Bhubaneswar: The inventory and documentation of valuables kept in the Ratna Bhandar, the treasury of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, will resume on August 31 and September 1, temple authorities said. Shree Jagannath Temple Chief Administrator Dr Aravind Padhee said preparations for the two-day exercise have begun and the inventory will be conducted strictly in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) approved by the Odisha government.
The dates have been finalised keeping in view the various religious festivals and rituals at the temple, as well as the need to ensure that the daily rituals of the deities are not affected. Padhee appealed to all servitors and devotees to extend their cooperation and support for the smooth conduct of the exercise.
The latest phase of the inventory is part of the ongoing documentation and verification of the temple’s valuable ornaments and other items stored in the Ratna Bhandar. The Chalanti Bhandar inventory has already been completed, while the process involving the Bahara Bhandar is nearing completion. The inventory of valuables in the Bhitar Ratna Bhandar is currently underway.
Officials said the exercise is being conducted under the supervision of a high-level monitoring team. Gemologists, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) experts, expert goldsmiths and photographers are being involved in the process to ensure systematic identification and documentation of the ornaments and valuables.
For the first time, gemologists have been included in the exercise. Officials said gemologists were not engaged during the previous inventory conducted in 1978. Their expertise is being utilised to identify and document the ornaments more scientifically and systematically.
The inventory process involves detailed videography, photography and 3D mapping of the valuables. The ornaments will also be carefully covered in multiple layers and stored securely in chests after the inventory, officials said.
The exercise is primarily aimed at documentation and verification. Officials have clarified that the ongoing process inside the Bhitar Ratna Bhandar is limited to counting and identification and does not involve valuation of the valuables.
According to temple authorities, details recorded during the ongoing inventory will be cross-checked with the 1978 inventory list. The same procedure will be followed in the next phase to maintain transparency and avoid any confusion or discrepancies.
The inventory of the Ratna Bhandar, which had remained suspended since May 23, was resumed for one day on August 19. During that exercise, ornaments used on the Sri Anga of the sibling deities—Bhagwan Jagannath, Bhagwan Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra—and ornaments removed during the Snana Purnima rituals were counted and verified against the earlier records.
The previous phase had been conducted on May 22, from 4:20 pm to 8:18 pm, with the actual counting process lasting a maximum of three hours and 58 minutes, according to officials. The broader inventory exercise began on March 25, 2025, after a gap of nearly 48 years. Since then, the temple administration has been undertaking the documentation and verification process in phases, while maintaining strict security and ensuring that the regular rituals of the deities remain unaffected.
Padhee said special care would be taken to ensure that the inventory does not disrupt the religious rituals and daily activities of the temple. The administration is also taking measures under the approved SOP to ensure that the valuable ornaments and other articles remain safely preserved for the long term.
The chief administrator once again appealed to servitors, temple officials and devotees to cooperate with the administration during the two-day exercise beginning August 31
