thiruvananthapuram as sree padmanbha swamy temples glittering gems are valued and tagged its not just the diamonds that shine but also the royal family of the erstwhile princely state of travancore its an ode to the familys unflinching devotion and integrity that not a penny has gone missing from the billions stored in the cellars of the centuriesold shrine administered by the royalsuthradam thirunal marthanda varma current head of the royal family refuses to comment on the stocktaking exercise till the last paisa is counted till then only my eyes would speak he insists what makes the familys story visavis the temple all the more compelling is that the rulers always knew of the riches yet never touched them the riches are mentioned in the book pradhanapetta mathilakom records important mathilakom records compiled by acclaimed malayalam poet ulloor s parameswara iyer and published in 1941 they also figure in the kottaram palace manual which runs into 12 volumes says noted historian m g sasibhushan these records refer to the sacred cellars from which treasure is being dug out observers talk of the symbolic significance of the practice of royal family members dusting sand off their feet when they emerge from the shrine it was meant to convey that the family members would not take home or misappropriate even a speck of sand belonging to padmanabha they say in fact the present head uthradom thirunal marthanda varma religiously follows the rule of paying of rs 151 and 55 paise to the temple if he fails to make it to the shrine on any dayunlike other royals the travancore family has stayed away from opulence with descendants more inclined towards art and culture there was also a rule that the affairs of the palace should be run from the proceeds of its spice business and not with money from the state treasury says sasibhushan this is followed even now the present rulers nephew moolam thirunal rama varma next in line to head the family runs the aspinwall company which to this day supplies pepper to buckingham palace and many more european royals sasibhushan saysthough the kingdom of travancore lapsed in 1949 following the instrument of accession with the union of india the management of the temple remained with the royal family by virtue of a covenant travancore extended from kanyakumari now in tamil nadu in the south to aluva ernakulam district in the north padmanabhapuram now in tn was its first capital but this was shifted to thiruvananthapuram by karthika thirunal rama varma better known as dharma raja so called because he refused to let go of refugees who had fled malabar following tipu sultans onslaught he succeeded anizham thirunal marthanda varma first ruler of travancore and is credited with formation of the statethe family which ruled over erstwhile travancore has had a long lineage of visionary rulers in fact it was a bold move by the first marthanda varma in 1750 that inextricably bonded the temple and the palace the king