Puri Jagannath temple postpones Ratna Bhandar inventory work to June

The Shree Jagannath Temple authorities in Puri have decided to postpone the ongoing inventory of valuables in the ‘Ratna Bhandar’ of the 12th-century shrine till June in view of the prevailing hot and humid weather in this seaside holy town and ‘Chandan Jatra’ (summer festival) rituals.

Though the temple administration had earlier decided to hold inventory work for four more days on May 26, 28, 29 and 30, it has been decided to suspend inventory work in these days, Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Arabinda Padhee, told reporters.

He said that apart from the continuing heatwave conditions, heavy footfall of devotees and preparations for the upcoming ‘Snan Purnima’ festival, the administration decided to keep the inventory work stopped for some days.

“We are not in a hurry. The objective is to undertake a flawless and transparent inventory of the Lord’s Ratna Bhandar inventory,” Padhee said, adding that the swelling crowd of devotees in the temple could create operational challenges.

He said the inventory process will resume in June after reviewing weather conditions and logistical requirements.

“Since the ‘Bitara Chandan Jatra’ (inner summer festival) will be underway, strategy for the next phase of the inventory process will be decided in consultation with servitor’s association and other related sub-committees,” Padhee told reporters.  As the inventory work is kept in abeyance for some days, the devotees can now have darshan of the sibling deities – Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath- from ‘Bhitara Katha’ (inner barricade) inside the ‘Jagamohan’, just outside the sanctum sanctorum.

Earlier, the darshan was available to the devotees only from the ‘Bahara Katha’ (outer barricade) in view of the security considerations during the inventory process.

The inventory process of jewellery and valuables inside the Ratna Bhandar of the 12th-century shrine had started on March 25, 2026, after a gap of 48 years. On May 23, Padhee had said that the inventory work could be done only for about four hours from 4.20 pm to 8.18 pm.

Stating that the inventory work is being conducted in adherence to the standard operating procedure (SOP) approved by the state Government, Padhee said, all the gold and other items are being videographed, photographed, and 3D mapping is done as part of the inventory process.

He said the inventory process in the Puri temple is not just merely an administrative duty, but is considered a sacred exercise done with full devotion by members of the teams comprising servitors, officers, security persons, authorised people and others.