Imagine Being Stranded On An Island - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 849 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/04/15 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Lord of The Flies Essay Did you like this example? Imagine being stranded on an island. Your first instincts would be to get shelter, find food ,and to find a way out the island. Being marooned can be a life or death situation. It can bring up new challenges and self discovery. When a group of young boys gets stranded on an island together with no adults, they must learn to live and survive as a group. Not only must they worry about food and shelter, but they also have to worry about each other and discover what it takes to work together. In Goldings Novel, Lord of the Flies, the contrasting literary themes of civilization vs. savagery are illustrated through the use of symbols, the dialogue, and visual imagery. William Golding uses many symbols throughout his novel to illustrate the contrasting themes of civilization versus savagery. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Imagine Being Stranded On An Island" essay for you Create order In this novel, the use of the conch represents civilization and order. When the boys first land on the island, Ralph uses the conch to join everyone together. Signs of life were visible now on the beach. The sand, trembling beneath the heat haze, concealed many figures in its miles of length; boys were making their way to the platform (page 18). This shows that at the beginning, the conch automatically brought everyone together, and joined them as a community. Later in the story, the lord of the flies represents the savagery by symbolizing chaos and disorder. After the boys kill a pig, they leave the head as an offering to the imagined beast. As Simon begins talking to the head, it tells him that it itself is the beast. Later, Ralph encounters the skull of the pig. A sick fear and rage swept him. Fiercely he hit out at the filthy thing in front of him that bobbed like a toy and came back, still grinning in his face, so that he lashed and cried out in loathing. (page 185). This shows that the lord of the flies brings out the beast in the children themselves, and shows that all along, they in fact were their own beast. Golding also uses pieces of dialogue to illustrate the contrasting themes of civilization vs. savagery. In the very beginning, Piggy proves to be the most knowledgeable of the group by trying to keep them in order and civilized. When the group is talking about building a signal fire to be rescued, Piggy says, How can you expect to be rescued if you dont put first things first and act properly? (page 45). This shows that from the very beginning Piggy thinks there should be ordered, and a clear plan for anything successful to happen on the island. Also around this time, the theme of savagery through dialogue begins with Jack. After hunting for the first time, Jack explains to Ralph that he sent his group back while he continued to hunt by himself. I went on, said Jack. ?I let them go. I had to go to go on. I†? He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up. ?I went on. I thought of myself†? The madness came into his eyes again. ?I thought I might kill. (page 51). This is the beginning of Jacks transformation from civilized to savage. At this time killing becomes his main priority over everything. Lastly, William Golding uses visual imagery throughout his novel to illustrate the contrasting themes of civilization vs. savagery. In the beginning, Golding uses visual imagery to represent civilization when Ralph uses the conch to unite everyone together. At last Ralph ceased to blow and sat there, the conch trailing from one hand, his head bowed on his knees. As the echoes died away so did the laughter, and there was silence. (page 19). This shows that at the beginning, everyone came together in a civilized manner and was silent so that they could listen to the conversations that they were going to have. Later in the book, Golding yet again uses visual imagery to represent savagery during the killing of Simon. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring, and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws. (Page 153). This shows that by this point, the only thing the boys cared about was hunting, and they would hunt anything they could. This act was only the beginning of murder in this story, and later led to the murder of other boys. In Goldings Novel, Lord of the Flies, the contrasting literary themes of civilization vs savagery are illustrated through the use of symbols, the dialogue, and the visual imagery. Though in the beginning many things joined the boys together on the island, in the end, things tore them apart more than they would have expected. Overall, this book conveys that human beings are savage by nature, and are moved by primal urges toward selfishness, brutality, and dominance ov er others.

Rhetorical Analysis Of Aschers The Box Man - 862 Words

In the essay ‘The Box Man’ Ascher invokes many stylistic devices and rhetorical strategies to portray her message that you should accept loneliness. The devices she uses include the rhetorical strategy â€Å"Ethos† and the stylistic device Anecdote. She uses many more which will be discussed later in this essay. She portrays the message â€Å"accepting loneliness† throughout the whole piece and even provides real life examples to support her message. These Examples include The Box man, the Soup lady, and the Television lady. All of these examples are lonely Individuals however, they go about it at different ways. The Box man chooses to accept loneliness and the other two ladies dont accept it and therefore live miserably. Ascher starts off the†¦show more content†¦Ascher implied she likes the Boxman’s way of living by saying what she did about the Boxcar Children. He is alone but he doesnt care, hes accepted it and lives the way he wants to. Ascher states â€Å"He is not to be confused with the lonely ones, you’ll find them everywhere†(Ascher 9). Ascher explains how the Box man feels by giving some Figurative Language to explain his emotions. Ascher states â€Å"Who is to say the Boxman does not feel as Thoreau did in his doorway†(Ascher 9). In this sentence she also used an Allusion by referring to Thoreau, a famous person in literature. Later in the story Ascher starts talking about the â€Å"Soup lady†, a lady who hasnt yet accepted loneliness. She orders soup every night and is so lonely that she â€Å"Drags it out as long as possible†(Ascher 9). The author then throws in some Imagery by saying â€Å"Fall from dry fingers and burst onto the soups shimmering surface†(Ascher 9). We get a visual of the lonely old soup lady. Ascher explains to us she is miserable and has no family whatsoever. Ascher states â€Å" no memories linger there†(Ascher 9). As she explains her l ife, us the readers begin to feel bad for the soup lady. Ascher portrayed the rhetorical strategy â€Å"Pathos† while giving us this example. In the end of the essay Ascher tells us about â€Å"A lady across the way whose lights and Television stay on all night†(Ascher 10). This is symbolism, the television lady is a symbol of

Disruptive Innovation Growth and Change

Question: Discuss abot theDisruptive Innovationfor Growth and Change. Answer: Introduction It is important to introduce new and innovative techniques in the market with the help of the latest technology that has the potential to bring improvement over the existing form of marketing. However with the introduction of the new strategies, the existing strategy gets totally disrupted. The management of a company has to face dilemma while introducing the new and innovative techniques in marketing. There is high risk of business failure while the introduction of the new and innovative techniques in the market. This the main reason for the dilemma that is caused before the introduction of new and innovative technology (Christensen2013). In this report, the characteristics of innovators dilemma is being discussed and the reasons for the failure of big firms due to innovators dilemma. The case of failure of Kodak is being discussed along with the case of Emaar properties, which is likely to fail in the next few years. Explanation of Innovators Dilemma It is common for a company to face dilemma after the introduction of new technology in the marketing. In the modern days of business, it is common for large scale business firms to introduce innovative techniques that are aimed to improve the rate of production for meeting up the demand of the customers. However, the innovative techniques can be sophisticated and complex in nature. Hence, there is a dilemma that is involved in the process of implementation of the innovative techniques (Gaynor 2012). This is one of the main reasons for the disruption of the process of innovation that can ultimately result in the process of failure or closure of the business. One of the main causes of the success of big firms is due to the fact that they are able to make full use of the available resources. They are also able to make add new features to the existing products with the help of the new advanced technology. However, failing to apply the latest technology due to lack of proper planning can bring huge loss to the company. It is the role of the technology experts to invest carefully in the future application. The disruptive technology is one of the main causes of dilemma that is caused due to poor performance of the innovative products. However, they are usually cheaper and easy to use due to the implication of latest innovative style of design. The larger scale companies also face challenge due to the dilemma in the process of investment and therefore also have to face the risk of fund shortage of funds (Cefis and Triguero 2016). Reason for Failure of Big Firms It is essential for large scale companies to make regular changes in the technological department that is needed for the bringing new changes in the marketing policies. One of the main reasons for the failure of big firms is due to the poor future planning and lack of skill labors of the industry. They also do not consider the importance of focusing on the needs of the customer. In the past there are many new cases, where the large scale companies had failed due to dilemma in the introduction of new and latest form of technology. The IBM, which is one of the biggest computer hardware companies failed as they were not willing to introduce the use of minicomputers, which later became popular in the IT global market. The Apple Computers also failed as they hesitated to introduce the features of portable computers in the market (Hendricks 2016). When a big scale company hesitates to introduce the policy of new technology, the rival small and medium scale company uses the opportunity and gains popularity in the market. This cause even further loss of the big companies as they lose the competitive advantage and the position of the market. The disruptive technology is one of the main reasons for the failure of large scale firms as it provides the opportunity for the smaller and new companies to introduce new marketing policies (Christensen 2013). Reason for the Failure of Kodak The Kodak is an American company, which is one of the largest firms for photography processing firms of the worlds. The company once had nearly 145,000 employees and occupied nearly 90% of the photography market. However, as the age of digital technology introduced in the world of photography, the company failed to maintain their reputation in the market. The disruptive technology in the form of digital photography started to become popular in the market. The digital form of technology in the photography had several advantages over films or the traditional forms of photography (Gershon 2013). At the beginning the digital technology had several drawbacks due to poor image quality and limited storage capacity. However, with the advancement of the technology, the digital photography became popular and people started to depend on the use of this photography. The popularity of the digital technology has wiped out the film photography. This is one of the most popular forms of disruptive te chnology that was responsible for the failure of the Kodak companies (Kotter 2012). One of the prime reasons for the success of Kodak in the past was due to their effective communication strategy with the customers. They used the latest technology of photography and film processing, which has helped them to be one of the top firms in the photographic market. However, after 1990s the company failed to garb the opportunity of digital photography, which is one the biggest strategic flaws of the company. The management of the Kodak Company refused to accept the change and hence, they continued with the film photography. In 1988, Kodak overtook Sterling Drugs, which was one of the major chemical companies with the intention of chemical processing of the images. This was one of the main reasons for the financial loss of the company. Failure of Emaar Properties Emaar properties are one of the biggest real estate companies of the UAE, which is operated by the joint venture of public and private enterprise. With the rise of the demand of housing projects in the UAE region, it is essential to use the latest forms of technology and engineering techniques in the housing projects. In the coming age the use of the technology is going to be one of the biggest driving forces of the real estate industry. The use of robotics technology is one the prime driving force of the future real estate industry, which is one the biggest disruptive technology (Christensen 2013). The robots can be used for moving heavy objects and carry out delicate tasks in the construction of buildings. This form of disruptive technology has the potential to reduce the labor cost of construction. However, in Emaar properties, there is lack of effective planning for the future that will help not allow the company to maintain their profit margin for the future. They are totally dependent on the traditional forms of construction and have done no major investment for implementing the future technology in their construction business. If the present trend continues, the company is likely to fail within the next 10 years. Conclusion The companies, which hesitates to implement the latest forms of technology due to the innovative dilemma fails to stay sustain in the business. Big scale companies like IBM, Apple and Kodak have failed to maintain their profit due to poor planning process. Emaar properties are one of the leading real estate firms of UAE that is likely to undergo failure within the next 10 years due to innovative dilemmas. Reference Cefis, E. and Triguero, ., 2016. Make, Buy, or Both: The Innovation Sourcing Strategy Dilemma after MA.Growth and Change. Christensen, C., 2013.The innovator's dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail. Harvard Business Review Press. Gaynor, G.H., 2012. The innovation dilemma.IEEE Engineering Management Review,40(3). Gershon, R.A., 2013. A case study analysis of eastman kodak and blockbuster Inc.Media Management and Economics Research in a Transmedia Environment, Routledge, New York, NY, pp.46-68. Hendricks, M., 2016. Disruptive innovation: economics, finance risk.Inside Mining,9(2), pp.8-9. Kotter, J., 2012. Barriers to change: The real reason behind the Kodak downfall.Forbes, May,2

Padmanbha Swamy Temple Essay Example

Padmanbha Swamy Temple Essay Padmanabhaswamy Temple From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia | | Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple | | Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Location in Kerala| Coordinates:| 8 °28? 58? N  76 °56? 37? ECoordinates:  8 °28? 58? N  76 °56? 37? E| Name| Proper name:| Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple| Location| Country:| India| State:| Kerala| Location:| Thiruvananthapuram| Temple Details| Primary deity God:| Padmanabhaswamy (Vishnu)| Architecture and culture| Architectural styles:| Dravidian architecture  (Kovil)| Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple  (Malayalam:   ,  s? i padma? abhasvami k? et? a? ?) is a  Hindu  temple  dedicated to  Vishnu  located in  Thiruvananthapuram,  India. The shrine is currently run by a trust headed by the  royal family of Travancore. [1]  The temple is one of 108  Divya Desams  (Holy Abodes of Vishnu) – principal centres of worship of the deity in  Vaishnavism. The temple, constructed in the  Dravidian style of architecture, is glorified in the  Divya Prabandha, the early medieval  Tamil  literature canon of the Tamil  Alvar  saints (6th-9th centuries CE), with structural additions to it made throughout the 16th century CE, when its ornate  Gopuram  was constructed. [2][3]  The most recent renovations to the temple occurred in the 18th century CE. The temple features heavily in  Akilam five  series  of the  Akilathirattu Ammanai  corpus, the holy text of the  Ayyavazhi  belief system. We will write a custom essay sample on Padmanbha Swamy Temple specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Padmanbha Swamy Temple specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Padmanbha Swamy Temple specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Services were provided to the local community with the temples revenue. The temple gave its name to Kerala’s state capital Thiruvananthapuram. ‘Thiru’ ‘Anantha’ ‘Puram’ means  Sacred Abode of Lord Anantha Padmanabha. The principal deity,  Padmanabhaswamy, is enshrined in the Anantha-sayanam posture (in the eternal sleep of  Yoga-nidra  on the  serpent Ananta). [4]  The Travancore Kings regarded themselves as ‘Padmanabha-dasa’ (Servant of Lord Padmanabha). * | - [edit]History In ealier years[when?   Padmanabhaswamy Temple and its properties were controlled by eight powerful  Nair  feudal lords known as  Ettuveetil Pillamar  (Lords of the Eight Houses), under the guidance of the  Council of Eight and a Half. In a battle of succession in the 18th century, King Anizham Thirunal Valiya  Marthanda Varma, the ruler traditionally regarded as the founder of  Travancore, successfully suppressed the Ettuveeti l Pillais and his cousins following the discovery of conspiracies the Lords were involved in against the Royal House of Travancore. The last major renovation of the Padmanabhaswamy temple was also done by  Marthanda Varma. On January 3, 1750, Anizham Thirunal surrendered the kingdom of  Travancore  to Padmanabha, the deity at the temple, and pledged that he and his descendants would serve the kingdom asPadmanabha Dasa. [4]  Since then, the name of every Travancore King was preceded by the title Padmanabha Dasa, while the female members of the Royal family were called Padmanabha Sevinis. The donation of the Kingdom to Sree Padmanabhaswamy was known as Thripadidanam and afterwards the Maharaja was known as Sree Padmanabha Dasa Vanchipala Varma Kulashekara Kireetapati. By surrendering the kingdom to Lord Padmanabha, the whole Travancore state became the property of Sree Padmanabhaswamy. - [edit]The temple The history of the temple dates back to the 8th Century CE, when Thiruvananthapuram was ruled by the  Chera Dynasty. The  Divya Prabandhacanon of literature by the  Alvars  glorifies this shrine as one of 11 Divya Desams in Kerala. It is said that there are references to this temple in four puranas; namely Brahma, Vayu, Varaha, Padma. The 8th century Alvar poet  Nammalvar  created four slokas and one phalasruthi about this temple. 5][6] Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple Padmanabhaswamy Temple stands at a place considered one of the seven Parasurama Kshetras; texts including the  Puranas, particularly theSkanda Purana  and  Padma Purana, have references to this shrine. Entrance of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple The two annual festivals of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple culminate in a grand procession, in which the three deities (Padmanabha,   Narasimha  andKrishna) are carried on flower-deck and aesthetically decorated Garuda Vahanas to  Shankumugham Beach, for arattu (sacramental ablution). The arattu days are declared as local public holidays in  Thiruvanathapuram. [edit]Gopuram The foundation of the present gopuram was laid in 1566. [7]  The temple has a 100-foot,[8]  seven-tier gopuram made in the  Pandyan  style. [9]  The temple stands by the side of a  tank, named  Padma Theertham  (meaning the lotus spring). The temple has a corridor with 365 and one-quarter sculptured granite-stone pillars with elaborate carvings. This corridor extends from the eastern side into the sanctum sanctorum. An eighty-foot flag-staff stands in front of the main entry from the prakaram (corridor). The ground floor under the gopuram (main entrance in the eastern side) is known as the Nataka Sala where the famous temple art Kathakali was staged in the night during the ten-day  uthsavam  (festival) conducted twice a year, during the  Malayalam months  of Meenam and Thulam. [edit]Sreekovil | This article  may contain  wording that merely promotes the subject  without imparting verifiable information. Please remove or replace such wording, unless you can cite  independent sources  that support the characterization. In the  Sreekovil, Vishnu is depicted in a reclining position over the serpent  Anantha  or  Adi Sesha. [10]  The serpent has his face pointed inwards (signifying contemplation). The Lords right hand hangs over  Shiva. Sridevi, the Goddess of Prosperity and  Bhudevi  the Goddess of the Earth, two consorts of Vishnu stand by his side and the god  Brahma  emerges on a lotus, which emanates from the navel of Vishnu. The idol is said to be made from 12008  Saligram. These Saligram are from the banks of the  Gandaki River  in  Nepal, and it is believed that they were brought with much ceremony on elephants. The idol is covered with, Katusarkara yogam, a special ayurvedic mix, was used to make a plaster which keeps the deity clean. The daily worship is with flowers and for the abhishekam, special deities are used. The flowers have always been removed using peacock feathers fearing damage to the katusarkara. [citation needed] The platform in front of vimanam and where the deity rests are both carved out of a single stone and hence called Ottakkal Mandapam. In order to perform darshan and puja, one has to climb on to the Mandapam. The deity is visible through three doors – Face of the Lord and Siva Linga underneath his hand in the first door, Brahma seated on lotus emanating from the Lords navel along with the Utsava moorthi and deities of Lord Vishnu, Sridevi and Bhudevi in the second door and the Lords feet in the third door. Only the King of Travancore may perform Namaskaram, or bow prostrate on the Ottakkal Mandapam. It is traditionally held that anybody who bows prostrates on the mandapam has surrendered all that he/she possesses to the deity. Since the ruler has already done that, he/she is permitted to bow on this mandapam. There are other important shrines inside the temple for Hindu deities Sri  Narasimha,  Sri Krishna, Sri  Ayyappa, Sri  Ganesha  and Sri  Hanuman. Many other small shrines like Kshetrapalan (who guards the temple), Vishwaksena and  Sri Garuda  are also present. The approach road to Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple - [edit]Legend There are many legends regarding the origin of the temple. One such legend says that  Vilvamangalathu Swamiyar alias Divakara Muni  prayed to  Krishna  for his darshan. Krishna  came in disguise as a small, mischievous boy. The boy swallowed the  Saligrama  which was kept in Puja. The Sage became enraged at this and chased the boy until the boy hid himself behind a tree. The tree fell down and became Vishnu in Anantha Shayanam (reclining posture on Anantha the serpent) – but when he did so, he was of an extraordinarily large size. The Sage, recognizing that the tree was Vishnu, pleaded that because of the huge form the lord had manifested before him he could not either have a mind fulfilling darshan or circumambulate him. He then asked the Lord to shrink to a smaller proportion – thrice the length of his staff. Immediately, the idol shrank, and the Lord instructed the sage that he should be worshipped through three doors. These doors are now the doors in the temple through which the idol may be viewed. Through the first door, the worship is offered to  Shiva; through the second entrance to  Brahma  on the Lords lotus navel, and through the third is Vishnus feet, which are said to lead to salvation. [citation needed]  Another story tells of a  pulaya  couple seeing Vishnu in the form of a child. The child took morsels of rice from the hands of the couple. Also it is believed that Divakaramuni, when he saw the deity, took the first food item he saw which was an unripe Mango on a coconut shell as an offering plate and performed primary pooja. To this day, the naivedyam or offering of unripe mango is offered to the deity here in the same coconut shell that Divakara Muni offered his prasadam to the Lord. Millions of devotees believe that the Lord has personally come in disguise and had saved the Travancore Kingdom from enemy attack on multiple occasions. [edit]Naivedyam or offering to Perumal Apart from the usual rice offering various other items are offered including Retna Payasam or offering of Payasam in a Gem studded Golden Vessel, Meni Thula Payasam or the Delicious Rice and Jaggery Pudding entirely made in Ghee, Pal Manga, Otta Thula Payasam, Panthranu Kalam Payasam, and Paal Payasam (Milk and Rice Pudding) which is very famous. During Thursdays, special Panakam is offere d to the Lord  Narasimha. Unni Appam, Mothakam, Aval with sugar is also offered to the Lord. citation needed]  But the most important Nivedyam in this Temple is the Uppu Manga (unripe mango soaked in brine water) which is offered in a gold covered  chiratta  or coconut shell. This coconut shell is more than 1200 years old. The Great Sage Vilwamangalathu Divakara Acharyar offered an unripe mango in this very same coconut shell and it is still preserved. - [edit]Darshan, sevas and festivals NarasimhaSwamy PadmanabhaSwamy after coming from Shankumuka Beach during Aarat Festival There are many festivals related to this temple. The major festivals are bi-annual. The  Alpashy  festival which is in October/November and the  Painkuni  festival which is in March/April, lasts for 10 days each. These festivals culminate with the  Aarat  (holy bath) procession to the  Shankumugham Beach. The word  Aaratrefers to the purificatory immersion of the deities of the temple in sea. This event takes place in the evening. The King of Travancore escorts the  Aaratprocession by foot. The festival idols Utsava Vigrahas of Sri Padmanabhaswamy, Krishna and Narasimha are given a ritual bath in the sea, after the prescribed  pujas. After this ceremony, the idols are taken back to the temple in a procession that is lit by traditional torches, marking the conclusion of the festival. A major annual festival related to Padmanabha temple is the  Navaratri  festival. The idols of  Saraswati,  Durga, and  Murugan  are brought to the  kuthira malikapalace in front of Padmanabha temple as a procession. This festival lasts for 9 days. The famous Swathi music festival is held every year during this festival. Big Idol of Pandavas displayed during Panguni festival The biggest festival in this temple is  laksha deepam, which means hundred thousand (or one  lakh) lamps. This festival is unique and commences once in 6 years. Prior to this festival, chanting of prayers and recitation of three  vedas  is done for 51 days. On the festival time, hundred thousand oil lamps are lit in and around the temple premises. The next  laksha deepam  is slated on January 2014 Temple Tower during LakshaDeepam Festival The temple is not a part of Travancore Devaswom Board. Its control rests with a trust headed by the Maharaja of Travancore. Darshan times are (before noon) 3. 30-4. 45, 6. 30-7. 00, 8. 30-10. 00, 10. 30-11. 00, 11. 45-12. 00; (after noon) 5. 00-6. 15 and 6. 45-7. 20. In line with the  Temple Entry Proclamation, only those who profess the Hindu faith are permitted entry to the temple. Devotees have to strictly follow the dress code. Men should remove clothes above waist and deposit in the locker room. No one is permitted to wear dress that displays both legs separately, implying the prohibition of trousers for men and women. Dhotis can be borrowed at the locker room for Rs. 15. Dhotis can be worn over pants or churidhar. No cell phones or cameras are permitted inside the temple. Cell phones must be deposited in the locker room after taking it out of the bag for Rs. 15 a piece. Hand bags are permitted inside. - [edit]Compositions Nammalvar  had sung in praise of Lord Padmanabha Swamy. Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma  wrote many songs on Sri Padmanabha. Most of these songs have the word  Padmanabha  in them. - [edit]Temple assets | Wikinews has related news:Hidden treasure worth billions of dollars discovered in Indian temple| The temple and its assets belong to Lord Padmanabhaswamy, and are controlled by a trust run by the Royal family. [11][12][13][14]  The royals consider themselves  Padmanabhadasas  i. . servants of Padmanabhaswamy. [15][3] There had been an earlier inventory of at least one vault on Sunday, December 6, 1931. A vault was opened in the presence of Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, then the  Maharaja  of the state of Travancore. Among the contents found were gold and silver coins stored in a granary like thing, four brass chests of coins, over 300 gold pots, and a six-chambered wooden chest containing jewels decorated wit h diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other precious stones. Four coffers were removed and taken to the palace treasury for counting and valuation. 16] The  Kerala High Court  ordered the temple and its assets be managed by the State on January 31, 2011. As trustees of the temple, the royals have challenged the Kerala Govt. s decision. The lower courts ruling was set aside by the  Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court directed utmost security in and around the temple and asked the Central Valuation Institute of Lucknow for an inventory valuation. [12][17][18] In June 2011, the Supreme Court directed the authorities from the fire services and archeology department[19]  to open the secret (sanctum sanctorum) chambers of the temple for inspection of the items kept inside. A detailed inventory of the temple assets, consisting of gold, jewels, and other valuables was made. Several 18th century Napoleonic era coins were found,[3]  as well as a three-and-a-half feet tall gold idol of  Mahavishnu  studded with rubies and emeralds, and ceremonial attire for adorning the deity in the form of 16-part gold anki weighing almost 30 kilograms (66  lb) together with gold coconut shells, one studded with rubies and emeralds. 20] This revelation has solidified the status of the Padmanabhaswamy temple as one of the wealthiest temples in India and with the final estimate of the wealth, it might overtake the  Tirumala Venkateswara Temple—hitherto thought to be the wealthiest temple—having some  Ã‚  Ã‚  320 billion (US$7. 14 billion)  in gold, coins and other assets. [21]  It is estimated that the value of the monumental items is close to  1. 2 trillion (US$26. 76 billion), making it the richest temple in the world. 22][23]  If the anti que value is taken into account, these assets could be worth ten times the current market price. [22] The valuables are thought to have been in the temple for hundreds of years, having been put there by traders, pilgrims and royals such as the maharajahs of  Travancore, and by offerings of Travancore kings, other royals and ordinary devotees to the deity. [3][24][25]  While some Historians have suggested that a major chunk of the stored riches reached the kings in the form of tax, gifts, as well as conquered wealth of states and offerings stocked in the temple for safekeeping. 26]  A ferry transported traders, pilgrims and chroniclers across the  Gulf of Mannar  from the  Tenavaram temple, the famously wealthy Vishnu-Shiva temple town emporium to the  Chera  kingdom via  Puttalam  of the  Jaffna kingdom  during the medieval period. [27][28]  This temple was destroyed in 1587 CE, a few years after the Thiruvananthapuram Padmanabhaswamy temple gopuram was con structed. Morrocan  traveller  Ibn Batuta  visited Tenavaram in the 14th century and described the Vishnu idol here as being made of gold and the size of a man with two large rubies as eyes that lit up like lanterns during the night. [29][30]  All people living within the vicinity of the temple and who visited it were fed with monetary endowments that were made to the idol. The temple has 6 vaults (Kallaras), labeled as A to F for book keeping purpose by the Court. While vaults A and B have been unopened over the past 130 years, vaults C to F have been opened from time to time. The two priests of the temple, the Periya Nambi and the Thekkedom Nambi, are the custodians of the four vaults, C to F, which are opened periodically. The Supreme Court had directed that the existing practices, procedures and rituals of he temple be followed while opening vaults C to F and using the articles inside. Vaults A and B shall be opened only for the purpose of making an inventory of the arti cles and then closed. On July 4, 2011 the seven-member expert team which is taking stock of the assets at temple decided to postpone opening of the secret chamber marked B till they obtained more expert opinion as preliminary examination of its gates had found the vault to be secured with iron shutters making experts wonder what lay inside. The royal family said that many legends were attached to the temple and that chamber B has a model of a snake on the main door and opening it could be a bad omen. [31]  Seven-member team will consult with some more experts on July 8, 2011 and a then they may take the final decision on opening of chamber ‘B’. [32] In late June 2011, a review of the temples underground vaults was undertaken by a seven-member panel appointed by the  Supreme Court of India  to generate an inventory, leading to the enumeration of a vast collection of articles that are traditionally kept under lock and key. Unofficial estimates on the sixth day of the inventory placed the value of contents at close to  100,000  crore  (US$22. 3 billion), making it one of the wealthiest in the world,[23][33][34]  richer than the  Tirumala Venkateswara Temple  in  Tirupati,  Andhra Pradesh  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ by official records considered to be the richest shrine in India. [35][23][36]  The precious articles come from the donations that were made by the Royal family and traders, who used to come from other parts of the country and abroad, as offerings to the deity, and were sealed within the thick stone walls and vaults of the temple for over a  millennium. 37]  [3] The final vault of the temple has an iron door with a picture of snake(a cobra) on it and it has not been opened, due to the belief that a curse befalls those who attempt to open it. [38]  Less than a month after the first of the secret vaults was opened, the chief petitioner for opening the vaults, T. P. Sundarrajan died afte r suffering from a sudden unexplained illness. [39]  This has been dubbed as The Curse of the Cobra by the media. [40] [edit]