The Ratna Bhandar – the secret vault — of the 12th Century Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri in Odisha opened after 46 years on Sunday amidst the ongoing Rath Yatra festival that began on July 7 on the Dwitiya Tithi of Shukla Paksha.
“Before reopening the treasury, we will seek the approval of Goddess Bimala, Goddess Laxmi, who is the owner of the treasury, and lastly Lord Lokanath, who is its caretaker,” committee chairman Justice Biswanath Rath said.
A team of 11 officials from the state government entered the treasury of the temple. An official said they won’t carry out the inventory of valuables immediately.
The temple’s managing committee, which is led by titular ‘King of Puri’ Dibyasingha Deb, the Chief Administrator (an IAS-level officer) and other members selected by the Odisha government is responsible for the safety of the Ratna Bhandar.
The Chief Minister’s Office wrote on X on July 14, “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.”
What’s Inside the Ratna Bhandar?
The inner chamber of Ratna Bhandar at the 12th Century temple in Puri has a collection of the rarest jewellery, including diamonds, gold and precious gems. According to the Odisha Magazine, King Anangabhima Dev donated 2.5 lakh madhas of gold to prepare jewellery for the Almighty.
According to the Odisha Review magazine article from 2022, the ‘Bhitara Bhandar’ contains 180 types of ornaments, including 74 varieties of pure gold ornaments, some weighing more than 1.2 kg. This repository safeguards valuables not regularly used for the deities, reflecting centuries of devotion and cultural heritage. 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.
In 1805, then Puri Collector Charles Grome made a list of ornaments stored in the inner chamber that included 1,333 items. Rumours has it that the chambers hold 128 gold coins, 1,297 silver coins, 106 copper coins and 24 ancient gold coins.
The last inventory, done in 1978, reportedly revealed that the treasure trove had 454 types of gold ornaments weighing 12,883 ‘bhari’ and 293 types of silver ornaments weighing 22,153 ‘bhari’.
The ‘Bhitara Bhandar’ was once again opened in 1985 for gold-repair work. However, no inventory of the articles was made this time. Former temple administrator Rabindra Narayan Mishra, who was part of the group that ventured into the inner treasury, told OTV in 2022 that he saw at least 15 wooden chests containing articles of gold, silver, diamonds, sapphires, pearls, rubies, and other rare gemstones.
Meanwhile, there are also fears that there would be snakes inside the vault.
What is the Process of Opening of Ratna Bhandar?
In 1978, officials took over 70 days to complete the inventory process at the treasury.
Since the 1980s, the temple administration has tried to open the inner chamber twice but failed. The last such attempt was made in April 2018 when a 16-member team, including three members of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), could not go into the inner treasury as the keys to the room could not be found.
This time, the entire process of entry into Ratna Bhandar was videographed to create a digital catalogue of the ornaments for future reference.
Specialised teams will initially select an auspicious time, known as ‘Suba Bela’, to open the treasury using a duplicate key held by the Puri administration. If this approach fails, the magistrate will oversee the process breaking the lock.
As per a report by The Times of India, the temple committee was seeking a skilled snake charmer due to concerns about potential reptile threats ahead of the opening. A team of doctors will also be on standby with necessary medical supplies.
Justice Biswanath Rath, the chairman of the high-level committee formed by the Odisha government to supervise the opening of Ratna Bhandar and inventory process, also went inside the inner Ratna Bhandar. He said there was nothing abnormal inside and also ruled out the speculation about the presence of serpents inside the chamber.
Four Doors of Temple Opened
Last month, all four gates of the mighty 12th Century temple, which were shut since the Covid-19 pandemic, opened for public.
The outer wall of the temple has four gates, which open in four different directions. These four gates are represented by four animals.
In the east, there are lions and hence it is called Lion Gate or ‘Singhadwara’. The west direction is represented by tigers and hence it is called Tiger Gate or ‘Vyaghradwara’. The northern direction of the temple wall is represented by elephants. So, it is named as Elephant Gate or ‘Hastidwara’. The southern direction, represented by horses, is known as Horse Gate or ‘Ashvadwara’.
WHY THE TEMPLE WAS A POLL ISSUE
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have raked up the issue of the “missing” keys of the Ratna Bhandar, the inner treasury of the Jagannath Temple, and blamed BJD, led by Naveen Patnaik, for its failure to come clean on inventorying the jewellery and precious stones stored in it.
“The tradition of Jagannath Dham has been lowered in the name of promoting Puri as tourist hub. The Shreekshetra (Puri) has been transformed into a commercial centre. The mutts have been demolished and the four entry doors of Jagannath Temple remain closed. There was conspiracy to stop Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath,” Shah had said in public meetings.
Lakhs of devotees throng Puri in Odisha to visit Lord Jagannath Temple every year. Lord Jagannath, represented by Lord Krishna, is present in the temple along with his elder brother Lord Balbhadra and younger sister Goddess Subhadra.
The annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, at the Puri temple is well-known for featuring the three main deities being hauled by enormous, ornately decorated temple cars.