jungle frontier late on Sunday.

Cambodia also accused Thailand of damaging two ancient temples during the latest clashes, while Thailand accused the Cambodian army of firing artillery shells that did not make it across the border.

Fighting appeared to have resumed on Monday afternoon with several shells fired, following a brief lull in the violence after days of cross-border shelling.

Thailand's foreign minister called for one-on-one talks with Cambodia, a renewed push that came after the cancellation of talks with a top regional envoy.

Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa had been scheduled to hold talks in Thailand and Cambodia on Monday but his trip was cancelled, government officials from both countries said.

Natalegawa had brokered a UN-backed peace deal in February that would have posted unarmed military observers from Indonesia along the border, but the Thai military has said they are not welcome and the deal has yet to be put in place.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, a Thai government spokesman, said Natalegawa's visit was cancelled because Thailand and Cambodia had not yet settled on terms for the Indonesian observers.

Cambodia has asked for outside mediation to help end the standoff, but Thailand has resisted third-party intervention. However, Kasit Piromya, the Thai foreign minister, declined on Monday to rule them out when speaking to reporters at an evacuation camp.

"It's not something we are opposed to. This is a sensitive issue," he said in a briefing about 30km from the scene of recent fighting.

Ceasefire shattered Both countries have blamed each other for sparking the violence, which is the first serious outbreak of fighting since February, when 10 people were killed in clashes near the 900-year-old Hindu temple Preah Vihear.

Seven Cambodian and five Thai troops have been killed and thousands of civilians have fled the area since the latest clashes began on Friday.

Cambodian soldiers stand guard near by the Cambodia-Thailand border in Oddar Meanchey province on April 25, 2011. Five Thai soldiers and seven Cambodian soldiers have died in the latest clashes

About 20,000 civilians have sought refuge in 16 camps on the Thai side of the border while about 17,000 have been evacuated from Cambodian villages. Some, like 47-year-old Suwech Yodsri, stayed behind to guard their properties, despite the danger of violence.

"I'm scared to be here but I have to be here to protect our village from looting," he told the AFP news agency from the Thai village of Nong Kanna in Surin Province, about five kilometres from the border. "I believe political conflicts are to blame. Innocent people are just being used as a political tool," he added.

Calls for restraint

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has called on the neighbours to "exercise maximum restraint" and has urged them to resolve the issue through "serious dialogue" rather than military means.

He also urged the two neighbours to take immediate measures for an effective and verifiable ceasefire. Indonesia, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, has called for an immediate end to the violence. Vietnam urged "maximum restraint". Ties between the neighbours have been strained since Preah Vihear -- the most celebrated example of ancient Khmer architecture outside Cambodia's Angkor -- was granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6 square km surrounding area.

*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

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