Puri: Shree Jagannath Temple authorities Saturday said the inventory process of the sacred ‘Ratna Bhandar’ of the Puri temple will resume May 11 and will continue for two days, adhering to the SOPs approved by the Odisha government.
Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee said that the Ratna Bhandar (treasury) inventory was paused for some days due to the ongoing ‘Chandan Jatra’ of the Lord.
“As the bahar (outer) Chandan Jatra festival will be completed Sunday, it was decided to resume Ratna Bhandar inventory May 11 and May 12 following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP),” Padhee said.
The Ratna Bhandar inventory work started in the 12th-century shrine March 25, 2026, after a gap of 48 years, as per the approval of the state government.
“So far, the inventory of the jewellery and valuables kept in ‘Chalanti Bhandar’ (daily use ornaments) and ‘Bahar Bhandar’ (festival ornaments) are completed, while the counting of the items is underway in the ‘Bhitar Bhandar’ (inner chamber where valuables are stored). It was temporarily suspended due to Chandan Jatra,” an official said.
The chief administrator said that so far, inventory has been conducted for 57 hours and eight minutes during the previous nine-day phase. During this period, nearly 120 items kept inside the inner chamber were counted. This could be 20 per cent of the total inventory work, he said.
Of the nine days’ inventory, the counting process could be done only for four days in the inner chamber, officials said, adding that all valuables are being cross-verified with the temple records of 1978, the previous inventory.
Gemologists, goldsmiths and other experts are engaged in the inventory process, and each item is photographed, video-graphed and 3D mapping is being done to maintain transparency, the official said.
Gold, silver and other valuables are being wrapped in colour-coded cloths and preserved systematically in specially prepared chests according to their metal classification to ensure transparency and long-term preservation, he said.
After the inventory work of each day, the keys of the inner chamber are kept at the state treasury for security reasons, he said.
The inventory work is being conducted without affecting the daily rituals of the temple. The devotees are allowed to have darshan of the deities from ‘Bahar Katha’ (outer barricade) during the inventory work.
PTI
