All Eyes On Puri Srimandir’s Ratna Bhandar Opening; But What’s Inside The Treasure Trove?

All eyes are now on the opening of the Ratna Bhandar, the treasure trove of Lord Jagannath in Puri Srimandir. Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said that the Ratna Bhandar of Puri Srimandir is most likely to be opened on July 14, this Sunday; he also said that a detailed SOP is being prepared in this regard.Approving the high-level Committee’s recommendation for the opening of Ratna Bhandar, the Puri Srimandir managing committee on Wednesday gave a proposal in this regard to the Odisha government.What's Inside Ratna Bhandar of Puri Srimandir? As per legends, the kings of Puri had earlier donated precious stones, stone-studded crowns and other ornaments they brought with them after defeating different states in battle. Last time, the inventory of these valuables at Ratna Bhandar took more than 70 days.Owing to massive technological advancements, it is expected that this time, the inventory will be completed comparatively in less time. In 1805, the then Puri Collector Charles Grome made a list of the ornaments kept in the Ratna Bhandar. At that time, there were 1333 items including 74 types of ornaments. Similarly, it was mentioned that the Ratna Bhandar had 128 gold coins, 1297 silver coins, 106 copper coins and 24 ancient gold coins. Subsequently, another list was prepared in 1978. In that list, it was mentioned that the treasure trove had 454 types of gold ornaments weighing 12,883 ‘bhari’ and 293 types of silver ornaments weighing 22,153 ‘bhari’. Besides, the deities’ running treasure trove had eight types of gold items over 299 ‘bhari’ and 23 types of silver items weighing 2603 ‘bhari’.Everyone is now eagerly waiting for the final decision as they are curious to know what the treasure trove of the Lord of the Universe has, and whether they are safe or not.