Please note this is part of an ongoing series on Why India is the Richest Country in the World. See the links below for the prior parts:

Part 1

Part 6 – latest


Mysore gold

Mysore palace is a very big tourist attraction in Karnataka. Examples of its wealth include a pair of large silver doors in one of the rooms. But the best attractions are the throne and howdah of the Mysore Maharajah. The throne is made up of 200 kilos of gold. The howdah, which is mounted on the elephant, is made up of 80 kilos of gold. All these are displayed on Dasara (Vijaya Dasami) day.

Politicians hold more gold than anyone else. In 1996 Ms Jayalalitha Jayaram, current chief minister of Tamil Nadu was arrested in a corruption case followed by the seizure of a diamond studded piece of gold jewellery weighing 29 kilos.

Janardhana Reddy, former BJP minister of Karnataka, who owns several mines, donated Rs 45 crore worth golden crown to Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati. He donated another golden crown worth Rs 12 crores to Kalahasti temple. It weighs 30 kilos and the height of the crown is 2.5 feet.

Sri Venkateswara (Balaji) temple receives 500 kilos of gold and 4000 kilos of silver every year through its donation boxes (hundi). Balbir Sing Uppal, an industrialist, donated seven puja items worth Rs 1.5 crores to the lord. Strange objects including golden handcuffs, golden camera, body parts made up of gold are received now and then. Tirupati temple owns 3,500 kilos of gold and they are deposited in the banks. The temple donates gold for poor people during weddings. Apart from this, the temple has very precious diamond crowns and rare gems

India bought 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund recently and the gold reserve of the Reserve Bank of India is approximately 555 tonnes. But the golden reserves of the temples are far higher than the banks.

Guruvayur temple deposited 400 kilos of gold in the banks. Instead of keeping the stock idle, they now they earn interest from the banks.

Thiruvananthapuram Sri Anantha Pathmanabhaswamy temple was on the news all over the world after the discovery of incredible wealth in its underground chambers.  If we go by newspaper reports this must be the richest institution on earth. ‘What the Lord of Tirupati can’t achieve by standing, the Lord of Trivandrum achieved by lying’ [down] – reported a newspaper in a lighter vein. The Lord of Tirupati is in standing position and the lord of Trivandrum is in a reclining position.

The following is the list of items found in the temple according to newspapers:

1.     17 kilo gold coins

2.     One tonne gold in the form of rice trinkets (Aval)

3.     Golden necklace weighing 2.5 kilo

4.     A sack full of diamonds

5.     Golden crowns

6.     A gold statue weighing 30 kilo

7.     Golden vessels

8.     A lot of gem stones (Emeralds, Rubies, Sapphires)

9.     Lot of items with antique value

The last press reports estimated the value of treasure trove as one lakh crores (22 billion U.S. dollars).

The Supreme Court of India ordered not to open the last (sixth) chamber for security reasons and ordered those involved not to talk to the press about the findings. The court also asked the authorities to use video recordings. If we are able to see the videos one day, all the Indiana Jones films will be pygmies before that!

Every month the famous auction houses of the world auction a lot of Indian antiques worth millions of dollars. Most of them are bought and smuggled out of India. Talking about the antique value of Trivandrum treasure it will be huge. The treasure includes a lot of Roman and East India Company gold coins.

Mookambika temple near Mangalore in Karnataka has priceless jewels. The golden mask of Sri Mookambika weighs one kilo. Sapphires, rubies and emeralds decorate the crown. The Shivalinga statue is covered with two kilos of gold. Sanskrit and Tamil literature talk about the Gajamuthu (pearl from the head of an elephant). This temple has a Gajamuthu, which is very rare. Keladi Kings have donated a big green stone of great value (the size of your palm!). Mysore king has donated Navratna garland. M G Ramachandran (MGR), the great Tamil actor and former chief minister donated a diamond studded sword weighing over a kilogram. A golden chariot weighing 80 kilos was recently made for the temple.

Tamil Nadu temples deposit with State Bank of India alone is as follows

·        Samayapuram Mariaaman Temple – 200 kilos of gold

·        Palani Murugan Temple – 78 kilos

·        Tiruchendur Temple – 41 + 60 kilos

·        Madurai Meenakshi temple – 35 + 40 kilos of gold

Indian news papers, particularly Tamil News papers, report thefts and robberies, almost every day. The big difference between the olden and modern days is the amount of gold lost. Even the wife of an ordinary worker loses 100 sovereigns in a theft. If it reflects the real condition of Tamil Nadu, just imagine how many gold sovereigns our rich people and the richer politicians would have.

Prominent jewellers and financial experts agree that the Indian general public hold the biggest reserve of gold in the world.