Puri Jagannath temple treasury reopened after 46 years

The treasury of the 12th-century Jagannath temple in Odisha’s Puri is also known as the Ratna Bhandar. It was reopened on Sunday afternoon after being closed for 46 years. Puri jagannath temple treasury reopened An 11-member committee is including former Orissa High Court 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’, entered the temple to reopen the treasury. Additionally, four temple servitors were also part of the group that entered the Ratna Bhandar. The ceremony of ‘Agnya’, where permission is requested to open the Ratna Bhandar, was finished in the morning. The Ratna Bhandar houses the valuable jewelry of the deities Jagannath, Subhadra, and Balabhadra. These were given by devotees and former kings over the years. It is split into the outer chamber (Bahara Bhandar) and the inner chamber (Bhitara Bhandar). Although the outer chamber of the shrine from the 12th century is opened on special occasions like the Suna Besha ritual during the annual Rath Yatra, the last time an inventory of the treasury was conducted was in 1978. As the committee members entered the treasure trove, two teams of snake catchers were also present at the temple. There is a fear that there might be snakes inside the treasury. Before the reopening, the committee also established three Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the entire process.