Odisha Law Minister’s big revelation regarding Puri Jagannath’s Ratna Bhandar
Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Friday said preliminary findings from the ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) suggest there are no secret tunnels or chambers in the Ratna Bhandar of Puri’s Jagannath Temple. The Minister, however, said the confirmation will come with the final report.
Harichandan said while no secret passages were found, the survey identified cracks within the temple’s treasury. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration had requested the GPR survey amidst speculation about hidden chambers containing valuables and jewellery in the shrine’s treasury. The Minister said the inventory of Lord Jagannath’s jewellery and valuables would be made after the ASI completes repairs of the Ratna Bhandar.
“It is not feasible to carry out any repairs now since the temple is witnessing a heavy rush of devotees as it is the holy month of Kartika,” he said. The repairs are expected to take over a month, with the ASI scheduled to address the cracks after Kartika Purnima, he said. “Once repairs are completed, the valuables will be brought back to the treasury for inventory,” he added.
Opening of Ratna Bhandar was a very controversial issue as the BJP had alleged that the Naveen Patnaik government sat over the matter and failed to open the Ratna Bhandar. The BJP had also raised doubts over the safety of jewelleries and other valuables in Ratna Bhandar. The Ratna Bhandar in Sri Mandir has two chambers namely, the ‘Bhitar Bhandar’ (Inner Treasury) and ‘Bahar Treasury’ (Outer Treasury). The Record of Rights prepared under the Puri Sri Jagannath Temple Act, 1952 contains a list of the valuable jewels and gold ornaments, etc. of Lord Jagannath.
As per records, the temple’s Ratna Bhandar has a total of 454 gold articles with a net weight of 12,838 Bharis (128.38 kg) and 293 silver articles weighing 22,153 Bharis (221.53 kg). The last inventory of Ratna Bhandar was made 46 years ago in 1978.
The high-level committee constituted in July 2024, under the chairmanship of Orissa High Court judge Justice Biswanath Rath for supervising the inventorisation of jewelleries and other valuables stored in Ratna Bhandar of Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri has fast-tracked the process of opening the temple treasury after 46 years.
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