The Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of the 12th-century Puri Shree Jagannath Temple was finally reopened on Sunday after 46 years.
This fabled treasure of the temple was last opened in 1978 and an inventory was made of ornaments and jewels stored there.
Odiah chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi wrote on the X, “As per the wish of Lord Jagannath, the Ratna Bhandar was opened after 46 years. It’s my only wish that the great work is completed successfully. The world is your creation and everything happens as per your wish. You are the identity of Odia Asmita (Pride) and Swabiman (self-esteem). Now, with Your direction, the Odias are trying to march ahead taking the Asmita (pride)..”
Opening up the Ratna Bhandar was a major issue during the recently held general election in Odisha. The BJP successfully created a narrative that the BJD government was least concerned about its safety. The key to the Ratna Bhandar was missing, and the BJD government had failed to trace it.
Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue during his election campaign and accused V.K. Pandian, Naveen’s close aide, of delaying the opening of the Ratna Bhandar. Later, he promised the BJP government would open the trove soon after coming to power in Odisha.
Member of the managing committee of Puri Shree Jagannath Temple and eminent Sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik said: “I still wonder why the previous government did not show interest in opening the Ratna Bhandar. Why was it said that the key was missing, But today, the missing key was not an issue.”
An eleven-member committee headed by former Orissa High Court Judge Biswanath Rath entered the Ratna Bhandar’s outer chamber at 1.28 pm.
The temple’s chief administrator, Arabinda Padhee, said: “The members of the committee first entered the Outer Chamber and later shifted all the ornaments from there to the new temporary strong room in the presence of the magistrate. Later we sealed this chamber. The members of the team then entered the Inner Chamber. The keys which were sent by the Puri collector did not open the locks. As per the SOP, we broke all the three locks in the inner chamber. But as we did not have time and we did not shift any ornaments from there. It is all there in almirahs and boxes. We will move the ornaments from the inner chamber later. Then the ASI (Archeological Survey of India) will be asked to repair the Ratna Bhandar, Once the repair work is completed, we will shift the ornaments back to the Ratna Bhandar, Structural safety of Shree Mandir is our top priority.”
Justice Rath also confirmed that the locks of the Ratna Bhandar were broken.
The Ratna Bhandar comprises mainly two chambers (inner and outer) and it stores the jewels and ornaments of the three deities. In the outer chamber, ornaments are kept for the daily use of the deities. The ornaments stored in the inner chamber are never used in the rituals of the deities. The last time the inventory of the valuables in the Ratna Bhandar was made was in 1978. The outer chamber was opened in 2018 but officials could not enter the inner chamber as the keys could not be located.
As per the records, Ratna Bhandar has a total of 454 gold articles with a net weight of 12,831 Bharis and 293 silver articles weighing 22,153 Bharis (One Bhari is 11.66 grams). However, 14 items of gold and silver could not be weighed at the time and were not included in the 1978 list.
The temple administrator had brought six strong wooden chests fitted with brass sheets to store the ornaments from the Ratna Bhandar for counting and repairs. The chests will be used for shifting the ornaments and other valuables stored in the treasure trove. Sources said the temple administration had commissioned 15 such chests but only six were ready for use when the committee entered the Ratna Bhandar.
