THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Travancore royal family has informed the Vinod Rai Committee it was not in favour of opening of Vault B at the Sreepadmanabha Swamy temple.
The Supreme Court the other day had observed the Vault B could be opened after consulting the erstwhile Travancore royal family. But the royal family is of the view the opening of Vault B would be against the will of God. Royal family member Adithya Varma said they had intimated their objection to the Vinod Rai committee.
“Faith forbids the opening of the vault. There had been no attempt to open the vault in the past as it was against tradition. The vault symbolises the sanctity of the temple,” he said. On whether the vault had been opened in the past in the presence of the then Maharaja of Travancore Sree Chithira Thirunal on December 6, 1931, he said it must have been the anti-chamber to the vault. He said a team led by Justice M N Krishnan and Justice Rajan had tried to open the vault in 2012.
Though the anti-chamber was opened, Justice Rajan sustained an injury forcing the team to give up the move to open the vault.It has been pointed out the Vault B had been opened more than seven times in the past. But the royal family is challenging the claim saying what had been opened in the past was just two anti-rooms opposite to the Vault B.
“The Vault B has two rooms. The anti-chamber to the room had been opened in the past. In our knowledge and according to the available records, the Vault B had never been opened,” Adithya Varma said. Believers are of the view the opening of the Vault B will cause destruction to the temple as well as to the surrounding areas.
Vault B
The Supreme Court had observed the Vault B could be opened after consulting the erstwhile Travancore royal family. It is believed the Vault B is stacked with silver plates, gold and precious stones beside idols.