The Ratna Bhandar – the revered treasury – of Lord Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha, was reopened after 46 years on Sunday. 

A team of 11 members were formed by the state government to enter the treasury. Orissa HC judge Biswanath Rath, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee, ASI Superintendent DB Gadanayak and a representative of Puri’s titular king ‘Gajapati Maharaja’ were part of the team, reported news agency PTI.

An official told the agency that the team won’t carry out the inventory of valuables immediately. 

The Chief Minister’s Office has issued a statement on X (Formerly Twitter) to mark the occasion. It read, “On the wish of Lord Jagannath, the Odia community, with the identity of ‘Odia Asmita’, has started making efforts to move forward. On your wish, the four gates of the Jagannath temples were earlier opened. Today, on your wish, the Ratna Bhandar was opened after 46 years for a greater purpose.”

ଜୟ ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ

ହେ ମହାପ୍ରଭୁ!

ତୁମେ ଲୀଳାମୟ। ତୁମ ଇଚ୍ଛାରେ ଏ ସାରା ସଂସାର ଆତଯାତ ହେଉଛି। ତୁମେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଜାତିର ହୃତ୍‌ ସ୍ପନ୍ଦନ। ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଜାତିର ଅସ୍ମିତା ଓ ସ୍ବାଭିମାନର ଶ୍ରେଷ୍ଠ ପରିଚୟ।

ତୁମ ଇଚ୍ଛାରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଜାତି ଆଜି ତାର ଅସ୍ମିତାର ପରିଚୟକୁ ନେଇ ଆଗକୁ ବଢ଼ିବାକୁ ଉଦ୍ୟମ ଆରମ୍ଭ କରିଛି। ତୁମ ଇଚ୍ଛାରେ ପ୍ରଥମେ ଶ୍ରୀମନ୍ଦିରର ଚାରି…

— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) July 14, 2024

What’s inside the revered treasury

– The treasury is home to precious gold and diamond jewellery offered to Lord Jagannath. As per Odisha Magazine, Odisha’s King Anangabhima Dev donated 2.5 lakh madhas of gold to prepare jewellery for the almighty. 

– The Ratna Bhandar has two chambers — Bhitar Bhandar (Inner Treasury) and Bahar Treasury (Outer Treasury). The Magazine stated that the outer treasury has suna mukuta of Lord Jagannath, three gold necklaces (Haridakanthi Mali) weighing 120 tolas each.

– The report mentioned also mentions Suna Sribhuja and Sri Payar of Lord Jagannath and Balabhadra. 

– Meanwhile, the inner treasury has close to 74 gold ornaments, each weighing more than 100 tolas, the report added. 

– There are plates made of gold, diamond, corals and pearls, the report said. Apart from this, more than 140 silver jewellery are also kept in the treasury. 

Puri:

The ‘Ratna Bhandar’ (treasure trove) of the Shri Jagannath Temple has finally been opened after more than four decades on Sunday.

The Ratna Bhandar of the Shri Jagannath Temple was opened following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the Odisha government. On Saturday, the Odisha government gave approval for the opening of the Ratna Bhandar after carrying out the inventorization of valuables, including pieces of jewellery stored there.

To commemorate this occasion, the Office of the Chief Minister of Odisha, taking to X, said, “Jai Jagannath Oh Lord! You are rhythmic. The whole world is oppressed by your desire. You are the heartbeat of the orthodox nation… The four doors of the temple were first opened at your will. Today, after 46 years of your will, the gem was opened with a great purpose…I strongly believe that this great work will be successful…”

Special boxes were also brought to Shri Jagannath Temple ahead of the re-opening of ‘Ratna Bhandar’ (Treasure Trove) today.

Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Arabinda Padhee says, “Odisha government has approved the SOP for opening the Ratna Bhandar. As per the decision, today the Ratna Bhandar is being opened as per set guidelines. Authorised representatives from the various ‘sewa’ groups, officials from the ASI, representatives of Shri Gajapati Maharaj and others would be there. The entire proceedings will be video recorded for our records, not for publicity and will be strictly confidential.”

He further stated that there will be three steps in SOPs to be followed for the opening and inventorization of the valuables in the Ratna Bhandar.

“There are three steps to the SOP: The first is the opening of the outer ratna bhandar. For the inner Ratna Bhandar, there is another set of guidelines. There is also a temporary, strong room… Once the shift from Ratna Bhandar to the strong room has been made, we will inventory the valuables. We seek the blessings of Mahaprabhu that the Ratna Bhandar gets opened easily, and the subsequent steps will follow,” Padhee said.

The ‘Ratna Bhandar’ (Treasure Trobe) of the Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri was set to be opened at 1:28 pm on Sunday, following SOPs issued by the state government.

Speaking on this, Inspection Committee Chairman Justice Biswanath Rath said, “As per the discussion in the meeting and the suggestions of the ‘Purohits’ and the ‘mukti mandap’, the right time for the opening of the Ratna Bhandar is 1:28 pm.”

He further said that the process will be quite challenging since it is still unknown to them about the position of the Ratna Bhandar since it was last opened in 1985.

“Today we convened a meeting in which we decided to go ahead with the opening and taking care of the ornaments… The process will be carried out with two sets of video recordings and there will be two certifications… It will be a challenge since we do not know the position inside since it last opened in 1985… We’ll open the locks today, in any case,” Justice Rath said.

Speaking on the re-opening of the Ratna Bhandar, Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said that the inventory work will take place in the presence of a representative from the Reserve Bank of India and a digital catalogue will be made after the counting is done.

“We had requested the involvement of the Reserve Bank of India in this and a representative of the Reserve Bank of India will be included in it… After counting the ornaments, we will create a digital catalogue, which will include photographs, their weight and other things like their quality. A digital catalogueue will be created with all the things; the digital catalogueue will be a reference document,” he said.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will be doing repair works in the Ratna Bhandar, which also looks after the maintenance of the 12th century shrine. The Treasury was last opened in 1978.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A view of Shree Jagannath temple in Odisha’s Puri. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

“The Odisha government will unlock the ‘Ratna Bhandar’, the revered treasury of the 12th-century Jagannath temple in Puri, on July 14 after 46 years for an inventory of the valuables and the repair of the structure,” an official said. The treasury was last opened in 1978.

“The Ratna Bhandar of the Jagannath temple will be opened today at 1.28 p.m.,” said Justice Biswanath Rath, the chairman of the committee formed by the State government to supervise the inventory of valuables in the treasury. “The decision was taken at a meeting of the committee held in Puri,” he said.

“Members of the committee, including Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee, will visit the treasury after the reopening,” he added. “The place where the valuables will be kept temporarily has also been identified,” said the former Orissa High Court judge.

“The ritual of ‘Agnya’, in which approval is sought for the reopening of the Ratna Bhandar, was completed in the morning. The members of the committee will enter the shrine at 12 p.m. in traditional attire for the reopening,” said C.B.K. Mohanty, another member of the committee.

“Before reopening the treasury, we will seek the approval of Goddess Bimala, Goddess Laxmi, who is the owner of the treasury, and lastly seek the approval of Lord Lokanath, who is its caretaker,” Justice Rath said.

In the morning, Justice Rath and Mr. Padhee offered prayers before Lord Jagannath and his siblings at the Gundicha temple for the smooth completion of the works. “Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been made for the entire process,” Mr. Padhee said.

“Three SOPs have been made. One is related to the reopening of the Ratna Bhandar, the second for the management of the temporary Ratna Bhandar, and the third one is related to inventory of the valuables,” he said.

“The inventory work will not start today. It will be done after getting approval from the government on the engagement of valuers, goldsmiths and other experts,” he added.

“The government has decided to prepare a digital catalogue of the valuables in the Ratna Bhandar that will have details such as their weight and make,” another official said.

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Superintendent DB Gadanayak said structural engineers, mechanical engineers and civil engineers will inspect the Ratna Bhandar for the repair work.

Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) personnel were seen entering the temple premises with lights that will be installed inside the Ratna Bhandar. It is also apprehended that there are snakes inside the treasury.

Snake Helpline member Subhendu Mallick said, “We have come here on the instruction of the State government. There will be two teams of snake catchers — one inside and another outside the temple. We will follow all instructions of the administration.”