The Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple is a Hindu temple in Kerala, India, and in July 2011, it was discovered to contain a treasure trove worth an estimated $22 billion US Dollars. Many Indian temples have extremely valuable assets, but the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple is thought to be the richest of any temple in India. Treasures found in the temple include piles of coins and jewels, umbrellas made of gold, golden coconuts and solid-gold statues, among other things.
More facts about the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple and temples in India:
- The temple's assets are continuously guarded. They officially are owned by Lord Padmanabhaswamy, the resident deity of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, although the temple itself is operated by a trust that is run by the Travancore royal family. Members of this family were the rulers of Travancore, an Indian state, until 1947.
- The Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple has six underground vaults, some of which hadn't been opened for over 150 years before 2011.
- One of the main idols in the temple is covered with 12,000 special black stones called saligramams, which can be found only in the Gandaki River in Nepal.