The Shree Jagannath Temple administration announced on Saturday that the inventory of the outer treasury (Bahar Ratna Bhandar) of the 12th-century shrine in Odisha’s Puri has been completed.
Jagannath Temple Chief Administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee stated that the first phase of the inventory exercise, which commenced on March 25, has been successfully concluded with the completion of the outer treasury work.
“The inventory process of the outer treasury of the Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri has been completed. The process began on March 25th, and the second phase has concluded, and the entire Ratna Bhandar inventory is now complete,” Padhee told news reporters.
In accordance with the government’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the next phase focusing on the inner Ratna Bhandar is scheduled to begin today, April 13. However, Padhee noted that the exercise will be temporarily paused shortly after its start due to the upcoming Chandan Yatra rituals.
This decision aims to ensure that the influx of devotees and temple activities remains unaffected during the significant religious period.
“As per the government’s standard operating procedure, the inventory of the inner Ratna Bhandar will start from April 13th. However, due to upcoming rituals for Chandan Yatra, the inventory process will be temporarily halted during this period and will resume once the ritualistic pressure reduces, ensuring there is no adverse impact on the darshan of the deities,” he said.
Justice Biswanath Rath (Retd), Chairman of the Inspection Committee for the Ratna Bhandar of Shri Jagannath Temple, also stated that the outer treasury work is nearing completion and expressed confidence that the remaining process would be completed smoothly.
“The work of the outer treasury is underway. Our endeavour was to complete this work this week, which is now almost done. We will try to finish the inner treasury work now. Every item in the treasury is safe,” he said.
Previously, Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan had outlined the three-day window of April 8-10 for the enumeration of the Bahar Ratna Bhandar ornaments. He noted that the process involves matching each item against the historical inventory list compiled in 1978 to ensure total transparency.
“The enumeration of Ratna Bhandar will start again, commencing on the 8th of this month. For the 8th, 9th, and 10th, the dates were scheduled, and I am expecting that by the end of the third day, we will be able to complete the enumeration of all the ornaments in Bahar Ratna Bhandar,” he had said.
To modernise the temple records, the administration is utilising 3D photography and digital documentation. Minister Harichandan explained that identifying the nomenclature of each ornament and creating a digital archive will serve as a definitive reference for future generations.
“We will then be able to produce a proper listing of the ornaments, matching it with the list compiled in 1978. We are taking all kinds of digital photographs, including 3D photography. The nomenclature is being identified and will be properly stored for subsequent years,” Harichandan said.
The minister added that the entire exercise is expected to be completed before the Rath Yatra.
