TV
Though Lord Jagannath is fond of ornaments and a huge quantity of valuable gold and other precious metals have been stored in the Ratna Bhandar of Puri Srimandir, the Holy Trinity are adorned with old and damaged ornaments during the ‘Suna Besha’ (golden attire) every year. The development has irked countless devotees and servitors of Lord Jagannath.
Lakhs of devotees witness the golden attire of Lord Jagannath and His sibling deities-Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra. However, the deities have been adorned with the same set of ornaments for so many years. Old ornaments are also used during the other avatars of the Holy Trinity.
Apart from old ornaments, some partially damaged ornaments are also used to embellish the deities. During ‘Suna Besha’ in 2021, a partially damaged ‘kirita’ was found adorning Lord Jagannath. The ‘Kiaphala’ (a portion of the ornament) was damaged and to cover it, flower garlands were used. The development irked countless devotees and servitors of Lord Jagannath. They have demanded that new sets of ornaments should be made for the deities.
“Lord Jagannath is the Lord of the Universe. He has everything. When huge quantities of valuables are available in the Ratna Bhandar of Srimandir, it’s painful to see the deities embellished with old and damaged ornaments. As the Ratna Bhandar has been opened, at least five to six sets of new ornaments should be made for the deities,” said Lord Jagannath’s Chief Badagrahi Jagannath Swain Mohapatra.
Apart from Ratna Bhandar, some devotees have donated gold to Lord Jagannath and around 30 kg of the precious metal has been deposited in banks. As many as 522 silver bricks recovered from Emar mutt have been kept in the district armoury. Hence, servitors have demanded that Holy Trinity’s old ornaments should be changed.
“Various ornaments of the deities have become very old and some of those have been damaged. Some new sets of ornaments should be made,” said SJTA managing committee member, Madhaba Chandra Mohapatra.
In response, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said, “Everything belongs to Lord Jagannath who is the Lord of the universe. Whenever required proper decision will be made in this regard.”
