Desk Correspondent , Bhubaneshwar – The second phase of the inventory of Ratan Bhandar at Puri’s Jagannath Temple began on Wednesday, officials said. A team of servitors, gemmologists and goldsmiths entered the sacred treasury at 11:30 am along with Ratna Bhandar Committee chairman Justice Biswanath Rath and Shree Jagannath Temple Administration chief administrator Arabinda Padhee. This is the first comprehensive audit of the 12th-century temple’s treasures in 48 years and is being conducted as per the state government’s Standard Operating Procedure to ensure transparency and proper documentation of valuables.

The current phase covers the Bahar Ratna Bhandar, or outer chamber, which stores festival ornaments and jewellery, including the famous ‘Suna Bhesa’ pieces used on the deities’ chariots and four other occasions. According to the 1978 list, the treasury holds 111 items—78 gold-mixed articles and 33 silver-mixed jewelry pieces. In the first phase that started on March 25, daily-use ornaments were catalogued using videography, photography and 3D mapping, with the digital records stored in separate ‘sindhukas’ categorised by metal type.

The exercise will continue until April 11, with further sessions scheduled for April 13 and April 16-18, Padhee said. Temple rituals will remain uninterrupted, and devotees will receive darshan from the ‘Bahara Katha’ for security reasons. District police have deployed multi-layered security, including strict access control, striking forces and standby teams of magistrates, fire services and medical staff. The SOP divides the Ratna Bhandar into three categories, with the inner chamber containing centuries-old ornaments still to be inventoried.