Originally
published in www.ArticlesBase.com
http://www.articlesbase.com/culture-articles/padmanabha-swamy-temple-musings-5190209.html
I m a serf, slave and more
Dust under your feet
Held captive not in chains
But in beloved bondage
Of truth eternal.
…
I seek no rights, demand no claims
But beg the bounty
Of your love
Oh Sire! Sree Padmnabha!
These are lines from a
verse on Sree Padmanabha by Princess Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi
Bayi, a member of the Royal Family of
the former princely State of Travancore
and the niece of HH Sree Chithira
Thirunal Rama Varma, the last ruler of the State.
A poet and a writer, the Princess
in her work entitled Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple (2000) in
the concluding chapter writes about the institution of Sree Padmanabha Dasas. [
In rough translation ‘Dasa’ means a slave]:
“As the scrolls of
history unravel, the Sree Padmahabha Swamy Temple and the Throne of Travancore
came to be more and more interlinked, sharing a common fortune. If in the
course of its evolution Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple was initially owned by the
State and its sovereign, with the
Thrippati Danam of Marthanda Varma the Great, this Temple, and its presiding
Deity Sree Padmanabha Perumal, came to own the State. The historic Deed of Dedication which was an epoch-making event
took place under the asterism Revathi on
Wednesday the 5th of the Malayalam month of Makaram in the year 925 ME corresponding to the 18th
or 19th of January 1750 AD.
With this, all the lands falling within Travancore including future additions,
all rights and privileges enjoyed by the rulers
and the status of Supreme Monarch of the State came to be vested in
‘Sree Padmanabha Swamy’. So also the
personal insignia ‘Sree Padmanabha Dasa’ enjoyed by the Travancore Royalty became converted to
the official designation of all the male members of the family as the cherished title of the highest honour. It
continues as an unbroken, ongoing tradition.”
The temple shot to fame
with the stock taking of the Lord’s wealth!... Lord’s wealth? YES… because the
rulers of the land were only
‘dasas’ and the wealth belongs to
the Lord. This includes gems, over one
thousand necklaces, crowns, gold coins-
some of Napoleon’s age and much more…
When India became
independent, monarchy was replaced by democratic rule. The royal family became
commoners and were given a pension. Early this year (2011), I had to visit the
palace as a member of the Centenary
Celebrations Committee of my college
which was set up a century ago by the then ruler of Travancore state. I was quick to notice that the present royal
family doesn’t lead a luxurious life nor do they flaunt wealth. They don’t even lead the kind of life Super Stars of the
film industry and business magnates of God’s Own Country today lead!
Had the rulers of the
State of Travancore during the transfer of power, grabbed enough wealth and
spent it little by little unnoticed by nosey democratic leaders, they too could
have lead a cushy life! It naturally appears that they dared not touch the
Lord’s wealth. The lines quoted in the beginning of this write-up by a member
of the royal family gives a hint of this.
Some disgusting debates
The Media in the state of
Kerala, saw in the stock taking of the Lord’s wealth the news scoop of a life
time. Now everyone in the street is asking
the question: To whom should the wealth go? To the people…? To the
government…? To the royal family…? Wealth, which none knew the existence of for
nearly six decades is now under the gaze of prying eyes!
What is in store?
God’s Own Country, Kerala
has a strange precedence of disappearing artifacts. Rare treasures in museums
get replaced by duplicate artifacts. Some get stolen and will never get traced.
Though the security of the temple has been beefed up, who knows one day some crooks might dig up a
tunnel and lay their hands on the wealth.
Oh Padmanabha
Thousands have started
pouring into your temple now deemed the richest temple on planet earth. Will
you relax in peace in your ‘shayana’ posture anymore? Will the presence of the ‘invisible
lion’ in the temple, protect your wealth?
I conclude with a few lines from the verse quoted
in the beginning:
If I be yours
Your mantle of grace
Needs must descend
It is your right to care
For your own.
No comments:
Post a Comment