पुरी जगन्नाथ मंदिर का रत्न भंडार 46 साल बाद खुला। ताला टूटा, गहनों की रखवाली करने वाले कोई साँप नहीं

Puri Jagannath temple’s Ratna Bhandar opened after 46 years. Lock broken, no snakes guarding jewels

The inner treasury of the Puri Jagannath temple, known as the 'Ratna Bhandar,' was opened on Sunday after more than four decades. The Odisha government had granted permission for this a day prior. This event coincided with the ongoing annual ‘Rath Yatra’ of the temple’s three sibling deities: Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra. However, no immediate repair work or inventory of the jewels housed within the treasury was undertaken.

A member of the temple’s managing committee informed ThePrint that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will assess the structural damage after the inner Ratna Bhandar's jewels and ornaments are shifted. This assessment is scheduled for a later date.

There is a legend that serpents guard the valuables within the treasury, but no snakes were found inside the vault. Additionally, contrary to claims made by Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb last year, there was no water leakage through the walls.

Chief Administrator of the Jagannath temple, Arabinda Kumar Padhee, stated that the jewels of the outer Ratna Bhandar have been moved to a strong room. He added that the inventory of the inner treasury’s jewels will be conducted later.

To open the treasury, teams from the ASI, snake charmers, snake rescuers, and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) were deployed. One company of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) was also present for crowd management. The teams adhered to tradition by wearing langots (loincloths) and performing elaborate rituals before entering the treasury. Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, and Lokanath, the Hindu god Shiva, were worshipped. The head priest of Puri’s Lokanath temple oversaw the rituals.

According to IAS officer Parhi, the keys to the Ratna Bhandar’s lock did not work, and the lock had to be broken to allow entry. At least five chests, red and yellow in color, were brought to the temple to temporarily house the jewels from the outer Ratna Bhandar until the inner treasury’s repairs are completed.

Justice Biswanath Rath, head of the high-level committee constituted for the inventorization of the Ratna Bhandar jewels, reported that the treasury was opened at 1:28 PM on Sunday, with 11 people entering. A new lock was placed on the inner treasury, and a new key was sent to the treasurer through the district collector. He mentioned that the jewels are kept in an almirah, two trunks, and several boxes lying underneath, but they did not touch anything due to time constraints, as preparations for the next day's Rath Yatra were necessary. All procedures were videographed.

Historically, the Ratna Bhandar was under the care of the Gajapati of Puri. It was first opened in 1905 by the British administration for inspection and inventoried in 1926. The last inventory took place in 1978 under the supervision of a committee led by the then Odisha Governor, Bhagabat Dayal Sharma.

There were high tensions in front of the Jagannath temple as visitations were halted, and the crowd was controlled by barricades around the temple compound. Biswa Chatterjee, a devotee from Kolkata, expressed his frustration, saying he had come specifically to see the temple but was not allowed entry, which he deemed unfair.

Temple priest Somnath expressed satisfaction that the treasury was opened within 102 days of the new government’s formation. He emphasized the importance of verifying the integrity of the jewels and conducting necessary repairs. However, other priests were less enthusiastic. One priest expressed concern over the timing, noting that the treasury was opened while Lord Jagannath was not present, which he believed was inappropriate. Another priest warned that the event could be a bad omen, especially following a recent incident where the idol of Balabhadra fell on servitors during the Rath Yatra.

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