Tuesday, March 16, 2010

No state take-over of Padmanabhaswamy temple: Kerala Govt


he Kerala Government has made it clear to a court in Thiruvananthapuram that it is not mulling the takeover of the magnificent Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple here which is under the trusteeship of the Travancore Royal house.

The Government stated its position in a statement yesterday following a private petition, seeking the state-take over of the grand temple, its invaluable jewels and movable properties.

The petition also sought the officials of the present administration to be restrained from entering the inner chambers of the complex, where rare jewels, gold vessels and other precious items are believed to be kept.

In the statement filed before the Principal Sub-Court here, the Government said it did not have any plan to take the reins of the temple, since there have been no complaints against the present set-up.

Following construction of the complex by Marthanda Varma Maharaja in 1729 in place of a small, ancient temple, the capital of Travancore princely state was shifted to here.

While all other major temples in Travancore region were handed over to the state-controlled Travancore Devaswom Board in 1948, Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple was retained under its control since the presiding Lord of the shrine is the family deity of the royal house.


- Sowbarnika Nair , Trivanadapuram

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