Jagannath Temple's Ratna Bhandar Opens After Four Decades: Know What's Inside the Revered Treasury

Puri: Ratna Bhandar, the esteemed treasury of the 12th-century Jagannath temple in Puri, was reopened on Sunday after 46 years to conduct an inventory of valuables and repair its structure. A committee appointed by the state government entered the temple, performed rituals, and later reopened the treasury at an auspicious moment determined during a meeting.

The Ratna Bhandar was opened during the ongoing annual 'Rath Yatra' of the temple's three sibling deities — Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra. However, no immediate repair work or inventory of jewels stored in the treasury was conducted.

Among the 11 people present when the treasury was reopened were former Orissa HC judge Biswanath Rath, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee, ASI Superintendent DB Gadanayak and a representative of Puri's titular king 'Gajapati Maharaja', officials said.  Also among them were four servitors who took care of the rituals.

After coming out of the Bhandar, Padhee said, “We carried out all the works as per SOP. We first opened the outer chamber of the Ratna Bhandar and shifted all ornaments and valuables kept there to the temporary strong room inside the temple. We have sealed the strong room.”

"Then, the authorised persons entered the inner chamber of the treasury. Three locks were there. No lock could be opened with the key available with the district administration. So, as per the SOP, we broke the three locks in the presence of a magistrate, and then, we entered the inner chamber. We inspected the valuables kept in the almirahs and the chests," he said.

Padhee said the committee decided not to shift the valuables from the inner chamber immediately. "The process of shifting the valuables has to be done at once. It was not possible today. We will fix a date to shift the ornaments after the completion of the Bahuda Yatra and 'Suna Vesha' rituals," he said.

The reopening of the Ratna Bhandar was a major political issue during the recently held assembly elections. Targeting the then-ruling BJD over missing keys of the treasury, the BJP had promised that it would make efforts to reopen it if the party won the polls.

What is Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar?

The most precious property of Sri Jagannath Temple is Sri 'Ratna Bhandar'. Bhandar refers to a place for accumulating or treasuring wealth. It is a place where articles / commodities are treasured in huge quantity. Bhandara ghar–a room where wealth gets accumulated / where different types of valuable things are stored.

According to the rules and practices of the Jagannath Temple, the gold, jewels, etc., offered to Sri Jagannath Mahaprabhu are to be stored in this Ratna Bhandar. This fabulous treasury of the Jagannath Temple has been enriched by the contributions and donations offered by the devotees from all over the world. Sri Ratna Bhandar is situated on the northern side of the Jagamohan of Jagannath Temple.

The Ratna Bhandar in Sri Mandir has two chambers namely, the ‘Bhitar Bhandar’ (Inner Treasury) and ‘Bahar Treasury’ (Outer Treasury).

The outer chamber, housing three keys, is routinely accessed to retrieve ornaments for the sibling deities during the Suna Besha, a significant ritual observed during the annual Rath Yatra and other ceremonies. The custody of these keys is shared by the erstwhile royal family of Puri, which has historically overseen temple affairs, along with the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and Bhandar Mekap, the appointed custodian of the treasury.

What's inside the Ratna Bhandar?

• Inside the inner chamber of Ratna Bhandar, lies a collection of exceptionally rare jewelry, comprising diamonds, gold, and precious gems.
• This repository preserves treasures that are not regularly utilized for the deities, embodying centuries of devotion and cultural heritage.
• According to an article in the Odisha Review magazine from 2022, the 'Bhitara Bhandar' houses 180 types of ornaments, among them 74 varieties of pure gold ornaments, with some weighing over 1.2 kg.
• The treasury contains plates made of gold, diamonds, corals, and pearls. 
• The outer treasury houses the suna mukuta of Lord Jagannath and three gold necklaces (Haridakanthi Mali), each weighing 120 tolas.
• The report also mentions the presence of over 140 pieces of silver jewelry stored within.
• According to the magazine report, King Anangabhima Dev of Odisha donated 2.5 lakh madhas of gold for crafting jewelry for the deity.
• In 1805, the Puri Collector at that time, Charles Grome, compiled a list of ornaments stored in the inner chamber, totaling 1,333 items. There are rumors that the chambers also contain 128 gold coins, 1,297 silver coins, 106 copper coins, and 24 ancient gold coins.
• According to the last inventory conducted in 1978, the treasure trove reportedly included 454 types of gold ornaments weighing 12,883 'bhari' and 293 types of silver ornaments weighing 22,153 'bhari'.

New Lock Used To Secure Bhandar

New locks were used to secure the doors of the inner chamber and the keys were handed over to the Puri collector. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the custodian of the temple, also inspected the condition of the inner chamber. Six wooden chests with brass interiors were brought to the temple for moving the valuables. The chests, made of teak, were 4.5 feet in length, 2.5 feet in height and 2.5 feet in breadth, an official said.

Missing Keys of Ratna Bhandar

Details regarding the contents of the inner chamber, whose keys are currently missing, still remain undisclosed to the public. Reports indicate that the last inventory of the ratna bhandar was conducted between May 13 and July 23, 1978. Although the chamber was reopened on July 14, 1985, no subsequent inventory has been documented.

The news of missing keys was made public in 2018, emotions ran high among devotees, forcing the state to order a judicial commission of inquiry.

An attempt was made to open the inner chamber of ‘Ratna Bhandar’ in April 2018 following a directive of the Orissa High Court, but it was not successful as keys were not found at that time. A team, comprising ASI officials, priests and others, then carried out an inspection from outside.

However, a few days after the inspection, the government said a duplicate key of the inner chamber has been found.