Deadly Curse Guards Temple Treasure

Last month I covered the story of a vast temple treasure recently discovered in India. Five of the temple's six vaults have now been opened, revealing a fortune in gold, gems, and other valuables. However, the dig ran into a hitch opening the last vault, referred to as Vault B by the archaological team. A group of priests has determined that the vault is guarded by a deadly curse, based on an etching of a snake found on the door and additional astrological investigation.

A group of priests who conducted an astrological examination or 'devaprasnam' at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple here has concluded that family members of those who open its yet untouched vault B would die, said an expert on Thursday. They also warned against videography of the treasure discovered so far.

Speaking to reporters late night after the conclusion of the four-day 'devaprasnam', lead priest K. Padmanabha Sharma said that no videography of the temple's unearthed treasure trove should take place.

"Of the treasure troves that are in the temple, vault B should not be opened and of the remaining five vaults, there should be no valuation done, besides there should be no exhibition of the treasure that has been found," said Sharma.

The temple, among the richest in the world, has six vaults. Five of these were opened on the orders of the Supreme Court and a treasure trove estimated to be more than Rs.1 lakh crore was discovered.

Vault B was not touched by a committee that was appointed by the court for stock taking of the temple's treasures last month.

The astrological examination that began at the temple on Monday involved discussions among the members of the team headed by Mathur Narayanan Renga Bhatt, an expert in conducting rituals.

The discussions, held in the open, concluded that it would be best that vault B was left unopened because it was believed that it could only be opened by "God".

The experts concluded that if anyone opened the vault, one of his family members may die either due to a snake bite or consumption of poison.

Egypt is most famous for its tomb curses that were set to protect the wealth that was buried with its pharaohs, but clearly this tradition was not limited to the Middle East. It remains to be seen if the vault will ever be opened, what is stored inside that was important enough to merit a curse, and if the vault is finally opened whether or not anyone actually dies as a result.