Odisha's Jagannath Temple Ratna Bhandar May Reopen Soon As Govt Forms Panel To Check Inventory

The Mohan Charan Majhi-led Odisha government has formed a high-level committee to oversee the reopening and counting of valuables in the Ratna Bhandar at Puri's Jagannath temple.

The Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha (Photo: PTI).

Source : PTI

Odisha Ratna Bhandar News: The Mohan Charan Majhi government in Odisha has constituted a new high-level committee to oversee the reopening of the Ratna Bhandar at Puri's Jagannath temple for repairs and an inventory of its valuables. During a press briefing on Thursday night, Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan announced that the committee was created following a directive from the Orissa High Court.

In March, the BJD government led by Naveen Patnaik had set up a 12-member panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge Arijit Pasayat to manage the inventory of jewellery and other treasures stored in the Ratna Bhandar. The new BJP government has disbanded the Justice Pasayat-led panel and formed a new committee.

What Is The Jagannath Temple Ratna Bhandar?

The gold and jewels donated by devotees to the deities at Puri Jagannath temple — Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra — are kept in the Ratna Bhandar, situated next to the Jagamohan (prayer hall) on the temple's north side. According to the Orissa Review, a publication by the State government, the Jagannath Temple Act of 1952 was enacted to give the State government greater control over the temple's management and administration. This law mandated the creation of a detailed inventory of the ornaments and gold offered to the deities, which is stored in the Record Room of the Puri collectorate.

The Ratna Bhandar consists of two sections: the 'Bhitar Bhandar' (Inner Treasury) and the 'Bahar Bhandar' (Outer Treasury). The last inventory conducted in 1978 recorded that the Bahar Bhandar contains 87 pieces of gold ornaments, some adorned with precious stones, and 62 silver items. The Bhitar Bhandar houses 367 gold items, including jewellery with precious stones, gold plates, pearls, diamonds, corals, and other precious stones, as well as 231 silver articles, according to a report by The Hindu. The security of the Ratna Bhandar is the responsibility of the Temple’s Managing Committee, led by the titular ‘King of Puri,’ Dibyasingha Deb (Chairman), along with the Chief Administrator (an IAS-level officer) and other members appointed or nominated by the State government.

Items in the Bhitar Bhandar are never used and are secured under double locks, sealed by the Managing Committee, with the keys usually stored in the Government treasury. These locks can only be opened by order of the State government. Items for special occasions are kept in the Bahar Bhandar, which also has double locks and can be accessed in the presence of temple officials and the Chief Administrator as needed. Daily-use items are locked and guarded by the Bhandar Mekap. The outer treasury's contents are regularly compared and verified, at least every six months The Hindu reported.

Originally, the Puri royal family, the temple committee, and the Puri collectorate each had a set of keys to the Ratna Bhandar. In 1963, following a legal defeat regarding the State's ownership of the temple, the royal family relinquished its key to the State treasury, leaving the other two sets with the temple committee and the Puri collectorate.

The Bhitar Bhandar was last opened for inventory in 1978, as stated by Law Minister Pratap Jena during the 2018 Budget session of the Odisha Assembly. This inventory revealed that the inner treasury contained gold items weighing 4,364 bhori (50 kilograms) and silver items totalling 14,878 bhori (173 kilograms), alongside a significant amount of gold jewellery used regularly in temple rituals. The inner treasury was opened again in 1985 for maintenance, but no new inventory was taken.

Since then, attempts to open the inner treasury have been thwarted by concerns over offending devotees' sentiments. The most recent attempt on April 4, 2018, was unsuccessful because the keys to the inner chamber were missing. Consequently, a 16-member team, including three Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) members, inspected the inner chamber from the outside using searchlights through a grille.

What The Latest Odisha Govt Notification Means

A notification from the Law Department stated, "A high-level committee is hereby reconstituted, under the chairmanship of Justice Biswanath Rath, to oversee the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee in conducting an inventory of valuables, including jewellery, stored in the Ratna Bhandar."

"...We have formed a committee as per the order of the high court. It is a 16-member committee. The government will further work on the recommendations of this committee... We will prepare a catalogue of the Ratna Bhandar. It will work as a reference in the temple," Prithviraj Harichandan said.

The new 16-member committee, headed by former Orissa High Court judge Justice Biswanath Rath, will meet in Puri on July 6 to decide on the date for opening the Ratna Bhandar and to plan the repair of the inner chamber and inventory of the stored valuables, according to Harichandan.

The minister also mentioned that the panel would decide which external agencies would be involved in examining the quality of the valuables in the 12th-century shrine's treasury. Based on the committee's recommendations, the state government will determine the next steps for reopening the Ratna Bhandar, he added.

The chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has been appointed as the committee's member convener, while other members include the Puri Collector, sand artist Sudarsan Pattanaik, a representative of Gajapati Maharaj, representatives from the ASI, and former Odisha DGP Prakash Mishra.

On September 29, 2023, while addressing a PIL filed by BJP leader Samir Mohanty concerning the safety of the Ratna Bhandar, the high court directed the government to form a high-level committee.

(With inputs from PTI.)