There are many mysteries in the world around us - these are the ancient pyramids of Egypt and Stonehenge in England … The ancient Indian temple SRI PADMANABHASVAMI is no less mysterious, hiding behind its sealed door a hitherto undisclosed secret.
A bit of history …
The history of this temple, built in honor of the god Vishnu, has more than one thousand years and dates back to the 4th century BC. During this time, the temple was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. In the form in which we know it now, the temple has existed since 1731.
Its main tower is 30.5 meters high and has seven levels and is decorated with many magnificent statues and sculptures. Only Hindus wearing appropriate clothing can enter the temple.
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In the main hall of the temple there is his shrine - a statue of the Supreme God Vishnu with a height of 5.5 m. The God lies on a bed of a giant thousand-headed snake.
The statue is visible from all three gates. But through one gate you can see only her feet, through others - her stomach, and through the third - her head and arms.
This Indian temple has earned the fame of the richest temple in the world. Yes, all its walls are covered with gold outside, but this is not the only point. Not so long ago, a treasure was discovered in its underground vaults, the largest of all ever found.
There are countless diamonds in stone caves …
Through the principality of Travancor, in which this majestic temple was located, for a long time a rather busy trade route passed, along which merchants most often came to buy spices. And they all made generous offerings to the deity of this Vishnu temple. Also here was kept the gold, which the merchants paid for the spices. In addition, members of wealthy families in India donated their jewelry to the temple on various solemn occasions. For centuries, the priests of the temple collected these donations and deposited them in an underground cache.
For a long time the legend was alive among the people that in the underground storerooms of the temple untold riches were hidden. Indeed, in 2011, this legend took shape. It turned out that in addition to the visible part of the majestic temple, huge invisible riches are hidden in Padmanabhaswamy.
It all started with the fact that in 2009 the lawyer Sundar Rajan applied to the Supreme Court of India with a petition. In it, he demanded to open the underground storerooms of the temple and make a proper account of the treasures stored there, otherwise they would be simply looted. There were suspicions that the priests themselves from time to time put their hands into the pantries. The judges echoed the lawyer's concerns, and soon one of the vaults was opened in order to make sure that it did contain treasure.
And this is what appeared before the eyes of those present:
“When the granite slab was pushed aside, almost absolute darkness reigned behind it - it was diluted only by a dim ray of light from the doorway. I looked into the blackness of the pantry, and an amazing sight opened up to me: as if the stars twinkled in the sky on a moonless night. Diamonds and other precious stones flashed, reflecting the faint light coming from the open door. Most of the treasures were stacked in wooden chests, but over time the tree turned to dust. Gems and gold just lay in heaps on the dusty floor. I have never seen anything like it."
Despite the discontent of local residents, who believe that it is unacceptable to touch the wealth of the gods, five of the six depositories located under the temple were opened by court order, and what was found in them turned out to be a real shock. About a ton of gold coins, another ton of gold bars, chests with sparkling diamonds, emeralds, rubies …
In addition, there is a golden statue of the god Vishnu, a throne studded with precious stones, a golden cloth weighing 36 kg, a huge chain 5.5 meters long, a 500-kilogram golden sheaf and much more …
Now the temple is guarded around the clock by more than 200 police officers, video surveillance cameras, metal detectors are installed, there are even machine gunners. But this is certainly not enough. A complete count of the jewels has not been carried out, and they are still slowly being pulled apart and disappeared.
The Secret of the Sixth Vault
So, with five vaults partially sorted out, but the sixth remains sealed. Its door is hermetically closed, although it is not clear how - it has no locks, no latches, no key holes. A huge cobra with several heads is depicted on the door - the forbidding "sign of the snake". According to legend, behind this door is kept the inviolable supply of the god Vishnu, and it is forbidden to touch him.
The priests of the temple categorically refuse to open this door, claiming that it bodes innumerable troubles. Many listen to them, especially after the mysterious death of Sundar Rajan, who started this whole epic with jewelry. It happened a week after the opening of the storage facilities. According to the official version, he died of a fever, although he did not complain of health and did not get sick for a long time. But people think differently. An autopsy did not establish the cause of death.
They say that once, at the end of the 19th century, an attempt was made to open this door. The British dared to do this. But when the daredevils entered the dungeon, hordes of huge snakes that crawled out of nowhere attacked them, and they could not fight off them with sabers or firearms. The British fled in horror, and those of them who had been bitten by the snakes died in great pain.
So the door to the sixth vault remains closed and the intrigue around the jewels of the Padmanabhaswamy temple continues.
