It's tantri's call, royals tell Kadakampally Surendran

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The erstwhile royal family told devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran here on Monday that there were spiritual reasons behind their opposition to the opening of the ‘B’ Chamber, the only underground vault of Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple whose mysteries have not been revealed. The erstwhile royals, however, said they would go by the decision of the ‘tantri’ on the issue. They are also open to the ‘tantri’ reviewing the conclusions of the ‘Ashtamangalya Prashnam’ conducted in August 2011. The minister had visited Kowdiar palace on Monday to convey the government stand that the chamber should be opened.

There also seem to be minor differences within the family on the approach towards opening of the B Vault, and also the reasons for objection. Aditya Varma, the son of Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, said that that the ‘devaprashnam’ in 2011 had quite unambiguously stated that the chamber should not be opened. “It could be because the chamber was deeply connected to the ‘sreekovil’,” Mr Varma said. “It is said that certain machinery, levers and pulleys, connected to the functioning of the temple was right under this chamber,” he added. He also said that he had been told that the chamber was locked from the inside, too.

However, his cousin sister, Lakshmi Bayi Nalappat, the daughter of Varma’s mother’s elder sister Pooyam Thirunal Gowri Parvathi Bayi, hinted that it was an unspeakable fear that made the erstwhile royals resist the idea of opening the B chamber. “The priests who had conducted the ‘devaprashnam’ had then said that one of the royal family members would die if the chamber is opened,” Ms Nalappat said. Mr Varma, however, denied that such a prediction was ever made.

Mr Varma frames the issue in terms of divine sanctity. “There is a certain spiritual decorum followed in temples. Can it be allowed if anyone insists on entering the ‘sreekovil’,” he asked. “Will the authorities in Chidamabaram Temple reveal the ‘Chidambara Rahasyam’,” he further asked.  Ms Nalappat has a logical perspective. “The chamber was not built by any of the existing family members but by people far more well-versed in spirituality and scriptures. So if whoever had built it did not want the treasures to be seen would have walled it up instead of providing a door to the vault,” she said.

Nonetheless, she said that certain respect had to be shown while opening the ‘kallara’. “It cannot be opened the way you open a bank locker. There are certain procedures to be followed,” she said. Aditya Varma said that his family would file an affidavit in the Supreme Court after holding discussions with amicus curiae Gopal Subramanian who is expected in the capital this week