Puri Jagannath Temple’s ‘ratna bhandar’ re-opened after 46 years

The Puri Jagannath Temple’s treasury called ‘ratna bhandar’ was reopened on Sunday by an 11-member team to carry out an inventory and restoration after 46 years, fulfilling a campaign promise by the newly elected BJP govt in Odisha.
The last inventory, conducted in 1978, was inconclusive. According to govt records, around 128 kg of gold and 221 kg of silver items were found.
A large crowd of devotees gathered to witness the event. The team opened three locks of the outer chamber, but the duplicate keys for the inner chamber locks failed, necessitating breaking them. “We have put two new locks on the door to the inner chamber,” said Arabinda Padhee, chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
The absence of keys to the inner chamber was a contentious political issue. The original keys were reported missing in 2018, halting the previous inventory efforts.
Contrary to myths of snakes guarding the ratna bhandar, no reptiles were found. “We did not come across any snakes, insects, or reptiles,” said Puri district collector Siddharth Shankar Swain. To ensure safety, govt deployed 11 members of Snake Helpline, a voluntary unit specialising in snake rescue. “Our services were not needed as no snake was found,” said Subhendu Mallik from the helpline.
The inventory of valuables is on hold until Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) restores the ratna bhandar, which has developed cracks. “We have shifted all the valuables from the outer chamber to a temporary strong room near the ratna bhandar. However, due to the paucity of time, we could not transfer the valuables from the inner chamber. It will be done another day,” said Padhee.
Six large wooden chests were transported from Bhubaneswar to Puri for storing the valuables, with nine more in production. Justice Biswanath Rath, chairman of the committee overseeing the inventory, said the ratna bhandar was not fully dilapidated. “We found five almirahs and six or seven wooden chests (sinduka) in the inner chamber. We did not open them to check valuables.”
Govt announced that the inventory would occur inside the renovated ratna bhandar after ASI completes the conservation work.