Jagannath Puri: temple
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The deities
Weekly facial, 2023
Debabrata Mohapatra, July 19, 2023: The Times of India
Bhubaneswar : The charming faces of the presiding deities of Puri Jagannath temple — Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra — are cynosures of countless eyes across the globe.
However, thedivine faces have turned pale as their once-a-week facial has not been performed since July 1 due to unavailability of herbal products required for the makeup, servitors said, reports Debabrata Mohapatra.
“We require herbal products like hartala, hengula, karpura, kasturi and kaintha gum for the facial of the deities. But most items, including kasturi (musk), that we received from the temple administration are of poor quality. Unavailability of genuine raw materials has halted the facial ritual (Banakalagi) of the deities,” said Sanjay Kumar Duttamohapatra, a servitor, who does the facial.
Wary of the delay in the facial ritual at the temple, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) held a meeting in Puri on Tuesday. “We have decided to conduct the Banakalagi ritual,” SJTA’s chief administrator Ranjan Das said.
Assets
As in 1978-2023
Debabrata Mohapatra, July 7, 2023: The Times of India
Bhubaneswar : How rich is Lord Jagannath’s Puri temple? What could be the value of the diamonds, gold and silver belonging to the deities of Jagannath temple? The question has continued to remain a mystery for the last 45 years as an inventory of the gems and jewelleries stashed in the temple’s Ratna Bhandar (treasury) was last made in 1978.
After a PIL was filed in the Orissa HC on June 30, seeking to reopen the Ratna Bhandar for inventory, the HC Wednesday served a notice to the state-owned Shree Jagannath Temple Administration to file an affidavit. “We will go through the notice and respond,” SJTA’s chief administrator Ranjan Kumar Das told TOI.
While the Jagannath Temple Act 1955 says the Ratna Bhandar should be inventoried every three years, this has not been implemented. The treasury’s items were checked once in 1926 in 1978. Valuation of the jewelleries of the 1978 inventory was not made. In 2018, the state had attempted to reopen the Ratna Bhandar for a physical inspection of the structure. But it could not be completed as officials failed to open the inner chamber due to unavailability of the keys.
The assets, wealth of the Jagannath Puri Temple as in 1978-2023
Debabrata Mohapatra, July 7, 2023: The Times of India
RATNA BHANDAR
1 Jagannath temple’s bank deposits would be around Rs 600 crore
2 Nobody knows the exact quantity of gold and silver of the temple, and their market value
3 Around 128kg gold ornaments and 221kg silver utensils stored in Ratna Bhandar were inventoried in 1978
4 Gold donated by devotees to the temple is being deposited in a nationalised bank. Sources said its weight would be only around 3kg
5 There is 60,426 acres of land owned by Lord Jagannath in Odisha and 395.2 acres of land in six other states (West Bengal 322.9 acres, Maharashtra 28.2 acres, MP 25.1 acres, Andhra 17 acres, Chhattisgarh 1.7 acres and Bihar 0.3 acre). Its valuation has not been made so far
Guidelines
No weapons, shoes inside Puri Temple: SC
(With inputs from agencies), No weapons, shoes inside Puri Temple: SC, October 11, 2018: The Hindu
Bench takes note of violence during rally against queue system
The Supreme Court ordered that said no policemen should enter Puri’s Jagannath temple armed with weapons and wearing shoes.
A Bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta gave the direction taking note of the violence that had broken out during a protest against the introduction of a queue system for devotees of the temple on October 3.
The Bench was hearing a plea on behalf of an organisation that has filed an application for intervention in the matter, alleging that the local police entered the temple with guns and shoes during the violence.
The Odisha government’s counsel said no violence took place on the temple premises and termed the allegations baseless. The counsel said that the office of the temple administration, situated around 500 metres from the main temple, was attacked and ransacked during the violence.
Uprooted barricades
The bandh, called by Jagannath Sena, a Puri-based social-cultural organisation, turned violent when a large number of protesters uprooted the barricades put up to facilitate the entry of devotees into the temple through the main entrance in a queue.
The Jagannath Sena had called for a bandh after the temple administration introduced the queue system on Monday on an experimental basis.
The protest was supported by sections of temple servitors.
At least 10 policemen were injured when protesters resorted to violence to enforce the day-long bandh.
The agitators also damaged a police outpost and an information centre outside the temple as well as the Town police station, prompting the police to resort to a mild lathi-charge and tear-gas lobbing to control the situation. Several police vehicles were damaged.
Land holdings
As in 2019
Dhananjay Mahapatra, Nov 8, 2019: The Times of India
If a Supreme Court order in 2011 led to discovery of treasures in the vaults of the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala that made it the richest temple, a similar exercise by the top court now is likely to establish Jagannath temple in Puri as a major landowner.
A recent SC order revealed the temple owned a mindboggling 60,418 acres, or 244.5 square km, of land within and outside Odisha. The land owned by the temple is 15 times the size of Puri town, which is all of 16.33 sq km. What also caught the court’s attention was that the temple owns several quarries and mines but licensees are not paying any dues to the shrine.
In its order, an apex court bench of Justices Arun Mishra, M R Shah and S Ravindra Bhat said, “There are vast immovable properties within and outside the state belonging to the Shri Jagannath temple.”
The apex court bench said, “It is stated by amicus curiae (senior advocate Ranjit Kumar) in his report that 60,418 acres of land belong to the temple and record of rights has been prepared for 34,201 acres so far.”
SC: Let record of rights for remaining land be prepared
The apex court bench said, “It is stated by amicus curiae (senior advocate Ranjit Kumar) in his report that 60,418 acres of land belong to the temple and record of rights has been prepared for 34,201 acres so far. Let the record of rights for remaining land be prepared, as far as possible, within six months and the same placed before the court. With respect to other immovable properties within and outside the state, let inventory be prepared and details be submitted on how they are being utilised as also the income generated from them.” The bench posted the matter for hearing on January 8.
The bench ordered, “A list of quarries and mines be prepared as to how they are being managed, who is operating them, on what basis and what is the income of the temple from them and the outstanding dues. Let a list of quarries and mines be produced and the income generated/outstanding dues with names and other details.”
Giving primacy to carrying out of rituals at the temple as insisted by Shankaracharya of Govardhan Math, Puri, the bench said, “What are the rituals to be performed is not for the court to decide, but when the temple exists due to the deities, the deities cannot be permitted to be disregarded by non-performance of ‘nitis’, puja and rituals in the traditional form as observed by the Shankaracharya, who suggested that these to be performed as per the guidelines laid in Brahma Purana, Vamdev Samhita, Panchatantra-Ishwar Samhita and Vimarsha, which mentions consecration, worship and different festivals related to Shri Jagannath temple.”
Nabakalebara ritual
The Nabakalebara (re-embodiment) of the fours deities, replacing the old idols with new ones - is an elaborate process in which they relinquish their old bodies and assume a new one.
The Nabakalebara is observed in a gap of 12 to 19 years. The last time Nabakalebara happened in 1996. The Nabakalebara process started on March 29 with the servitor starting their journey for the search of neem trees from which the idols were carved. This time, the neem trees were found in Jagatsinghpur and Khurda districts.
Badagrahis (body protector-cum-servitors) transfer soul from the old idols into the new idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan made from neem wood after an elaborate ritual.
During the transfer of the soul, eyes and hands of the servitors were covered with cloth-bands so that they can’t touch and see the Brahmapadarthas at the time of their transfer. The old idols were buried in Koilibaikuntha (also known as the graveyard of the deities) area of the temple premises. Like post-death rituals in Hindu households, the servitors who took part in last night’s event, would get tonsured after 10 days and mourn the death of old idols.
Ratna Bhandar
2018: Missing keys
Debabrata Mohapatra, Mystery of Puri temple’s missing keys, June 9, 2018: The Times of India
From: Debabrata Mohapatra, Mystery of Puri temple’s missing keys, June 9, 2018: The Times of India
Even as the Supreme Court issued a slew of directions while hearing complaints of mismanagement of finances at the Lord Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha governor Ganeshi Lal expressed concern over the missing keys of the inner chamber of its Ratna Bhandar which were last opened way back in 1985. “The Governor is eager to know the facts behind the missing keys,” said a statement from the Raj Bhavan.
The inner chamber of the 12th century temple’s Ratna Bhandar is supposed to contain a huge quantity of gold and silver ornaments. The district collector of Puri is the custodian of the keys and he discovered in April that they were missing. This prompted the Naveen Patnaik government on June 4 to set up a commission, headed by retired justice of Orissa HC Raghubir Das, to probe the case and submit a report within three months. But that seems to have added more suspicion to the controversy which has captivated the state.
The inner chamber of Ratna Bhandar is believed to contain more than 128 kg of gold ornaments and over 200 kg of silver utensils. While the outer chamber is opened regularly to fetch ornaments for the deities during the annual Rath Yatra and other important festivals, temple records suggest the inner chamber was last opened in 1985.
The three keys to the outer chamber are in custody of the Puri ‘king’ (whose family for generations looked after the temple), the temple administration and Bhandar Mekap, a priest who looks after the treasury.
It was in April that the disappearance of the keys to the inner chamber came to light after the Puri district administration said it could not locate them amid a debate whether the room needed repair after cracks were noticed in the structure.
“We have no idea where the keys to the inner Ratna Bhandar are. The keys to the outer chamber are safe,” Puri district collector Aravind Agarwal said, adding “We tried to locate the keys in the district treasury but could not find them.”
Puri ‘king’ Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb expressed surprise at the way many people, including temple servitors and senior BJD leader Damodar Rout, have raised questions about his role vis-a-vis the safe keep of the inner Ratna Bhandar keys.
The Jagannath Temple Act makes it mandatory to check the contents of the Ratna Bhandar every three years.
Demands for opening it: 2023
Sujit Bisoyi, Oct 20, 2023: The Indian Express
The Ratna Bhandar of the Puri Jagannath Temple was last opened in 1985. Here's why the BJP and the Congress are demanding its reopening.
What is the Ratna Bhandar of the temple, why has it not been opened for years, and why is the demand to unlock it being raised now?
What is Puri temple Ratna Bhandar?
The precious ornaments of sibling deities — Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra — given by devotees and erstwhile kings over centuries, are stored in the Ratna Bhandar of the 12th century shrine. It is located within the temple and has two chambers—Bhitar Bhandar (inner chamber) and Bahara Bhandar (outer chamber).
The outer chamber is opened regularly to fetch ornaments for the deities during the Suna Besha (golden attire), a key ritual during the annual Rath Yatra, and also during major festivals throughout the year. The inner chamber has not opened in the past 38 years.
Who wants the Ratna Bhandar opened, and why?
Demands to open the Ratna Bhandar gained strength after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the custodian of the 12th-century shrine, gave a requisition for repair/conservation of the chamber. There are apprehensions that cracks have emerged in its walls that could endanger the precious ornaments stored there.
Servitors, devotees, and temple managing committee members have asked for the reopening to ascertain the safety of the structure and its contents, and to make an inventory. The Puri royal scion is also in favour of opening the Ratna Bhandar.
When was the Ratna Bhandar last opened?
According to official sources, the last inventory of the Ratna Bhandar was made between May 13 and July 23, 1978. Though it was opened again on July 14, 1985, the inventory was not updated.
According to a reply made by former law minister Pratap Jena in the state Assembly in April 2018, in 1978, the Ratna Bhandar had 12,831 bhari (one bhari equals to 11.66gm) of gold ornaments fitted with precious stones and 22,153 bhari of silver utensils, among others.
There were certain other ornaments which could not be weighed during the inventory process.
What is the process to open the treasure house?
Permission of the Odisha government is required. Following a direction from the Orissa High Court based on ASI reports, the state government had attempted to open the chamber for physical inspection on April 4, 2018. This attempt was unsuccessful because the keys of the chamber could not be found. The ASI team, thus, carried out the inspection from outside.
Have the missing keys been found?
On April 5, 2018, the then Puri collector Arvind Agarwal stated in a temple committee meeting that there was no information on the keys, which led to state-wide outrage. The Puri collector is the custodian of the key of the inner treasure.
Two months later, on June 4, 2018, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a judicial inquiry headed by Justice Raghubir Das, a retired judge of the Orissa HC, to probe the loss of the keys.
On June 13, days after the judicial inquiry was ordered, Agarwal said an envelope with “duplicate keys of inner Ratna Bhandar” written on it had been found in the record room of the collectorate.
Meanwhile, the commission submitted a 324-page report to the Odisha government on November 29, 2018. The details of the findings are yet to be made public.
Why has the issue resurfaced?
In August 2022, the ASI once again wrote to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, seeking its permission to inspect the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar. It is yet to get the permission.
Amid demand from various quarters, including eminent sand artist and SJTMC member Sudarsan Pattnaik, to reopen the treasure house, Opposition parties have been targeting the Odisha government’s “delaying tactics”.
In face of the growing demand, the temple managing committee in August recommended to the government that the Ratna Bhandar be opened during the annual Rath Yatra of 2024.
What has the Orissa HC said?
In July, former BJP president Samir Mohanty filed a PIL in the Orissa HC over the Ratna Bhandar issue.
In its verdict pronounced last month, the HC directed the government to form a high-level committee within two months, if the SJTMC approaches it, to supervise the inventory-making of the valuables. The court, however, declined to interfere with the plan of work regarding inventory and repairs of the inner walls of the treasure house.
2024/Locks broken open, valuables moved to temporary room
Debabrata Mohapatra, July 15, 2024: The Times of India
From: Debabrata Mohapatra, July 15, 2024: The Times of India
Bhubaneswar : The door to the inner chamber of Puri Jagannath Temple’s treasury had to broken open on Sunday as the original keys have been missing since in 2018. The loss of the keys had put a halt to efforts that year of making an inventory of the valuables. The “misplaced” keys subsequently became a contentious political issue in the state.
Contrary to myths of snakes guarding the ratna bhandar, no reptiles were found when the designated team opened the chamber on Sunday. “We did not come across any snakes, insects, or reptiles,” said Puri district collector Siddharth Shankar Swain. To ensure safety, govt deployed 11 members of Snake Helpline, a voluntary unit specialising in snake rescue. “Our services were not needed as no snake was found,” said Subhendu Mallik from the helpline.
The inventory of valuables is on hold until Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) restores the ratna bhandar, which has developed cracks.
“We have shifted all the valuables from the outer chamber to a temporary strong room near the ratna bhandar. However, due to the paucity of time, we could not transfer the valuables from the inner chamber. It will be done another day,” said Arabinda Padhee, chief adminis- trator of SJTA.
Six large wooden chests were transported from Bhubaneswar to Puri for storing the valuables, with nine more in production. Justice Biswanath Rath, chairman of the committee overseeing the inventory, said the ratna bhandar was not fully dilapidated. “We found five almirahs and six or seven wooden chests (sinduka) in the inner chamber. We did not open them to check valuables.”
Govt announced that the inventory would occur inside the renovated ratna bhandar after ASI completes the conservation work.
Security in and around the 12th-century shrine has been tightened to monitor the shifting and audit of the jewellery. At least 85 RAF personnel have taken guard outside the temple, while five platoons of state police have been deployed inside. Police have installed advanced CCTV cameras in the strong room.
“Since there is no deadline for completion of the inventory work, we have asked our personnel to remain alert and vigilant in and around the temple. We request devotees to cooperate with us,” said Puri SP Pinak Mishra.
BJP had made reopening the ratna bhandar a key campaign promise during the 2024 assembly and Lok Sabha elections, held simultaneously in the state. It also comes days after govt decided to open all four gates of the temple. Before this, only the Lion’s Gate was kept open for entry and exit of devotees, while the other three had been shut since March 2020.
CM Mohan Majhi expressed his optimism on X: “Jai Jagannath. At your wish, first the four gates of the temple were reopened. Now, ratna bhandar has been reopened after 46 years. I firmly believe that the great endeavour will be successful.”
Antique idols found
Debabrata Mohapatra, July 16, 2024: The Times of India
BHUBANESWAR: Government officials and servitors, who opened Ratna Bhandar of Jagannath Temple on Sunday after 46 years, discovered several antique idols crafted from precious metals in the treasury’s inner chamber. These idols were not listed in any previous inventories.
“The ancient small idols — perhaps 5 to 7 in number — have turned almost black over the last four decades.We did not touch them. We immediately lit a diya and worshipped the idols. Those idols will be shifted to the temporary strongroom on Thursday. Details involving weight and make of the idols can be ascertained only after inventory,” said Biswanath Rath, chairman of an 11-member committee set up to oversee the inventory of Ratna Bhandar.
The servitors believe that these idols were once worshipped by the Bhandar mekaps, or treasury caretakers, long ago. The team members admitted that they were unaware of the specific types of valuables stored in the chests and almirahs within the inner chamber. There is widespread speculation that the inner chamber contained various precious items, such as gold crowns, gold and tiger claws, golden wreaths, gold wheels, gold flowers, gold mohar (coins), lockets, silver thrones, bracelets, necklaces adorned with diamonds and pearls, and a gold-studded Mayur Chandrika, among other treasures.
“We found only gold and silver articles within the outer chamber, which is opened for use of deities during annual festivals. We have no idea what is stored in the boxes in the inner chamber,” Durga Prasad Dasmohapatra, a servitor, who was part of the team that entered Ratna Bhandar on Sunday.
Shree Mandir Parikrama Prakalpa
2024 January
Debabrata Mohapatra, January 18, 2024: The Times of India
Amid religious fervour, Naveen dedicates Puri project to devotees
Debabrata.Mohapatra@timesgroup.com
Bhubaneswar : Amid reverberation of Vedic hymns and Jai Jagannath chants, Puri Jagannath dham, one of the four holy dhams of India, was teeming with tens of thousands of people as Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the heritage corridor project (Shree Mandira Parikrama Prakalpa) on Wednesday. Coming days ahead of the January 22 inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya, thousands of devotees gathered on Grand Road, braving light rain and the winter chill, to witness the unveiling of the Rs 800-crore project in the presence of Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb. The king later offered the “Purna Ahuti” to the three-day maha yajna.
The key feature of the project is devotees can get a clear view of the Meghanada Pacheri (outer wall of the shrine) and 214ft-high main temple by standing at the corridor site. The project will also provide facilities like Parikrama Marg, greenery, landscaping and washrooms.
Naveen, Deb and 5T chairman VK Pandian among other dignitaries walked around the heritage corridor for 1km. The CM had laid the foundation stone of the project on November 25, 2021.
“The Shree Mandir Parikrama Prakalpa belongs to every Odia and Jagannath devotee across the globe. The project will offer a divine experience to those who come to Puri for Jagannath darshan. I bow before the Puri residents for their sacrifice. Jai Jagannath,” Naveen later said. Government sources said Naveen’s trusted aide Pandian inspected the project’s progress at least 400 times by visiting Puri in the last over two years.
YEAR-WISE DEVELOPMENTS
2023
Debabrata Mohapatra, March 21, 2023: The Times of India
Bhubaneswar : ‘Shush’ was the concern that a rat-repellent machine was removed from Jagannath temple after servitors ratted out the gadget donated by a devotee for making a humming sound that would disturb the nightly rest of the 12th-century shrine’s presiding deities — siblings Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra.
The temple authorities acceded to the request, and complaint, from the servitors that the machine’s constant buzz won’t let the deities have a sound sleep. “We have decided not to use the machine. We tried it in the sanctum sanctorum. During the product’s demonstration a few days ago, we heard a hum from the machine. The operator said the sound scares away rodents, but the servitors red-flaggedit,” said Jitendra Sahu, the temple’s administrator.
The machine was seen as a solution to the cumbersome process of setting mouse traps and releasing the caught mice outside the temple complex. Catch-and-release is the sole option because it’s forbidden to kill temple mice and so, poison is not allowedeither.
The trusty, silent traps will return to action again. “We decided to use narrowheaded pitchers and put jaggery inside to lure and catch mice,” Sahu said. The temple has been overrun by mice lately, with the ravenous rodents chewing clothes and garlands of the deities, and littering the place with urine and faeces. Mice were seen on the Ratna Singhasan, an elevated pedestal for the deities during puja and the offering of bhog.
“We find it difficult toperform rituals with the rodents around, and their waste. The mice have been spoiling the faces of the deities,” said Satyanarayan Puspalak, a servitor.
The servitors feared for the sanctum sanctorum’s structural strength as the mice had burrowed deep inside through gaps on the stone floor. The worst comes after dark, when hordes of mice that had been hiding and dormant during the day become active. By day, the crisis is less apparent.
Servitor Gourisankar Rajguru said one or two mice were sighted a few months ago, but they multiplied dramatically and quickly. He said it’s highly likely that themice and cockroach infestation happened after they set up house in the temple during the Covid pandemic when it was closed for devotees for several months.
See also
International Puri Beach Festival
Jagannath Puri: temple
Jagannath Puri: temple cuisine
Puri, the pilgrimage (main page)
