Abhijay Raj Vaish, Pune
The Puri Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar treasury was re-opened after a 46-year-long hiatus on Sunday post government permission. The revered treasury was opened by an 11-member committee composed of Shri Jagannath Temple Administration’s Chief Administrator Arabindha Padhee, HC judge Biswanath Rath, and ASI Superintendent DB Gadanayak among others.
The Ratna Bhandar houses two chambers that hold gold and silver ornaments of deities Lord Jagannath, Goddess Subhadra, and Lord Balabhadra with the last inventory dating back to 1978. Except for the inner room, every other chamber in the temple is periodically opened. The incumbent BJP government which won in Odisha had accused the erstwhile BJD government of misplacing the keys to the shrine and promised to re-open the premises if they came to power. The government has now chosen to create a digital inventory of the treasures discovered in the Ratna Bhandar in response to one of the main concerns raised during the elections.
An attempt to enter the inner chamber was made in 2018 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) but they could not locate the keys. The last inventory in 1978 which took 70 days to complete revealed that it possess 454 types of gold ornaments and 293 types of silver ornaments in the ‘Bhitar Bhandar’ (inner chamber). The four gates of the temple were also opened last month that have been shut since the pandemic.
The treasury will now be opened after an auspicious time is selected by the specialized teams along with doctors present with medical supplies to mitigate the wounds if snakes are found in the vault. However, Justice Biswanath Rath who is supervising the opening of the Bhandar has asserted that there are no snakes present inside the Bhandar.
The ASI who manages the temple will now carry out necessary repairs in the opened sanctum. The inventory will begin post the repair work is completed. Thousands of pilgrims travel to the Shri Jagannath temple as part of the Char Dham Yatra, which is regarded as the tenth richest shrine in India. It is estimated to have a net worth of around 150 crore.