Deva Prasannam Outcome - Padmanabha temple priests sound red alert for the country!

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 10: The Padmanabhaswamy temple is under a cloud of concern and apprehension as the devaprashnam, an elaborate astrological ritual to ascertain the will of the deity has not brought good news. The ritual has revealed that any attempt to move the massive treasure out of the premises is likely to have catastrophic consequences, not just to the temple but to the nation as a whole.

The ritual has also divulged that laying hands on the treasure of huge antique value could affect the sanctity of the shrine and can lead to the deity's ire. The shocking revelations came out after the ritual that was headed by chief astrologer Madhur Ranga Bhat following the day's rituals.

Bhat also added that the devaprashnam also advised against the opening of the controversial B vault since it was directly positioned below the sanctum sanctorum that holds the massive Lord Vishnu idol of Sri Padmanabha in the reclining posture.

The astrologers have also been quoted as saying that lapses in the conduct of rituals and customs in the temple resulted in the negative outcome in the devaprashnam. The result impacting the nations itself. The impact of the shortcomings will be examined in the last day of the ritual on Wednesday.

The panel consisting of astrologers have also advised the temple officials to do pariharakriyas(resolutions) to overcome the shortcomings that had evolved during the conduct of the devaprashnam. The elaborate devaprashnam is presently underway at the natakasala within the temple.

The Supreme Court appointed committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to decide on how to go about on the scientific evaluation of the treasure trove found in the temple worth an estimated Rs 1 lakh crore. With the latest observations by the astrologers panel, the SC-appointed panel will have to decide on what the next course of action ought to be.

Kerala temple vault should not be opened: astrologers

A group of astrologers has said a sealed chamber of an ancient Hindu temple in India's Kerala state should not be opened as it would bring bad luck, news reports said Friday.

The exploration of five underground chambers of the 16th-century Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram had yielded diamonds, rubies, gold and silver jewellery and ancient artefacts estimated to be worth billions of dollars.

The chambers were opened beginning late June after the Supreme Court upheld a Kerala High Court verdict ordering the state government to take over the temple's assets from a trust controlled by the local royal family of Travancore.

The Supreme Court had appointed a panel to decide on whether the remaining sealed chamber should be opened. The panel was also to decide on the security, inventory and preservation of the treasures found in the vaults.

The temple, however, appointed a team of priests to conduct a four-day astrological ritual known as devaprasnam or questioning of the gods to figure out whether the sixth vault should be opened.

The chamber was last opened over 150 years ago, according to temple officials.

The team of astrologers had concluded that an idol of the deity of a temple that predated the 16th century Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple had been installed in the unopened chamber referred to as vault B, the Hindu newspaper reported.

"The opening of this vault will incur the displeasure of the devan (god). It would also bode ill for the people and the land," K Padmanabha Sharma, the priest leading the ritual, was quoted as saying.

"Of the treasure troves that are in the temple, vault B should not be opened and of the remaining five vaults, there should be no valuation done, besides there should be no exhibition of the treasure that has been found," Sharma said.

The astrologers said the opening of the five vaults had also angered the presiding deity and listed a series of penances that had to be done at the temple including reading of the vedas, which are ancient Hindu religious texts, and over 100,000 homas or fire rituals.

The astrologers concluded that if anyone did open vault B one of his family members may die either by snake bite or due to consumption of poison, the Times of India newspaper reported.

Stocktaking of the treasures in the vaults began after TP Sundar Rajan, a devotee of the temple deity and former police officer, approached the court saying security measures to protect the temple's wealth were inadequate.

Sundar Rajan, 70, died after a brief illness in Thiruvananthapuram on July 17.