Puri Jagannath temple's ‘Ratna Bhandar’ re-opens after 4 decades
PTC News Desk: The Shri Jagannath Temple's 'Ratna Bhandar' (treasure trove) reopened on Sunday after more than four decades.
The Shri Jagannath Temple's Ratna Bhandar opened in accordance with the Odisha government's Standard Operating Procedures. The Odisha government approved the opening of the Ratna Bhandar on Saturday after conducting an inventorization of valuables, including jewellery, that were kept inside.
To mark this event, the Office of the Chief Minister of Odisha, said on X, "Jai Jagannath Oh Lord! You are rhythmic. The whole world is oppressed by your desire. You are the heartbeat of the orthodox nation... The four doors of the temple were first opened at your will. Today, after 46 years of your will, the gem was opened with a great purpose...I strongly believe that this great work will be successful..."
Special boxes were also carried to the Shri Jagannath Temple in preparation for the reopening of 'Ratna Bhandar' (Treasure Trove) today.
Arabinda Padhee, Chief of the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), said, "Odisha government has approved the SOP for opening the Ratna Bhandar. As per the decision, today the Ratna Bhandar is being opened as per set guidelines. Authorised representatives from the various 'sewa' groups, officials from the ASI, representatives of Shri Gajapati Maharaj and others would be there. The entire proceedings will be video recorded for our records, not for publicity and will be strictly confidential."
He went on to say that Ratna Bhandar's valuables will be opened and inventoried in three steps according to standard operating procedures.
"There are three steps to the SOP: The first is the opening of the outer ratna bhandar. For the inner Ratna Bhandar, there is another set of guidelines. There is also a temporary, strong room... Once the shift from Ratna Bhandar to the strong room has been made, we will inventory the valuables. We seek the blessings of Mahaprabhu that the Ratna Bhandar gets opened easily, and the subsequent steps will follow," he added.
- PTC NEWS
