The Padmanabhaswamy temple might just be India's greatest mystery. Located in Thiruvananthapuram, the bustling capital city of the southern state of Kerala, it's been flitting in and out of the news for over a decade.
Because of its treasure, of course. Arguably the greatest one ever found.
It is a beautiful temple, an exquisite amalgamation of two distinct styles of architecture. By far its most recognisable feature is the gopuram, the multi-storied trapezoidal gateway that turns gold when bathed with sunlight. The tall gateway has open passageways at its centre, one on each floor, so perfectly aligned that when the sun sets on an equinox, you can see it winking through each of these holes at five minute intervals. The most intricate stucco sculptures have been carved into every inch of its walls.
But the beauty and the architectural marvels of its superstructure are not what make the temple special. No, the true source of its infamy lies beneath it, in its eight underground vaults.
The temple is over a thousand years old. Through those long years, devotees, rich and poor, peasants and kings have offered tributes to its deity, Lord Vishnu. Tributes that trickled into these vaults and eventually ballooned into a jaw dropping treasure.
Strenuous efforts have been made to make a record of this wealth, and we've had a fair measure of success at that. The ballpark figure of $1 Trillion was reached after such extensive accounting. In fact, almost all vaults have been quite thoroughly researched by now. All except one.
Vault B.
Located near the Ayappa shrine and beneath the sanctum sanctorum, Vault B has long been shrouded in mystery. It is said to hold an incredible treasure and a terrible curse within its walls. The internet is abound with pictures of its door. Adorned with sinister carvings of twining snakes and topped by a demon's head with its tongue hanging out of its snarling mouth, the thick iron door has no obvious way of opening it. No locks, no latches, no handles, nothing. It is believed that only an accomplished Sadhu can open this vault, using magical chants and spells.
Not to say that it cannot be opened at all. There have been rumors in the past of the vault being opened and a terrible curse befalling those who entered it. They all supposedly fell to violent deaths, tragedies too terrible to be accurately retold.
But I can state, authoritatively, that as long as the temple has stood, it has only been opened once. In 2020.
I k
... keep reading on reddit ➡"That's - That's impossible." Arpita said, breathless. She clutched at the wall behind her like it was the only thing anchoring her to reality.
I understood how she felt. My own heart felt like it would burst out of my chest, shredding itself to ribbons on the sharp bones of my rib cage. I bent over, rested my hands on my knees and tried to get both my heartbeat and my breath under control.
"Impossible? We just saw it happen." Mr. Nambiar said, gaping at the now empty crevice in the tree. "... Incredible."
"Should we try and find this child?" Jayesh asked, dazed. "Maybe he needs help."
Arpita looked at him as if he'd grown another head, or popped out of a tree. "What? No... If you see someone explode out of a tree, the wise thing to do would be to run the fuck away from him. And that is exactly what we're going to do, right?"
I straightened my back, my eyes searching for the cops. One of them was on his knees, sobbing in fear, the other inspecting a section of the wall opposite to the passage we'd come from.
"We need to go back." I said. "Now."
"Sure. Let's run back up the passage. Maybe we'll even catch up to the kid." Arpita spat. "If he doesn't decide to turn around, that is."
"Do you have any other way out of this place?" I countered. She glared at me.
"How can you want to leave, Mr. Khanna?" Mr. Nambiar asked. "You know as well as I do what all this means."
I shook my head. "Sorry, but we don't have any idea what any of this means."
"Really?" He asked, looking genuinely shocked. "You know what the legend is. With what just unfolded in front of us, how can you even have any doubts?"
"I think we need to think very carefully before jumping to any conclusions."
Jayesh turned his head towards me. "What legend is he talking about?"
"Think about it," Mr. Nambiar continued fervently, "we might have just made the greatest discovery in the history of mankind. A definitive proof of the existence of the divine, answers to the questions of creation, to what lies beyond death, and more. So much more. All of it lies within our grasp."
"Divine?" Jayesh asked, raising his voice, "what do you mean divine?"
"Tell him." Mr. Nambiar said, his eyes gleaming. I just stared at him. A quiet descended on the clearing, one that was punctuated by the sobs of the policeman.
Finally, Arpita gave a frustrated sigh and broke the awkward silence. "Sage Swa
... keep reading on reddit ➡The path wound like a corkscrew, descending deeper and deeper into the earth with each smooth turn. I pounded down the curving passage, my lungs pumping like pistons, causing a sharp pain to blossom in my chest. The muscles and bones in my legs throbbed in protest, yet I soldiered on.
The ceiling grew lower with the descent, almost as if it was sinking into the shadows that flooded this long stone prison. I found out by nearly scalping myself, having the roof scrape enough skin off my skull to wet my face. I stumbled and fell, twisting my ankle, almost passing out from the blinding pain. Tears gushed out of my eyes and ran down my face after mixing with the blood. No more than a couple of moments had passed before I gritted my teeth and pulled myself up on my feet. Leaning on my arm against the wood wall to my left, I gingerly placed some weight on my injured foot. My cheeks burned with the pain. It was terrible, but not debilitating.
I could continue moving.
I lowered my head and hobbled down the passage, shooting panicked glances behind me into the vast blackness, all my senses alert for signs of any pursuers. There were none, yet I didn't slow down. Not even when the passage got low enough to force me down on my knees. Where in the world had that horse gone? How could it have fit in here? My thighs threatened to melt off as I scrambled forward on all fours, putting all the weight of my lower body on my knees. My fingernails dug for purchase in the rough stony ground. I was afraid I would further injure my ankle, but I feared a violent death far more, and so I pulled myself forward.
The passage continued to get smaller, until I was crawling like a frightened slug. The weight of the bedrock pressed down on my back, made me think I was going to get squashed flat like a bug, or worse, get stuck here, not being able to move in either direction, trapped here until either hunger robbed me of my life or one of the beings stalking these wood and stone passages came and tore me apart.
Salvation came in the form of a pinprick of light. At first I thought I was fading and slipping into death's warm embrace, but no. The light was real. Drew me towards it like a moth to fire. I hauled myself forward, an inch at a time, my ankle shooting stabs of pain up my leg. The light grew brighter as I continued crawling, until I found myself at the end of this pas
... keep reading on reddit ➡Hi
Does anyone know what the gemstones that are in this picture are called or where they are mined? I have a friend with similar jewellery and we are looking for the origin of it.
Thanks India!
https://preview.redd.it/3qirk2nu6nw51.jpg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb700fe01be2946a0ba584ad7ecbb9338adf0a25
Hi!
This is going to be a short 3 part series. All the parts have already been written and I'll be posting them one after the other. I have wanted to write this one for quite some time now. The concept has just fascinated me in a way that nothing has in a while. I mean, who doesn't like a story about a spooky place that's actually real, right?
We're going to start off as an Indiana Jones-esque treasure hunt story, but things will veer off into unexpected directions pretty quickly.
This one's going to touch upon some themes related to Hindu faith and beliefs. I have treated the subject matter with all the respect it deserves, so if things seem a little strange right now, just wait, I promise it will all come together soon enough :D
P.S. I just wanted to remind you guys that my book has been released (link in pinned post on my profile). And so I'm making an announcement here - I will write a story for anyone who leaves a review on Amazon for the book. Leave a review, give me the title of the story you want written and I will do it.
So there it is!
The series is now done. As expected, most of you figured out most of what it was about. Not all of it, of course, because I added my own little touch to the story. Something that makes my world unique, while still existing within the larger framework of the mythos.
It's exciting to see how the events of this story will impact the universe that I have created. While I don't plan on exploring that in the immediate future, I do plan on writing about it. Maybe an adaptation of the famous Vikram-betaal folktale. And who knows, maybe Rocky might make an appearance in it as well? :D
P.S. I just wanted to remind you all that my book has been released (link in pinned post on my profile). And so I'm making an announcement here - I will write a story for anyone who leaves a review on Amazon for the book. Leave a review, give me the title of the story you want written and I will do it.
The path wound like a corkscrew, descending deeper and deeper into the earth with each smooth turn. I pounded down the curving passage, my lungs pumping like pistons, causing a sharp pain to blossom in my chest. The muscles and bones in my legs throbbed in protest, yet I soldiered on.
The ceiling grew lower with the descent, almost as if it was sinking into the shadows that flooded this long stone prison. I found out by nearly scalping myself, having the roof scrape enough skin off my skull to wet my face. I stumbled and fell, twisting my ankle, almost passing out from the blinding pain. Tears gushed out of my eyes and ran down my face after mixing with the blood. No more than a couple of moments had passed before I gritted my teeth and pulled myself up on my feet. Leaning on my arm against the wood wall to my left, I gingerly placed some weight on my injured foot. My cheeks burned with the pain. It was terrible, but not debilitating.
I could continue moving.
I lowered my head and hobbled down the passage, shooting panicked glances behind me into the vast blackness, all my senses alert for signs of any pursuers. There were none, yet I didn't slow down. Not even when the passage got low enough to force me down on my knees. Where in the world had that horse gone? How could it have fit in here? My thighs threatened to melt off as I scrambled forward on all fours, putting all the weight of my lower body on my knees. My fingernails dug for purchase in the rough stony ground. I was afraid I would further injure my ankle, but I feared a violent death far more, and so I pulled myself forward.
The passage continued to get smaller, until I was crawling like a frightened slug. The weight of the bedrock pressed down on my back, made me think I was going to get squashed flat like a bug, or worse, get stuck here, not being able to move in either direction, trapped here until either hunger robbed me of my life or one of the beings stalking these wood and stone passages came and tore me apart.
Salvation came in the form of a pinprick of light. At first I thought I was fading and slipping into death's warm embrace, but no. The light was real. Drew me towards it like a moth to fire. I hauled myself forward, an inch at a time, my ankle shooting stabs of pain up my leg. The light grew brighter as I continued crawling, until I found myself at the end of this passage.
The sharp scent of incense filled my nostrils as I pulled free of the passage and rolled onto the sof
... keep reading on reddit ➡"That's - That's impossible." Arpita said, breathless. She clutched at the wall behind her like it was the only thing anchoring her to reality.
I understood how she felt. My own heart felt like it would burst out of my chest, shredding itself to ribbons on the sharp bones of my rib cage. I bent over, rested my hands on my knees and tried to get both my heartbeat and my breath under control.
"Impossible? We just saw it happen." Mr. Nambiar said, gaping at the now empty crevice in the tree. "... Incredible."
"Should we try and find this child?" Jayesh asked, dazed. "Maybe he needs help."
Arpita looked at him as if he'd grown another head, or popped out of a tree. "What? No... If you see someone explode out of a tree, the wise thing to do would be to run the fuck away from him. And that is exactly what we're going to do, right?"
I straightened my back, my eyes searching for the cops. One of them was on his knees, sobbing in fear, the other inspecting a section of the wall opposite to the passage we'd come from.
"We need to go back." I said. "Now."
"Sure. Let's run back up the passage. Maybe we'll even catch up to the kid." Arpita spat. "If he doesn't decide to turn around, that is."
"Do you have any other way out of this place?" I countered. She glared at me.
"How can you want to leave, Mr. Khanna?" Mr. Nambiar asked. "You know as well as I do what all this means."
I shook my head. "Sorry, but we don't have any idea what any of this means."
"Really?" He asked, looking genuinely shocked. "You know what the legend is. With what just unfolded in front of us, how can you even have any doubts?"
"I think we need to think very carefully before arriving at any conclusions."
Jayesh turned his head towards me. "What legend is he talking about?"
"Think about it," Mr. Nambiar continued fervently, "we might have just made the greatest discovery in the history of mankind. A definitive proof of the existence of the divine, answers to the questions of creation, to what lies beyond death, and more. So much more. All of it lies within our grasp."
"Divine?" Jayesh asked, raising his voice, "what do you mean divine?"
"Tell him." Mr. Nambiar said, his eyes gleaming. I just stared at him. A quiet descended on the clearing, one that was punctuated by the sobs of the policeman.
Finally, Arpita gave a frustrated sigh and broke the awkward silence. "Sage Swamiyar, the one who was instrumental in construction of this temple - at least according to the legend - once
... keep reading on reddit ➡The Padmanabhaswamy temple might just be India's greatest mystery. Located in Thiruvananthapuram, the bustling capital city of the southern state of Kerala, it's been flitting in and out of the news for over a decade.
Because of its treasure, of course. Arguably the greatest one ever found.
It is a beautiful temple, an exquisite amalgamation of Dravidian and Chera styles of architecture. By far its most recognisable feature is the gopuram, the multi-storied trapezoidal gateway that turns gold when bathed with sunlight. The tall gateway has open passageways at its centre, one on each floor, so perfectly aligned that when the sun sets on an equinox, you can see it winking through each of these holes at five minute intervals. The most intricate stucco sculptures have been carved into every inch of its walls.
But the beauty and the architectural marvels of its superstructure are not what make the temple special. No, the true source of its infamy lies beneath it, in its eight underground vaults.
Padmanabhaswamy temple is over a thousand years old. Through those long years, devotees, rich and poor, peasants and kings have offered tributes to its deity, Lord Vishnu. Tributes that trickled into these vaults and eventually ballooned into a jaw dropping treasure.
Strenuous efforts have been made to make a record of this wealth, and we've had a fair measure of success at that. The ballpark figure of $1 Trillion was reached after such extensive accounting. In fact, almost all vaults have been quite thoroughly researched by now. All except one.
Vault B.
Located near the Ayappa shrine and beneath the sanctum sanctorum, Vault B has long been shrouded in mystery. Said to hold an incredible treasure and a terrible curse within its walls. The internet is abound with pictures of its door. Adorned with sinister carvings of twining snakes and topped by a demon's head with its tongue hanging out of its snarling mouth, the thick door has no obvious way of opening it. No locks, no latches, no handles, nothing. It is believed that only an accomplished Sadhu can open this vault, using magical chants and spells.
Not to say that it cannot be opened at all. There have been rumors in the past of the vault being opened and a terrible curse befalling those who entered it. They all supposedly fell to violent deaths, tragedies too terrible to be accurately retold.
But I can state, authoritatively, that as long as the temple has stood, it has only been opened once. In 20
... keep reading on reddit ➡