Bhubaneswar, July 18 The shifting of ornaments and precious stones stored in the Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of the Jagannath Temple at Puri to the temporary strong room inside the temple was completed on Thursday.
The 11-member team headed by retired justice Biswanath Rath, chairman of the inspection committee formed to supervise the opening of Ratna Bhandar, opened the inner chamber of the treasure trove at the fixed auspicious time on Thursday.
“We had opened the locks at the auspicious time which was fixed according to the traditional Hindu almanac. With the help of the 11-member team along with other servitors, the treasures of the deities were shifted in a more than seven-hour-long operation. We have only shifted the valuables from the inner Ratna Bhandar to the temporary strong room as per the SOP. Later, both the old inner chamber of Ratna Bhandara and the temporary strong room were sealed as per the SOP and all the keys were handed over to the Puri’s collector,” said Rath.
He said that the valuables of the deities were kept in three wooden and one steel almirahs, two wooden and one iron chests inside the inner chamber of the treasure trove of the 12th-century shrine. All the valuables have been shifted to appropriate new Almirahs in the temporary strong rooms.
However, Rath declined to divulge details regarding the ornaments in the inner chamber.
He also dispelled several myths surrounding the Ratna Bhandar that have been doing rounds on various media platforms. He denied noticing any secret tunnel, chamber or the presence of snakes inside the inner chamber of Ratna Bhandar.
“We never believed in such things. I appeal to the people that these are not based on facts. I also appeal to YouTubers, media and others not to spread such news,” added Rath.
After much hiatus and prolonged debate, the treasure trove of the famous Jagannath Temple was finally opened on Sunday after a gap of 46 years for the inventorisation of ornaments of the deities and the repairing of the Ratna Bhandar.
--IANS
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