Bhubaneswar: The Jagannath temple authorities in Puri have decided that the inventory of jewellery and valuables stored in the renovated ‘Ratna Bhandar’ (treasury) will be finalized by April next year. They will also seek to retrieve silver ingots valued at Rs 90 crore, which were recovered from Emar Mutt, a 1,500-year-old monastery near the Jagannath temple in Puri, in 2011, and are currently kept in the district armoury. A significant meeting of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, chaired by Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the titular king of Puri, was held on Friday.
After the meeting, SJTA Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee informed reporters that all jewellery and valuables of the 12th-century shrine are stored at their original location, the Ratna Bhandar, following its repairs. On July 7, the SJTA announced that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the temple’s custodian, had completed the restoration of the Ratna Bhandar, which reopened in 2024 after being closed for four decades for renovations and inventory purposes. “It has been decided that the inventory of the Ratna Bhandar items will be conducted in phases, considering the temple’s rituals. However, it is targeted to complete the inventory by the upcoming Akshya Tritiya,” Padhee stated.
The next Akshya Tritiya is on April 19, 2026, which marks the start of the Lord Jagannath chariot-making process each year. The inventory process will include digitizing the ornaments and other valuable items, according to the SJTA Chief Administrator. Regarding the silver ingots retrieved from Emar Mutt following a foiled theft attempt, Padhee noted that the matter is currently in the High Court. The management plans to pursue legal channels to transfer ownership of these ingots to the Lord. Emar Mutt, established by philosopher-saint Ramanujacharya in 1050, is situated in the southeastern corner of the Jagannath temple complex.
In 2011, a total of 522 silver ingots, weighing 18 tonnes, were discovered within the mutt, valued at Rs 90 crore, and are being securely stored at the district armoury. The SJTA has asked the State government to advocate for the transfer of ownership of the silver ingots to the Jagannath temple. The mutt had approached the High Court for ownership after the State seized the ingots. Following the discovery in 2011, the mutt’s former Mahant was arrested on theft charges. Padhee also mentioned that meeting attendees approved a proposal to create a new set of gold ornaments for the trinity – Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath.
“It has been decided to introduce the ‘Swarna Alankara Dana Yojana’ for this purpose, allowing devotees to donate gold and silver for the new ornaments,” he stated. Additionally, it was agreed that a new facility will soon allow devotees to donate directly to the Lord while withdrawing cash from ATMs in Puri. Under the servitors’ welfare scheme, financial assistance for the marriage of servitors’ daughters will be increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, and support for the ‘Brataghara’ (sacred thread) ceremony will rise from Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000. The issue concerning ISKCON’s premature “Rath Yatra” was also addressed during the meeting.