PURI: A special inventory of the Ratna Bhandar in Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri is slated to be conducted on July 19 when the deities would be at the Gundicha Temple for a week-long stay during Rath Yatra
The sibling deities of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra will travel from their shrine during the chariot festival on July 16 for an annual week-long stay at the Shree Gundicha temple, around 2.6 km away.
Winding up the nine-day annual festival, the Lords would return to the 12th century shrine on July 27. Therefore, the authorities have decided to conduct the special inventory of the treasury during their absence when the temple is expected to witness thinner crowd.
During the inventory on July 19, gold and other valuable ornaments which were removed from the idols for the Snan Yatra would be digitally documented, Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Arabinda Padhee said.
The whole exercise would be carried out as per the standard operating procedure approved by the state government, he said, adding that the inventory of the remaining valuables stored in the inner Ratna Bhandar would be announced later.
It may be noted that the ongoing inventory of the Ratna Bhandar was stopped on May 23 in view of festivals like Chandan Yatra, Snan Yatra and Rath Yatra.
The SJTA has appealed to all servitors, committee members, stakeholders and devotees to cooperate with the administration in conducting the inventory as the process is is considered to have immense spiritual significance,
