By my dad K.S. Loganathan a tire and rubber consultant.
Time seems to stand still in the sanctum sanctorum of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple( SPT) where Lord Vishnu reclines on the five –hooded serpent, Anantha, in Thiruvananthapuram ( City of the sacred serpent) that derives its name from the deity. The earliest reference to the temple dates back to the 9th century C.E (SPT 1.0 as a deity). Major renovations happened in C.E 1733 after King AnizhamTirunal Marthanda Varma, founded the line of Travancore rulers at a time when sultanates were in decline, and European colonial powers were rising. Ideas like mercantilism and communism were yet to come. In an unparalleled move, AnizhamTirunal Marthanda Varma submitted his kingdom to the deity, and the deity became the sovereign with successive Travancore rulers becoming His vassals. (SPT 2.0, the ruler as Padmanabha dasa). Nine kings and three queens/regents ruled Travancore, which consisted of parts of Southern Kerala and Tamil Nadu until its accession to the Indian Union in 1949. One of the rulers, Swati Tirunal Rama Varma, was a musical genius composing in several languages. From the court of another king, Ayilyam Tirunal, rose the painter Raja Ravi Varma. The last Maharaja, Chitira Tirunal Balarama Varma, passed away in 1991 when “liberalization, privatization, and globalization” were the buzzwords. Sixteen years later, a round of litigations in the courts questioning the right of ownership, management, and control of the temple by his younger brother began the whole caboodle.
After the recent examination of six vaults in the temple, artifacts with a material value of several lakh crores of rupees ($US 1.7 trillion) have been uncovered. These include Roman coinage from 200 BC ( reflecting the spice trade with Europe), Mughal and British period antiques, votive offerings by devotees, tributes by vassals, as well as temple ritual jewelry. Besides these, 2.275 million palm leaf scrolls of historical documents since the 14th century are now kept in the regional wing of the Kerala state archives department. The supreme court has stated that the ordering of the inventory was to maintain “transparency and sanctity.” The supreme court has not officially revealed the contents of the vaults, yet.
The Travancore rulers’ glorious contributions over three centuries to the architecture, literature, music, dance, arts, and crafts of the region remain crystallized as in a living museum with an impact greater than all of the shows of the rest of the world combined.
The volume has articles on the history, architecture, rituals, records, festivities and several cultural features of the temple. It includes excerpts and photographs from The Hindu’s archives. It is a useful guide for pilgrims and an invaluable reference book for scholars. The volume is in a souvenir format with articles contributed that enables it to provide an unvarnished and balanced account of the temple’s history. A glossary of vernacular terms and existing guidelines for non-Hindu tourists would have added value to the book.
By Shishirdasika – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63605598
My Views
Unlike the publisher, I am not constrained by conventions in news reportage and so cannot but ponder over the imponderables.
I have seen riches of the tomb of Tutankhamen in the Egyptian museum in Cairo and wondered at the grandeur of Egypt and the effort the Pharoahs, who were the equal of the Gods, had taken to create exquisite beauty in spaces within an established religious order. Egyptian monuments are among the earliest examples of the unfolding of human intellect and its creative ability.
With SPT’s wealth of heritage now brought to light, one cannot but wonder at the fabulous wealth which must have existed in medieval India, most of which had been pillaged by invaders and laid to ruin by internecine warfare. Something has miraculously survived, almost intact, in the southernmost tip of the country, where relative peace has reigned over the last two centuries.
Technology has already been deployed in the hi-tech security systems at the temple. Like the Decision Review System introduced into the gentleman’s game of cricket, the technology could be further used in historical research and temple management. With the opening of the vaults, retreat into the cocoon is impossible, nor is default an option. Onward to SPT 3.0( avatar?) to create an entity with the view to unlock shareholder value without detriment to the sanctity of the temple. When an age-wise inventory of the artifacts is available, it will be possible to have museums of antiquities, culture, as well as provide funding for historical research and technology studies, an adjunct to the temple.
In this, we must consider the elephant in the room: the legacy of fear, of human intention, as we go about the task of introducing SPT 3.0. These challenges are no less daunting than what Anizham Tirunal Marthanda Varma faced in defending the faith in SPT 2.0. As I see it, the temple is the microcosm of the human universe, and its material and spiritual wealth have to be preserved for posterity.
