Ratna Bhandar: The Sacred Treasure Of Lord Jagannath

Ratna Bhandar: The Sacred Treasure Of Lord Jagannath

Lord Jagannath’s Puri Sri Mandir is steeped in history, rich culture, and miraculous stories. Devotees from Odisha and around the world share a deep connection with the Lord. After years of legal battles, controversies, and debates, the Ratna Bhandar, the sacred treasury of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, was finally opened after 46 years on July 14.

The process took over four hours. A 12-member team shifted the valuables in four wooden chests to a temporary strong room inside the temple premises. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, the Chief Administrator of the temple stated, “We have accessed both chambers. Since the locks on the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar could not be opened, we had to break them. We adhered to all Standard Operating Procedures provided to us.”

“We have relocated the ornaments from the outer chamber to a temporary strong room within the temple complex and sealed it. While we observed almirahs and trunks containing jewellery in the inner chamber, we couldn’t transfer these items to another temporary strong room due to time constraints,” Padhee added.

“The present government has been working proactively to resolve the Ratna Bhandar issues. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will start the repair work very soon. We will compile an inventory of the inner chamber’s jewellery after its renovation. After complete renovation the ornaments will again be taken back to the Ratna Bhandar. With the grace of lord Jagannath everything will be transparent for sure,” concluded another committee member, CA Rajib Sekhar Sahoo.

The Ratna Bhandar, situated at a height of 11.78 metres and measuring 8.79 m by 6.74 m, is the most precious property and is situated on the northern side of the ‘Jagamohan’ of Jagannath Temple. According to the rules and practices of Sri Mandir, the gold jewellery and ornaments offered to the three deities Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra  in various occasions are to be stored in this Ratna Bhandar.  The Ratna Bhandar in Sri Mandir has two chambers namely, the ‘Bhitar Bhandar’ (Inner Treasury) and ‘Bahar Treasury’ (Outer Treasury). The Record of Rights prepared under Puri Sri Jagannath Temple Act, 1952 contains a list of the valuable jewels and gold ornaments etc. of Lord Jagannath. 

According to the 1978 inventory, Bhitara Bhandar contains 367 gold items weighing 4,364 bhori and 231 silver items weighing 14,878 bhori. Bahara Bhandar includes 79 gold items totaling 8,175 bhori and 39 silver items totaling 4,671 bhori, which are used during ceremonial or festive occasions. Additionally, there are 8 gold items weighing 299 bhori and 23 silver items weighing 2,693 bhori for daily use.

The Missing Key:

On April 4, 2018, an attempt was made to reopen it for a physical examination, but it was unsuccessful. A 16-member team, following a high court order, entered the Ratna Bhandar to assess its condition. However, they could only inspect the inner chambers from outside an iron grill using searchlights, as the keys could not be located. Despite a thorough search through various iron chests and bank lockers, the keys remained missing, according to PTI sources.

In response to public outcry, the Odisha government appointed an inquiry commission led by retired Orissa High Court judge Raghubir Dash to investigate the missing keys. Earlier this year, the Odisha High Court also established a panel under retired Supreme Court Justice Arijit Pashayat to oversee the inventory process of the valuables, including jewellery stored in the Ratna Bhandar.

Political Affairs:

The Bharatiya Janata Party made the opening of the Ratna Bhandar a central issue in the 2024 elections as during its 24 years in power for some reasons, the Naveen Patnaik Government did not attempt to open the Ratna Bhandar, despite concerns about its structural stability and the safety of the ornaments. Public interest litigations were filed in the Odisha High Court, which subsequently issued a notice to the State Government to provide an update on the situation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also promised to open the treasury during his campaign. On July 4, a month after the election results, the Majhi Government established a high-level committee chaired by former Orissa High Court judge Justice Biswanath Rath to oversee the cataloguing of the valuables. This move followed the dissolution of a similar committee led by former Supreme Court Judge Justice Arijit Pasayat by the BJP Government. In its second meeting, the committee chaired by Justice Rath decided to proceed with opening the Ratna Bhandar on July 14. The committee also recommended new standard operating procedures for the opening, cataloguing, and ensuring the safety of the treasures.

Bahara Bhandar:

The sacred repository houses 150 gold ornaments, including the Suna Mukuta (headgear) of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra, weighing 7.11 kg, 5 kg, and 3.2 kg respectively. It also contains three gold necklaces (Hanidakanthi Mali), each weighing 1.3 kg, as well as the Suna Shree Bhuja (hands) and Shree Payar (feet) of Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra, weighing 9.5 kg and 8.2 kg respectively. Additionally, the collection includes various other gold ornaments, some adorned with precious gemstones.

Bhitara Bhandar:

This inner treasury holds a vast collection of 180 pieces of jewellery, featuring 74 pure gold ornaments, each weighing over 1.1 kg, along with gold plates, pearls, diamonds, corals, and 146 silver articles, each exceeding 5.8 kg.

Snakes Inside The Ratna Bhandar!

Hours before opening the Ratna Bhandar, the team offered prayers to Lord Lokanath, the guardian deity of the treasury, and received his “Agyanmala,” signalling his consent. When the Ratna Bhandar was finally opened, several bats inside flew out. The team also prayed to Goddess Bimala and Goddess Lakshmi. According to ancient beliefs, Lord Lokanath, who is considered the protector of the Bitara Ratna Bhandar, resides there in the form of a snake. Therefore, assistance was sought from the Snake Helpline before proceeding with the opening.

Subhendu Mallick, chief of the Snake Helpline, said, “We were instructed to assist with the Ratna Bhandar opening but were not called into the inner chamber.” Dismissing concerns about snakes Dr. CBK Mohanty, a member of the Ratna Bhandar monitoring committee stated, “I did not observe any snakes inside. There were no unusual conditions in the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar.”

Past Records:

This fabulous treasury of the Jagannath Temple has been enriched by the contribution and donations offered by the devotees from all over the world. According to ‘Madala Panji’, King Anangabhima Dev donated 2,50,000 ‘Madhas’ of gold (1 Madha=1/2 Tola=5.8319 grams) for preparing Sri Jagannath’s gold ornaments. 

The Suryavamsi rulers of Orissa generously donated valuable jewels and gold to Lord Jagannath. According to an inscription on the Digvijay Dwar wall of the Jagannath Temple, Gajapati Kapilendra Dev offered a substantial amount of gold, jewel ornaments, and utensils to Sri Jagannath in 1466 A.D. Historian R.D. Banerjee noted in his book "History of Orissa" (p. 30) that many of these ornaments were still in use as late as 1893.

Following the death of Gajapati Mukund Dev, his adopted son Lalmohan Dev (grandson of Bamanda Raja Sudhal Dev) was crowned Gajapati Ramachandra Dev IV on February 14, 1926. He assumed the role of Superintendent of Sri Jagannath Temple and took charge of its properties. Upon doing so, he issued receipts for the valuable jewellery and cash stored in the Ratna Bhandar. The original lists and receipts are preserved in the Puri Collectorate Record Room, secured with the signatures of Dayanidhi Das (the then Collector of Puri), Rai Bahadur Lokanath Mishra, and Mahant Gadadhar Ramanuj Das of Emar Math.

A Special Officer appointed under the Sri Jagannath Temple Act, 1952, reported in Chapter VI that the items listed in 1926, acknowledged by the then Raja of Puri, are to be considered the properties of Lord Jagannath in the Ratna Bhandar. This comprehensive list, which includes 837 items, was published in the Orissa Gazette (Extraordinary issued on September 3, 1967).

The Sri Jagannath Temple Act, 1954 (Orissa Act II of 1955) came into effect on October 27, 1960. On that day, the Sri Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, led by the Gajapati Maharaja, assumed control of the temple. According to the Act, the safe custody of the Ratna Bhandar is the responsibility of this committee.

Rule 5 of the Sri Jagannath Temple Rules, 1960 stipulates that no jewellery can be removed from the Ratna Bhandar without specific orders from the State Government and must adhere to any conditions set by the Government. The articles in the Ratna Bhandar are divided into three categories:

1. Category I: Articles kept in Bhitar Bhandar and never used.

2. Category II: Articles used only on ceremonial or festive occasions.

3. Category III: Articles for the daily use of the deities.

To access the Bhitar Bhandar, one must pass through the Bahar Bhandar.

Rule 6 states that Category I articles must remain under double lock, sealed with the Managing Committee's seal, with keys deposited in the Government Treasury. These locks can only be opened with special orders from the State Government, subject to specific conditions and limitations set by the Government.

Category II articles are kept under double lock, with one key held by the Administration and the other by the Patajoshi Mahapatra. These locks are opened as needed in the presence of the Administrator, Patajoshi Mahapatra, Deulakaran, Tadhau Karan, and other authorised Committee members.

Whenever jewellery is issued, it must be given to the Bhandar Mekap with a proper receipt signed by all the authorised individuals. After use, the jewellery must be returned immediately in the presence of these individuals. The Administrator, along with the Patajoshi Mahapatra, will then re-deposit the items in the Ratna Bhandar. The third category of articles remains locked within the Ratna Bhandar, with the key held by the Bhandar Mekap, who is accountable to the Administrator.

Articles for daily use of the deities are handled according to the Record of Rights. The second and third categories of items are verified at least once every six months by the Administrator and authorised Committee members. The results are reviewed by the Committee and then reported to the State Government.

In March 1962, L. Mishra, the then Administrator, began verifying the Ratna Bhandar, continuing until August 1964. During this period, 602 items were checked, and the report was submitted to the Committee. A resolution on August 9, 1966, called for a fresh verification, which started in May 1967. However, only 433 items were checked, and no report was submitted due to incomplete work. A further verification was completed by July 1978 and included in the Committee's report.

Justice Harihar Mahapatra, a Committee member, noted in his autobiography "Jiban O Jibika" (published by Lark Books in 1987, reprinted in 2004) that no action was taken on the report's recommendations, and a proper valuation of the jewellery in the Ratna Bhandar was not completed, except for establishing a Hundi in the Temple. No further verification of the Bhitar Bhandar (Inner Treasury) was conducted afterward.

Lists of Bahar Bhandar articles for daily and occasional use were created from March to July 1976, and a third lock was added to the Bahar Bhandar, with its key held by the Administrator. On April 7, 1978, the Orissa Government formed a high-level committee to review and suggest improvements for the management of the Sri Jagannath Temple. Chaired by Governor Bhagabat Dayal Sharma, the committee included notable members and its Secretary, Bibhutibhusan Tripathy, I.A.S (Retd.). The committee submitted its report to the Chief Minister on March 31, 1979. 

Following the committee's recommendations and State Government instructions, a complete inventory of the Ratna Bhandar’s gold and silver articles was conducted in May 1978. On August 23, 1983, a Hundi was established in the Nata Mandap of the Sri Mandir, where devotees contributed gold, jewels, and cash. By October 2009, the Hundi had collected 980.990 grams of gold and 50,217.832 grams of silver.

Devotees also contribute gold and silver jewellery to the Jharis Pindika placed on the Ratna Simhasan during 'Sahan Mela' Darshan and 'Parimanik' Darshan. It is unclear whether these items are stored in the Ratna Bhandar or elsewhere, and whether they are properly valued. There are concerns that a thorough valuation of the Ratna Bhandar's contents has not been conducted. Proper attention to the valuation and safe custody of these precious items is crucial to maintaining transparency and trust among devotees.

(With reference from “Sri Ratna Bhandar in Sri Mandir” by Lalmohan Patnaik)