Puri, July 5 (UDN): The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has temporarily suspended the inventorisation and counting of valuables stored in the Ratna Bhandar of the Shree Jagannath Temple during the ongoing Rath Yatra, citing ritual requirements associated with the annual festival.
Addressing reporters on Saturday, SJTA Chief Administrator Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee said the exercise had been put on hold as several ornaments kept in the temple treasury are required for various religious ceremonies performed during Rath Yatra and other associated rituals.
He said ornaments used for adorning the deities while they are seated on the Ratna Singhasana, as well as those required during Snana Purnima and other prescribed rituals, cannot be inventoried during the festival period.
According to Padhee, the administration had only a limited window to examine and document certain ornaments, including traditional alankaras such as Sua Thantia, Rahu Rekha and Chita, before the commencement of the annual car festival.
The SJTA chief clarified that the inventorisation process has not been discontinued and will resume after the completion of Rath Yatra in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) formulated for the exercise.
He said the remaining inventorisation of the Bhitara Ratna Bhandar, the inner treasury of the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple, will continue once the annual rituals conclude and the deities return to the sanctum sanctorum.
The inventorisation of the Ratna Bhandar is being undertaken as part of a comprehensive exercise to scientifically document the temple’s valuables while ensuring full compliance with centuries-old religious traditions and prescribed temple rituals.
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