PURI: The much-awaited inventory of the Ratna Bhandars of Shree Jagannath Temple began on Wednesday after a hiatus of 48 years.
Two teams, accompanied by the camera crew, entered the temple at the pre-determined time of 12.09 pm for documentation of the ornaments and jewellery stored in the 12th century shrine. The process began by taking stock of the Chalanti Bhandar (depository of daily-use ornaments) and concluded at 6 pm after the valuables were tallied with the list made during the inventory conducted in 1978.
The Chalanti Bhandar contains mostly the giant-sized gold tiaras, limbs, hands, earlobes, large-sized necklaces studded with rare precious stones, Chitas (forehead decorations), Kundalas (earrings), insignias used in the Suna Besha of the deities, gold and silver dish plates used for offerings, among other items.
Each ornament was documented and digitally catalogued with its traditional nomenclature, recording its weight, standard of gold or silver, and quality of the gems. Separate chests were used to store gold, silver and other precious metals.
For the inventory, three tables were used, wherein the temple goldsmith and two other empanelled goldsmiths of nationalised banks, a gemmologist, and a metallurgist were present. As per the 1978 inventory list, the Chalanti Bhandar contained eight gold ornaments weighing 299 Bhari (traditional measure; 1 Bhari equals 12.06 grams), along with 23 types of silver ornaments weighing a total of 2,600 Bhari.
While the inventory was in progress, devotees were allowed to have darshan of the Trinity from Bahar Katha. The daily rituals of the deities were performed as per the normal schedule.
Temple officials said the inventory of Bahar and Bhitar Ratna Bhandars will be carried out in later phases.
According to the 1978 inventory, the Bahar Ratna Bhandar contained 79 gold ornaments weighing 8,175 Bhari alongside 39 silver ornaments weighing 4,671 Bhari. The Bhitar Ratna Bhandar housed 367 types of gold ornaments weighing 4,364 Bhari, and 231 silver ornaments with a total weight of 14,878 Bhari.