Will the secrets of Srimandir Ratna Bhandar finally be unveiled?

After a long gap of 46 years, the Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of the 12th-century Puri Srimandir was finally opened on Sunday. Countless devotees are waiting for the counting and the inventory work of the various ornaments and valuables kept inside the treasure trove. Now the question mark arises will the mystery of the Ratna Bhandar finally be revealed?

As per sources, the Gajapati Kings of Puri had brought many ‘rarest of the rare jewels, various ornaments, gemstones, other valuables, 34 crowns and thrones by defeating as many as 64 kings in the past. These valuables, donated and gifted to Lord Jagannath, are housed in different chambers of the Ratna Bhandar. 

It has been learnt that the treasure trove has a third chamber and another secret ground chamber apart from the inner and outer 'bhandars'. As per sources, many valuables along with the rare ornaments of Lord’s ‘Raghunatha Besha’ have been kept inside the secret chamber. Several devotees are in doubt whether these valuables will be retrieved from the Ratna Bhandar or not.

Meanwhile, many historians are of the opinion that major parts of the Ranta Bhandar have been shrouded in mystery and investigation should be made to find out the third and the secret chamber of the Ratna Bhandar.

“The Moguls closed all the four dwaras and remained inside for more than four months. However, they were not successful to have any clue about the Ratna Bhandar. They could only loot the ‘Chalanti Bhandar’ (active chamber). However, as per the older generation, there are four chambers inside the Ratna Bhandar. It is still a mystery whether there is a secret chamber. Moreover, they are also of the opinion that there are three more chambers inside the secret chamber as well,” said historian Surendra Kumar Mishra.

Significant year for Srimandir

The year 1978 is significant for the Jagannath Temple in Puri, as it was the last time the mysterious Ratna Bhandar was opened. The inventory work continued for 71 days from May 13 to July 23 in that year. During the counting, many rare gold ornaments of the deities, gemstones and other silver equipment were retrieved. There were three categories of ornaments including 354 types of gold ornaments and 293 types of silver ornaments. 

“We have many advanced instruments now to identify the carat of the gold and identify the gemstones. The counting work took more than 70 days in 1978. This time, it may last a maximum of 20-25 days,” said Sourabh Prasad, Managing Director of Prasad Jewellers, Rourkela.

Historians say

Further question mark has been raised whether the inspection committee will only open the inner and outer Ratna Bhandar or there will also be an investigation into other chambers. As per the historians, no records are available as to when the third chamber of Ratha Bhandar was opened last time. Nobody also knows what is inside it. A few decades back, the then administrator of Srimandir Rabindra Narayan Mishra had made a startling revelation about Srimandir. According to Mishra, as many as 34 crowns and the valuable ornaments of Lord’s rare ‘Raghunatha Besha’ might be there in the third chamber.

“The ornaments of ‘Raghunatha Besha’ are not in the second chamber. By opening the third chamber, it can only be known if the rare ornaments are there or not. It could be executed with a joint effort by the Odisha government, temple and the district administration,” said historian Surendra Kumar Mishra.

“Once, a person was sent to the secret chamber in a basket with the help of a rope. However, when the basket was pulled up, the person was found to have vanished and there were some dead pigeons in the basket. It made the team scared and the work stopped there," he added.