THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: What has hauled the royal family of erstwhile Travancore into the vortex of awe-induced speculations, post the unearthing of treasure troves from Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, is the apparent collapse of the theory of greed.
‘All people act in their own interest’ - Adam Smith had famously stated in Wealth of Nations. And the world is left baffled trying to figure out why the theory had failed to work, or to put it more plainly, what had prevented the descendants of the kingdom from procuring all or parts of the untold wealth.
The subterranean vaults were unknown to the outside world, there was hardly any precise inventory of the contents, and the kingdom had passed through tough times after the colonial powers had set in with their strangulating clutch.
On the 20th death anniversary of the last ruling Maharaja of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, which falls on July 19, the controversy surrounding the reliquary demands a scrutiny from the dimension of restraint and abstinence Chithira Thirunal, descendant of the mighty Chera rulers, had not inherited a powerful kingdom.
In 1931, when he was crowned as the King of Travancore, the princely state was reeling under the inroads of British imperialism. By 1932, the state, like the rest of the world, had begun to feel the pinch of economic depression.
The story assumes the colours of austerity when it comes to be known that the secret vaults were last opened in 1931 when the King, who must have just crossed his teenage, assumed charge of an ailing kingdom.
Though stories abound on the possible reasons for the opening of the vaults, historians are unified in their opinion that the proceedings had no connections with the economic affairs of the state.
Says M G Sasibhooshan, “Among the secret chambers, the one that was probably opened in 1931 was Chamber A. The purpose was most probably to do a stock-taking of the contents as part of Chithira Thirunal’s accession to the throne. There is no evidence for the riches being used to meet the expenses of the exchequer.”
The only two times that the wealth was culled out were during times of war and famine. Tipu Sultan had attacked Travancore in 1789 during the reign of Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma (1758-1798), popularly known as Dharma Raja.
To meet the expenses of waging a war against the marauding forces of Mysore, the King is said to have borrowed from the riches, dedicated to the Lord by his ancestors. “And it was promptly repaid after peace was restored in the Kingdom,” adds Sasibhooshan.
Later, when a severe famine hit the state during the reign of Rama Varma Visakham Thirunal (1880–1885), the vaults were opened again and for the last time till Chithira Thirunal did so in 1931. But this time, though the riches were diverted towards arranging food supply for the masses, it was widely rumoured that a curse had descended upon the kingdom, says historian Malayinkeezhu Gopalakrishnan.
“Superstitious beliefs in the curse surrounding relics may have led to the spreading of such stories. But, it was believed that the passing of the power into the hands of colonial rulers was an aftermath of the opening of the vaults.”
Chithira Thirunal had witnessed the opening of the vaults in 1931, if the account of Emily Gilchrist Hatch, who penned, Travancore: A guide book for the visitor, in 1933, is to be believed. The wealth remaining in the Lord’s abode for all these years ought to be read alongside the King’s steadfastness in leading the procession to the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple even after the Kingdom was ceded to the Indian territory.
“Chithira Thirunal’s prayers before the deity was held in high esteem by everyone who had the opportunity to witness it,” says Sasibhooshan. “It is said that the way he stood before the sanctum sanctorum was enough for onlookers to believe in the presence of God there. It was so full of boundless devotion.
While carrying out the ‘Aarattu’ after he had stepped down as King, members of the watching crowd had hurled several humiliating comments at him - “Isn’t it time you stopped these charades, Balaraman,” - the King was asked.”
He showed a total insularity to all such observations. It took a while for the some-time subjects to realize that the devotion of Chithira Thirunal was that of a true Padmanabha Dasa. And that perhaps explains why the present titular head of the royal family, Marthanda Varma, threw the journos off guard when he firmly but casually remarked - “They (the riches) belong to nobody, certainly not to our family. They belong to God and our law permits that.”