Happy to know that Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram will now be managed by Travancore (ex) royal family
Padmanabha Swamy Temple to be managed by ex-royal family, rules Supreme Court, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/supreme-court-upholds-the-rights-of-travancore-royal-family-to-administer-kerala-s-padmanabhaswamy-temple/story-0Ts5b1lxLfD5QOgPXGIYcM.html, 13th July 2020.
For more about Padmanabhaswamy temple, please visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padmanabhaswamy_Temple.
Ravi: I don't know about the history of this matter and the details. But I am very interested in this matter as my great-grandfather Thuravoor Narayana Sastrigal was generously patronized by then royals of this same Travancore royal family. He was even given a house close to Padmanabhaswamy temple by the then king, for his services as a Sanskrit scholar and teacher to the Travancore kingdom then.
[The wiki introduction extract given below says the kingdom was from 870 to 1949, however a label on the top-right of the same wiki page states, "Kingdom of Travancore" "1729–1949". I think the latter period (1729 to 1949) may be more valid in terms of an established and noted kingdom.]
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travancore, "The Kingdom of Travancore (/ˈtrævənkɔːr/) (Thiruvithamkoor) was an Indian kingdom from c. 870 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of modern-day central and southern Kerala with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in the neighbouring Kingdom of Cochin,[1] as well as the district of Kanyakumari, now in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
...
King Marthanda Varma inherited the small feudal state of Venad in 1723 and built it into Travancore, one of the most powerful kingdoms in southern India."
Wiki Refs: 1. British Archives http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/d3e53001-d49e-4d4d-bcb2-9f8daaffe2e0
--- end wiki extract ---
It was a kingdom which pledged loyalty to the British empire from 1790s or so till 1947 when India became independent, but it seems to have been independent at least in matters related to religion, and so it was essentially a Hindu kingdom for few centuries right up to 1947 when India moved towards becoming a secular republic (India became a republic in 1950). This Padmanabhaswamy temple has been the main temple for the Travancore royal family from 1750.
The article reports that in January 2011 the Kerala High Court had ruled that the state government should take over the control of Padmanabhaswamy temple (in Thiruvananthapuram/Trivandrum) from the Travancore (after around 1950 ex) royal family. On 13th July 2020, the Supreme Court overturned the Kerala High Court verdict and seems to have given control of the temple back to the trust headed by the Travancore (ex) royal family.
The article states that Princess Gowri Lakshmibai of the Travancore (ex)royal family said in response to the verdict, "Great God’s will prevailed. Will say more about it after going through the whole verdict".
Due to the patronage given to my ancestors by the Travancore royal family, I am naturally inclined to support them in this matter, as against the Kerala government which is a secular body and will not really have the ability to manage Hindu religious institutions. [Note that on my mother's side the patronage was through my mother's grandfather and on my father's side we were nurtured by Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in Thrissur district which is my family's Kula Devata (family deity), and as the wiki extract above shows, was under the same kingdom of Travancore. So Travancore royal family have been patrons of ancestors on both my parents' side!
On the face of it, I think this is a very happy development for Padmanabhaswamy temple, where, for sure, my (late) mother as a young girl and her younger sister (still alive and with whom I was fortunate to have a video call a few days ago where we could see each other) would have gone many times for darshan of Lord Padmanabhaswamy as the house the family was living in then was, as mentioned earlier, close to the temple and given to their grandfather by the then Travancore king. My mother was very devoted to God and it is her deep devotion to God that saw her through some financially very challenging times in our family.
But I must also say that the Padmanabhaswamy temple trust headed by the Travancore royal family must be transparent in financial matters and any proven financial wrongdoing must result in harsh consequences for associated wrongdoers, and, in general, the trust must enjoy the support and faith of the Padmanabhaswamy devotee community. If these things are not achieved by the trust then changes should be made to the trust body including removal of old trustees and induction of new trustees, so that the trust regains the support and faith of the devotee community and has good financial integrity and transparency.
I pray to Lord Padmanabhaswamy that Travancore royal family trust is able to get proper control of the temple as directed by Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, and is able to manage the temple well, promoting Sathya and Dharma (truth and ethical life), and devotion to Lord Padmanabhaswamy among the devotees and other residents of the area and beyond.
[I thank Wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
For more about Padmanabhaswamy temple, please visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padmanabhaswamy_Temple.
Ravi: I don't know about the history of this matter and the details. But I am very interested in this matter as my great-grandfather Thuravoor Narayana Sastrigal was generously patronized by then royals of this same Travancore royal family. He was even given a house close to Padmanabhaswamy temple by the then king, for his services as a Sanskrit scholar and teacher to the Travancore kingdom then.
[The wiki introduction extract given below says the kingdom was from 870 to 1949, however a label on the top-right of the same wiki page states, "Kingdom of Travancore" "1729–1949". I think the latter period (1729 to 1949) may be more valid in terms of an established and noted kingdom.]
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travancore, "The Kingdom of Travancore (/ˈtrævənkɔːr/) (Thiruvithamkoor) was an Indian kingdom from c. 870 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At its zenith, the kingdom covered most of modern-day central and southern Kerala with the Thachudaya Kaimal's enclave of Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in the neighbouring Kingdom of Cochin,[1] as well as the district of Kanyakumari, now in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
...
King Marthanda Varma inherited the small feudal state of Venad in 1723 and built it into Travancore, one of the most powerful kingdoms in southern India."
Wiki Refs: 1. British Archives http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/d3e53001-d49e-4d4d-bcb2-9f8daaffe2e0
--- end wiki extract ---
It was a kingdom which pledged loyalty to the British empire from 1790s or so till 1947 when India became independent, but it seems to have been independent at least in matters related to religion, and so it was essentially a Hindu kingdom for few centuries right up to 1947 when India moved towards becoming a secular republic (India became a republic in 1950). This Padmanabhaswamy temple has been the main temple for the Travancore royal family from 1750.
The article reports that in January 2011 the Kerala High Court had ruled that the state government should take over the control of Padmanabhaswamy temple (in Thiruvananthapuram/Trivandrum) from the Travancore (after around 1950 ex) royal family. On 13th July 2020, the Supreme Court overturned the Kerala High Court verdict and seems to have given control of the temple back to the trust headed by the Travancore (ex) royal family.
The article states that Princess Gowri Lakshmibai of the Travancore (ex)royal family said in response to the verdict, "Great God’s will prevailed. Will say more about it after going through the whole verdict".
Due to the patronage given to my ancestors by the Travancore royal family, I am naturally inclined to support them in this matter, as against the Kerala government which is a secular body and will not really have the ability to manage Hindu religious institutions. [Note that on my mother's side the patronage was through my mother's grandfather and on my father's side we were nurtured by Irinjalakuda Koodalmanikyam temple in Thrissur district which is my family's Kula Devata (family deity), and as the wiki extract above shows, was under the same kingdom of Travancore. So Travancore royal family have been patrons of ancestors on both my parents' side!
On the face of it, I think this is a very happy development for Padmanabhaswamy temple, where, for sure, my (late) mother as a young girl and her younger sister (still alive and with whom I was fortunate to have a video call a few days ago where we could see each other) would have gone many times for darshan of Lord Padmanabhaswamy as the house the family was living in then was, as mentioned earlier, close to the temple and given to their grandfather by the then Travancore king. My mother was very devoted to God and it is her deep devotion to God that saw her through some financially very challenging times in our family.
But I must also say that the Padmanabhaswamy temple trust headed by the Travancore royal family must be transparent in financial matters and any proven financial wrongdoing must result in harsh consequences for associated wrongdoers, and, in general, the trust must enjoy the support and faith of the Padmanabhaswamy devotee community. If these things are not achieved by the trust then changes should be made to the trust body including removal of old trustees and induction of new trustees, so that the trust regains the support and faith of the devotee community and has good financial integrity and transparency.
I pray to Lord Padmanabhaswamy that Travancore royal family trust is able to get proper control of the temple as directed by Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, and is able to manage the temple well, promoting Sathya and Dharma (truth and ethical life), and devotion to Lord Padmanabhaswamy among the devotees and other residents of the area and beyond.
[I thank Wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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