Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma: Temple

Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma was Maharaja of Travancore. Explore interesting quotes on temple.
Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma: 44 quotes0 likes

“Sri Chithira Tirunal Maharaja was a visionary. Gandhiji came here after the Temple Entry Proclamation was made by my brother, throwing open the temples to all the castes. The Mahatma said it was not a trip but a pilgrimage. The carpet on which he sat is now a prized possession of the family.”

Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma

In "Royal vignettes: Travancore - Simplicity graces this House (30 March 2003)"

“From the age of eight, I have grown up in an atmosphere pervaded by religion. The State was surrendered to Lord Padmanabhaswamy in 1750 by my ancestor whose name I bear. Nothing is greater than this concept and since that day, every morning, the ruler has the tradition of rendering an account of the previous day's administrative events to the lord. Whether I can communicate this attachment and devotion to others — the younger people in the family — is what worries me. Are they in attendance at the right time at the temple? This alone bothers me.”

Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma

In "Royal vignettes: Travancore - Simplicity graces this House (30 March 2003)"

“We are the Cheras, one of the four erstwhile royal families of South India and have a long and dynastic family tree. By 1750 Travancore had become rich and big. So my ancestor, the then king, made a unique spiritual and historical contribution. He decided to surrender all his riches to the temple - Padmanabhaswamy is also our family deity. He said our family would look after that wealth, the temple and the kingdom forever. But he did want the ego that comes with possessing it. He was influenced by Emperor Ashoka's catharsis in the killing fields of Kalinga. So he declared our family to be Padmanabha's 'dasas', devotees. A servant can resign his job, but a dasa can do so only when he dies.”

Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma

On his family links with the Padmanabhaswamy temple in
The riches belong to nobody, certainly not to our family, 2009

“He held the prestigious post as trustee of the famous Padmanabaswamy temple, which is deemed as the richest temple in the country.”

Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma

Sangeetha Seshagiri, in "Marthanda Varma, Titular Head of Travancore Royal Family, Passes Away (16 December 2013)"

“We are an egalitarian State, (royalty) should go…. to either keep this temple or else become president of a thousand other temples. Except Pallivetta (the royal ritualistic hunt of the deities) and the Arat, when the deity is taken in procession to the seashore, we lost all other privileges. We sold our personal assets to keep this temple.”

Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma

In 1971, when the privy purse was abolished to the royal families, in "Royal vignettes: Travancore - Simplicity graces this House (30 March 2003)"