Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple
Historic treasureശ്രീ പദ്മനാഭസ്വാമി ക്ഷേത്രം
Thiruvananthapuram · Lord Padmanabha (Vishnu)
View on Google Maps| Deity | Lord Padmanabha (Vishnu, reclining on Ananta) |
| District | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala |
| Vault discovery | 27 June 2011 (Supreme Court order) |
| Vaults opened | 5 of 6 (or 8) vaults |
| Earliest reference | Silappatikaram (Sangam era, 500 BC – 300 AD) |
| Administrative body | Travancore Royal Family Trust (court-supervised) |
The temple and Travancore history
Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram is one of the 108 Divya Desams (sacred Vishnu temples) in India. The Travancore royal family ruled as Padmanabhadasa — 'servants of Lord Padmanabha' — a tradition in which the ruler holds sovereignty not for themselves but on behalf of the deity. All of Travancore was considered the deity's property.
Tamil Sangam literature (500 BC – 300 AD) refers to the temple site as 'Arituyil-Amardon' ('the one who reclines in eternal sleep') in the Silappatikaram, indicating its antiquity.
The 2011 vault discovery
On 27 June 2011, following a Supreme Court of India order on a private petition, a court-appointed committee opened five of the temple's vaults. The documented findings are considered the largest collection of gold and precious stones in recorded world history.
Among verified contents: gold coins from the 200 BC era (an 800-kilogram hoard referenced by former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai), gold donated over millennia by the Chera, Pandya, Travancore, Kolathiri, Pallava, and Chola dynasties.
One vault (Vault B) remains sealed under Supreme Court supervision. Its contents have not been documented and no estimates of its contents are made on this page.
Centuries of donations
The treasure accumulated through royal donations across more than a millennium — not through commercial activity. Donations came from rulers who regarded the temple as the seat of their sovereignty. The Travancore royal family's practice of dedicating military victories and coronation gifts to the deity is documented in royal records.
The cultural significance of the collection is inseparable from its devotional context. These are offerings made to a deity, not hoarded wealth, and their cultural and historical value vastly exceeds any monetary estimate.
Visiting Padmanabhaswamy
The temple is open to Hindu devotees. Men must wear the traditional Kerala dhoti (mundu); women must wear a saree or half-saree with blouse. Western clothing is not permitted inside the sanctum. Non-Hindus may view the exterior of the temple.
The main darshan timings are 3:30 AM – 4:45 AM, 6:30 AM – 7:00 AM, 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM, 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM, 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM, 5:00 PM – 6:15 PM, and 6:45 PM – 7:20 PM. These timings are subject to change on festival days; verify with the temple before visiting.