Precious stones, jewellery in chambers listed

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  Day Two. Chambers ‘D’ and ‘E’. Dedicated to glittering stones and shimmering jewels. The seven-member committee preparing the inventory of the items stored for decades inside the chambers in the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple is witnessing new sights each day. After the exhaustive stock of gold utensils and items listed on the first day, it was chunks of jewellery belonging to the Lord that were counted on the second day. Running into about Rs 350 crore.Precious stone-studded thrones and crowns have been found in the two chambers opened on Tuesday. Among the gold items, ‘panineerkuppi’ (7 numbers), ‘sambrani’ stand (2), ‘nagapathi’ (1), ‘vishnu anki’ (1), gems-studded throne (1) and a bow (1) have been listed. Many of these items are jointly called ‘nila ankikootam’. Among the jewellery, the most important one is the ‘saratpolimala’, which is a traditional beauty. Around 300 such ‘saratpolimalas’ have been listed, which alone weigh more than 25 kilograms. Then, there are the diamond jewellery items and ‘navaratna’ ornaments which form a major part of the stock in the second chamber opened by the committee members as directed by the Supreme Court to prepare an inventory. There is a heavy and gigantic idol in gold that has been listed. The ‘chandrabahu anki’ which is worn by the Lord is one major item that has been found in chamber ‘D’. Also, the engineering marvel called ‘enkone thattam’, which is an eight-edged plate used for rituals, has been listed. Apart from the jewels and gems which are donated by devotees and which fall under the ‘nadavaravu’, a large collection of gold coins and ‘thankakatti’ have also entered the inventory. Chamber ‘E’ was opened late Tuesday afternoon and the inventory continued late into the night. The four chambers - ‘C’ to ‘F’ - are frequently opened, but the ‘A’ and ‘B’ chambers have not been opened for centuries, it is said. The decision as to when and how to open these chambers, which involves risk factors too, would be taken by the committee on Friday.