After 46 years, the treasury of 12th-century Jagannath temple in Puri was audited. The chamber contained gold, silver, and jewels. No snakes were found inside.
The inner chamber of the treasury of the 12th-century Jagannath temple in Puri was reopened on Sunday for an audit of valuables after 46 years, officials aware of the matter said, underscoring a move that has been shrouded both in political jostling and superstition.
The Ratna Bhandar, situated next to the sanctum sanctorum that houses the primary idols and assembly hall, has long been considered the custodian of the temple’s riches. In the last audit of Bhandar held in 1978, the Odisha government said the inventory contained over 149.6kg of gold ornaments fitted with precious stones, 258.3kg of silver utensils, and other items. On Sunday, its door was opened in the presence of a 12-member team comprising the head of the high-level committee appointed by the state government, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials, and temple trust representatives.
“We carried out all the work as per SOPs. 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,” Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee said.
“The team then broke the three locks of the inner chamber as we could not open it using the keys that were given to us. The team members decided against opening the wooden chests kept inside the inner chamber due to a paucity of time. The ornaments and jewels kept in the inner chamber will be shifted to a temporary strong room inside the temple premises on another day as the temple administration will be busy with the Bahuda Yatra (return car festival) and other rituals from Monday,” Padhee added.
During the 1978 audit, it took officials 70 days to prepare the inventory of the valuables, people aware of the matter said.
The head of the audit supervisory committee formed by the state, justice (retired) Biswanath Rath, said the team “saw five wooden chests, four wooden almirahs, and one steel almirah” in the inner chamber. “Many other items might also be there, as we are yet to check behind the almirahs,” he said.
The Ratna Bhandar consists of two sections — an outer chamber, which is opened for various rituals from time to time, and an inner chamber, which was last opened in 1985 to take out jewellery to make new ornaments for Lord Balabhadra and for silver cladding of the gate in the sanctum sanctorum, people aware of the matter said. However, no audit was done at the time.