Thiruvananthapuram: Advocate T.P. Sundararajan, who had petitioned India's apex court to open the vaults of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple here and take stock of its contents, passed away at his home on Sunday.
The 70-year-old Sundararajan had been suffering from old age-related health problems, and the end came early on Sunday morning.
The startling findings at the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, with treasures estimated to be worth nearly Rs1 trillion (Dh82.4 billion), happened after Sundararajan's intervention in the matter.
Sundararajan, a former Indian Police Service official who had served in Delhi in the intelligence services, was keen to put an end to speculation about the treasures in the temple, and also to ensure their safety.
He had faced threats after he went ahead with the petition to open the vaults of the temple.
However, the law graduate pressed ahead with his demand, and when the vaults were opened, with the exception of one chamber, a mind-boggling amount of wealth was revealed, which makes the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple the wealthiest in the world.
The Supreme Court has restrained the opening of the temple's B vault for the time being.
Sundararajan had worked with the federal intelligence team in Delhi when Indira Gandhi was prime minister. He later returned to Thiruvananthapuram to take care of his ailing father, and also taught as a professor of law.
A bachelor, Sundrarajan stayed in the Fort area of Thiruvananthapuram, not far from the temple, the mysteries of which he helped unravel.
However, the superstitious sections among the society believe that he had angered the deity by dragging the royal family, the custodian of the temple to the court. They have viewed his death as a result of the ‘fury of the deity’.
“The royal family has protected the deity’s wealth all these years. Anybody, who tries to defame the royal family, will actually be defaming the deity. They will certainly suffer for their action”, says Anil Kumar, a shopkeeper near the temple. Many devotees believe that the opening of the vaults in the temple was against the ‘wish of the deity’. In fact, the royal family themselves have warned the authorities against opening the sixth vault. In a sworn affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, Rama Varma, scion of the royal family, said the opening of the sixth vault could result in inviting the wrath of the deity. He pointed out that the vault had an insignia of a “serpent” indicating that it would not be advisable to open it.
The sign of the ‘serpent’ is a warning that it is not auspicious to open the vault. K K Venugopal, the counsel for the royal family suggested an appeasement ceremony be held before opening the vault to mollify the deity when the case was last heard by the apex court.
The royal family wants a decision on this to be taken after conducting the traditional “deva prasanam”, an astrological ritual performed by temples.
The Supreme Court had deferred the opening of the sixth vault, which is believed to contain another treasure trove, following fight for the wealth among various sections of the people. The court insisted on ensuring security to the treasures already discovered before opening the last vault.
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