Row over Jagannath temple’s treasure room: Why has it not been unlocked in 38 years, why demands to open now

This came two days after the Congress staged a show of strength in Puri and raised the issue of the Ratna Bhandar, among other matters.

What is the Ratna Bhandar of the temple, why has it not been opened for years, and why is the demand to unlock it being raised now?

What is Puri temple Ratna Bhandar?

The precious ornaments of sibling deities — Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra — given by devotees and erstwhile kings over centuries, are stored in the Ratna Bhandar of the 12th century shrine. It is located within the temple and has two chambers—Bhitar Bhandar (inner chamber) and Bahara Bhandar (outer chamber).

The outer chamber is opened regularly to fetch ornaments for the deities during the Suna Besha (golden attire), a key ritual during the annual Rath Yatra, and also during major festivals throughout the year. The inner chamber has not opened in the past 38 years.

Who wants the Ratna Bhandar opened, and why?

Demands to open the Ratna Bhandar gained strength after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the custodian of the 12th-century shrine, gave a requisition for repair/conservation of the chamber. There are apprehensions that cracks have emerged in its walls that could endanger the precious ornaments stored there.

Servitors, devotees, and temple managing committee members have asked for the reopening to ascertain the safety of the structure and its contents, and to make an inventory. The Puri royal scion is also in favour of opening the Ratna Bhandar.

When was the Ratna Bhandar last opened?

According to official sources, the last inventory of the Ratna Bhandar was made between May 13 and July 23, 1978. Though it was opened again on July 14, 1985, the inventory was not updated.

According to a reply made by former law minister Pratap Jena in the state Assembly in April 2018, in 1978, the Ratna Bhandar had 12,831 bhari (one bhari equals to 11.66gm) of gold ornaments fitted with precious stones and 22,153 bhari of silver utensils, among others.

There were certain other ornaments which could not be weighed during the inventory process.

What is the process to open the treasure house?

Permission of the Odisha government is required. Following a direction from the Orissa High Court based on ASI reports, the state government had attempted to open the chamber for physical inspection on April 4, 2018. This attempt was unsuccessful because the keys of the chamber could not be found. The ASI team, thus, carried out the inspection from outside.

Have the missing keys been found?

On April 5, 2018, the then Puri collector Arvind Agarwal stated in a temple committee meeting that there was no information on the keys, which led to state-wide outrage. The Puri collector is the custodian of the key of the inner treasure.

Two months later, on June 4, 2018, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a judicial inquiry headed by Justice Raghubir Das, a retired judge of the Orissa HC, to probe the loss of the keys.

On June 13, days after the judicial inquiry was ordered, Agarwal said an envelope with “duplicate keys of inner Ratna Bhandar” written on it had been found in the record room of the collectorate.

Meanwhile, the commission submitted a 324-page report to the Odisha government on November 29, 2018. The details of the findings are yet to be made public.

Why has the issue resurfaced?

In August 2022, the ASI once again wrote to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, seeking its permission to inspect the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar. It is yet to get the permission.

Amid demand from various quarters, including eminent sand artist and SJTMC member Sudarsan Pattnaik, to reopen the treasure house, Opposition parties have been targeting the Odisha government’s “delaying tactics”.

In face of the growing demand, the temple managing committee in August recommended to the government that the Ratna Bhandar be opened during the annual Rath Yatra of 2024.

What has the Orissa HC said?

In July, former BJP president Samir Mohanty filed a PIL in the Orissa HC over the Ratna Bhandar issue.

In its verdict pronounced last month, the HC directed the government to form a high-level committee within two months, if the SJTMC approaches it, to supervise the inventory-making of the valuables. The court, however, declined to interfere with the plan of work regarding inventory and repairs of the inner walls of the treasure house.