The Sree Padmanabh
Padmanabhaswamy Temple
In 2011 it emerged that in vaults under the Temple staggering quantities of gold, diamonds and pearls had been deposited, accumulated from offerings by devout worshippers over many centuries. Value estimates, without considering craftsmanship or artistic value, have ranged as high as $30 billion or possibly 500 tonnes of gold at 2019 values. This would rank the Temple 13th in the list of Central Bank holders. The Reserve Bank of India as of September 2017 is 11th at 557.8 tonnes.
A major vault remains to be opened.
Significantly, the discoveries include “several hundred thousand” gold coins from the Roman Empire and many dating back to the 2nd Century BC.
This highlights the reason the Temple could accumulate these assets: the southeastern coast of India was the primary source of a range of spices avidly demanded by other areas of the world from ancient times. Generally only precious metals were accepted in exchange for these exports. The Roman author Pliny the Younger complained of the drain of precious metals spice imports caused for the Roman Empire.
Incredibly to Western eyes, no move has been made by Indian politicians to seize this wealth. The statement has been made that it is the property of the God.
The story is a paradigm of India’s appetite for gold, enthusiasm for holding it, and extreme unwillingness to let it go.