Kerala’s Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple

The Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple has great religious significance to Hindus. The temple is known for its six subterranean “kallara” or vaults. In 2011 five of the temple’s six vaults, designated A, B, C, D, E and F, were opened. In them lay around 3,000 tonnes of gold, coins, sacks of diamonds and jewellery. Treasures include gold in the form of pots and jars, crowns, religious iconography, as well as gold coins from civilizations around the world including the Romans, French, Dutch, Venetians and the Mughals. Some of the items in the vaults date back to 200 BC. All this does not include what is thought to be stored inside vault B. Ancient legend said if the vault were ever opened it would bring devastation to the world.

Vault B has indeed been opened several times in recent history as is evident from the many missing items, according to inspectors.