Padmanabhaswamy — Thiruvananthapuram

vahana: "Garuda (eagle mount)" vahana: "Garuda (eagle mount)"

Padmanabhaswamy Temple — Thiruvananthapuram

The Lotus-Navel Vishnu — Wealthiest Temple on Earth

The Padmanabhaswamy Temple is the wealthiest temple in the world — by a factor of at least ten. When Vault A was opened in 2011 under Supreme Court order, the inventory included a golden idol of Mahavishnu studded with 1,000 diamonds, a 18-foot gold chain, a golden throne, and bags of diamonds and precious stones — collectively worth an estimated $22 billion. Vault B remains sealed.

The deity is Padmanabha — Vishnu reclining on Ananta Śeṣa, with a lotus stem growing from his navel bearing Brahmā. This is one of the three most important reclining Vishnu images in India, alongside Srirangam and Tirukkurungudi.

The City Named After a Serpent

Thiruvananthapuram literally means "the city of Ananta" (the cosmic serpent). The entire city is named after the temple's divine occupant — one of the only cities in India named after a deity rather than a king or geographic feature.

The Murals

The temple houses some of the finest Kerala mural paintings in existence — 17th-century depictions of the Dashavatara, the Ramayana, and the Bhagavata Purana, painted in the distinctive Kerala style using natural mineral pigments. The murals in the garbhagriha corridor are not visible to the public — they are within the innermost enclosure, visible only to the priests.

Vault B — The Sealed Chamber

Vault B has never been opened. Tradition holds that it was sealed by a Nagapanchami ritual and can only be opened by a chanting of the Garuda Mantra — which has been lost. A 1955 attempt to open it was abandoned when cobras appeared at the entrance. The Supreme Court has deferred its opening indefinitely.