Jagannath Temple to begin treasury audit today for first time in 40 years – What we know
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Jagannath Temple to begin treasury audit today for first time in 40 years – What we know")
A view of the moon at the Jagannath Puri Temple in Puri. Photograph: (ANI)
Jagannath Temple begins its first treasury audit in 40 years, verifying jewellery and ornaments. Outer and inner chambers will be checked under court order without affecting darshan, ensuring transparency.
The Jagannath Temple at Puri is set to begin its first treasury audit of jewellery and other valuables from Wednesday (Mar 25), marking the comprehensive verification of its gold, diamonds, and other ornaments in over 40 years. The Ratna Bhandar (temple treasury), which dates back to the 12th century, will be opened for the process during an auspicious window between 12:09 pm and 1:25 pm Chaitra Shukla Saptami, the seventh day of the bright fortnight in the Hindu month of Chaitra, which is often dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga. The exercise is to be completed within three months, according to the Orissa High Court order.
According to an HT report, citing retired Orissa High Court judge Biswanath Rath, who heads the temple’s inventorisation committee, said that the exercise will verify every ornament against the nearly 50-year-old register and determine what survives, what is missing and what has been added.
“The inventory will cover three distinct categories of treasure. First to be counted are the Chalanti Ratna Bhandar, or the outer, movable treasury, which holds ornaments used in the daily adornment of the Holy Trinity of Lord Jagannath, Goddess Subhadra, and Lord Balabhadra. It has crowns, garlands, earrings, armlets, ankle ornaments, forehead marks, and celestial symbols,” Justice (retd) Rath told HT.
Once the documentation for the outer treasury is completed, the audit will move to the Bhitara Ratna Bhandar, or the inner chamber, which holds the temple’s original and most ancient valuables. Since the compilation of the list by the servitors in 1978, it has not been entered.
The administration has said that the Lord’s Niti Kanti, Bhog Aarti, or darshan for devotees will not be affected by the audit process. It added that the counting will be conducted in phases or a time-staggered manner to ensure crowd management and the temple’s decorum.
A six-member supervising committee, including renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik, will oversee the process and ensure procedural compliance. Another handling committee of 12 categories of members will assist in identifying and authenticating the ornaments. It will include representatives from recognised commercial banks and the Reserve Bank of India, temple servitors, administrative officials and temple goldsmiths.
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