Key Highlights:
- The Ratna Bhandar at Puri Jagannath Temple reopened after 46 years on Sunday.
- The treasury was opened ahead of the annual Rath Yatra festival.
- No snakes were found guarding the jewels, debunking a long-held belief.
- Elaborate rituals were performed before entering the treasury.
- A new lock has been installed for security, and inventory will be conducted soon.
- The last comprehensive inventory was done in 1978.
The SHRINE sealed or closed inner treasury or the Ratna Bhandar at Lord Jagannath Temple Puri, India, has been reopened after about 46 years giving analysis to all JAGANNATH PUJA devotees across the globe. It happened last Sunday, preceding the festival of Rath Yatra which is devoted to the deities of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. The Odisha government allowed the opening which created both positive as well as negative discussions among the priests and different visitors of the temple. While some people rejoiced at this decision, others considered this to be an ill-omen that symbolized the preceding situation of this event.
The Ratna Bhandar palace was closed ever since 1978 and had been rumored to open soon and this only added to the mystique of the building. ASI officials, some snake charmers and the ODRAF team were on the standby to start the opening ceremony in a small and traditional but safe manner. Previously, people assumed that serpents guarded the chest; however, there were no snakes, and the state of the treasury was not as bad as rumored.
Some of the preliminaries that were followed before the treasury was entered was by seeking for the blessings of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and Lokanath, another name for Lord Shiva. These ceremonies help create the prayerful atmosphere which indicates that the event is a culturally and spiritually important one. When D’Artagnan came into the treasury a new lock was placed and plans were made for the stock taking that was to be done shortly.
The opening of the treasury has prompted many issues on how the priceless artifacts in the temple can be preserved and kept. The previous officials have noted that the last inventories were made in 1978, and the current committee’s responsibility is to evaluate the structural condition of the treasury and identify the objects inside it. Some of the chests that were stored here have been transferred to a strong room to enhance security of the items stored inside the chests; the contents have not been revealed to the public yet.
Adding to its charm, the concept of the Ratna Bhandar has its endowment in history. Built for the British in 1905, the treasury was always sacrosanct, and an open invitation to the outside world, in the form of tourists. While the high-level committee headed by Justice Biswanath Rath is functioning the reopening of Ratna Bhandar has provided joy to innumerable devotees but at the same time concerns like the future management and maintenance of have also arisen.
While the Ratna Bhandar’s treasure is a point of pride and the temple’s asset, this event is a reminder of faith, dedication, and the resilience of the Jagannath Temple and the people who are its cornerstone. The reopening of this inner treasury is the reminder of the glorious past and never ceasing spiritual life of Puri.
