Antique idols found in Ratna Bhandar of Puri Jagannath temple | Bhubaneswar News – Times of India
BHUBANESWAR: Government officials and servitors, who opened Ratna Bhandar of Jagannath Temple on Sunday after 46 years, discovered several antique idols crafted from precious metals in the treasury’s inner chamber. These idols were not listed in any previous inventories.“The ancient small idols — perhaps 5 to 7 in number — have turned almost black over the last four decades.We did not touch them. We immediately lit a diya and worshipped the idols. Those idols will be shifted to the temporary strongroom on Thursday. Details involving weight and make of the idols can be ascertained only after inventory,” said Biswanath Rath, chairman of an 11-member committee set up to oversee the inventory of Ratna Bhandar.The servitors believe that these idols were once worshipped by the Bhandar mekaps, or...