THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Historian and writer M G Sashibhooshan has come out against the claim by the Travancore royal family that opening of the Vault B of Padmanabhaswamy Temple will lead to serious repercussions.
Sashibhooshan said the Royal family has not so far made it clear about the nature of the repercussion. The royal family claims the temple tantries had objected to the opening of the vault and ‘devaprasnam’ had also advised against it.
“It is illogical to give too much importance to ‘devaprasnam’ and astrologers’ words in the 21st century. And if the tantries had forbidden the opening of the vault, they should have made clear the reason behind it,” he told Express.Sashibhooshan said an officer of Vinod Rai’s stature had stated the vault was opened seven times in the past. If the claim was wrong, the royal family could have moved the Supreme Court seeking to delete the claim from records.
He said a Book ‘Travancroe- A guide to the Visitor’ by Emil Christ Hatch published by Oxford University Press, in 1933 had claimed the Vault B had been opened in 1931 in the presence of the then ruler of Travancore Maharaja Sre Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma. It was T Austin, the then Dewan of Travancore, who wrote the introduction to the book. The book is still available with the Kerala University Library and State Legislature Library. He said Dewan Sir CP Ramaswamy Aiyer who had banned several books during his tenure had not banned the book.
The book states a portion of the treasure had been shifted from the vault. “Sometimes the treasure might have been shifted to the state treasury. There is no record how the treasure has utilised it,” he said. He said some newspapers had carried reports on the opening of the vault in the 1930s.