Lord unhappy over treasure revelation: Deva Prasnam

The signs that came up during the Deva Prasnam (astrological examination) at the famed Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple on Tuesday showed that the deity was deeply unhappy over the revelation to the world of the details of the treasures found at the temple cellars. The Deva Prasnam, which began on Monday, is expected to conclude on Wednesday.

The astrological examination is being held at the temple to know of Lord Padmanabha’s response to the valuation and documentation of the amazing treasures kept in its secret cellars, by a five-member committee appointed by the Supreme Court. The panel is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to decide on the modalities for the valuation.

Most important finding at the Deva Prasnam on Tuesday was that the second of the six chambers in the temple should not be opened in any circumstance. Opening of this chamber, which was closely related to the divinity of the temple, could affect its divine powers, the signs showed. It could also disturb the deity and make him angry, astrologers said.

The main purpose of the Deva Prasnam was to know whether the deity was in agreement with the move to examine the contents of this chamber, kept locked for centuries. The temple trustees had requested the Supreme Court to take any decision on opening this chamber only after holding a Deva Prasnam.

The temple had caught global attention after a seven-member committee appointed by the apex court found earlier that five of the six cellars in the temple were holding gold, precious stones and rare coins whose material value alone could be well over Rs 100,000 crore. Devotees had then protested the publicization of the details of the secret treasures, kept there for centuries.

The astrologers’ interpretations of the signs that came up during the Thamboola Prasnam on Tuesday suggested that the Lord’s wealth had been subjected to “persecution” (Peedha) sometime in the past. There had even been an effort to steal the wealth of Lord Padmanabha. However, the wealth would never leave the temple complex, the examinations showed.

Thamboola Prasnam, the main component of the examination, suggested that the deity was unhappy over the publicization of the details of the temple wealth, the secrecy of which was never to be violated, according to the astrologers. Poojas to take away the ill-effects of this unhappiness should be performed, the Prasnam suggested.

The first phase of the Thamboola Prasnam – which uses betel leaves to find out signs – had begun on Monday with the first leaf. The examination using the second betel leaf, which began on Tuesday morning, found signs that sent out the message that “one should not play with the Lord’s wealth”.

The astrologers found signs that made it clear that the wealth of the temple should not be used for purposes that were unrelated to it. Despite the bad omens that had become clear in the Rasi Pooja, performed as a prelude to the Prasnam on Monday, there would never be any decline in the divine power of the deity, it was revealed.

The examination of the third Thamboolam showed breaches in the rites and rituals being performed in the temple. The Deva Prasnam, led by chief temple priest Tanthri Tharananelloor Parameswaran Namboothiripad and astrology scholar Madhur Narayana Ranga Bhatt, would continue on Wednesday.

The Devaprasnam is being held in the context of the resumption of the process of valuation of the treasure on Wednesday by the five-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court. The decision to hold the Prasnam was taken at a meeting of the Tanthri, other temple priests and the members of the Travancore royal family, the traditional trustees of the temple.

The five-member committee is to grade the articles from the five chambers that had already been opened and organize an inventory of all valuables and videograph and photograph them. The apex court had last month asked the committee to categorize the treasure into those having historic and antique value, physical value only and of daily use in the temple.

Devaprasnam, a method to understand through an astrological examination the view of the deity on any particular matter related with a temple, had been conducted at the Sri Padmanabha Swamy shrine only twice in recent times. A Prasnam was held in 1931 after a fire at the temple and the second was held in 1971 on the occasion of the shrine’s electrification.

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