India’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld the right of a former royal dynasty to run the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, one of the world’s richest places of worship, after the state government tried to take it over when the family patriarch died.
When one of the vaults of the towering centuries-old Hindu temple in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala state was opened in 2011, it was found to hold diamonds by the sackful along with tonnes of gold coins and jewellery – a hoard estimated at more than $20bn.
The Kerala High Court had ruled that year, after public-interest petitions, that the Travancore family must give up its custodianship of the temple following the death of its head, Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last ruling Maharaja of Travancore, in 1991.
The historic Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala, India. The temple which is more than 260 years old recently came into the spotlight after gold coins and precious s
But on Monday, the Supreme Court reversed that decision.
“We allow the appeal of the royal family of Travancore. Death does not effect Shebaitship (management and maintenance of the deity) of the Travancore Family,” justices UU Lalit and Indu Malhotra said in their order.
Several Hindu temples in India have wealth running to the billions of dollars as devotees give gold and other precious objects as gifts to spiritual or religious institutions that run hospitals, schools and colleges.
Source: aljazeera.com
The post Indian royal family to keep control of temple with $20bn riches appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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