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Puri: Ancient weapons such as swords, spears, and javelins, once used in battles, were discovered in the Puri Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar during the relocation of treasures last Thursday.
The Odisha government reopened the Ratna Bhandar on July 14 for restoration and cataloguing after 46 years.
“On July 14, we uncovered some ancient idols in the Ratna Bhandar. Recently, we found several swords and javelins near a wooden chest in the inner chamber. These weapons were quite heavy and had turned black,” reported one of the eleven committee members who accessed the treasury.
Biswanath Rath, the chairman of the Ratna Bhandar supervisory committee, informed journalists that they have “meticulously sealed and stored the combat artefacts in a temporary vault.”
Rath, a former judge of the Orissa High Court, refrained from disclosing specifics about the weapons, including their quantity or the period they belong to.
These weapons indicate that the 12th-century CE temple was connected to the monarchs who once governed the region, providing insight into the wealth they amassed over the ages.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration states that Anantavarman Chodaganga Dev of the Eastern Ganga dynasty erected the Puri temple in the 1190s. The temple, towering at 214 feet, covers 10.7 acres and houses 95 smaller shrines within its complex.
“Having been attacked and looted 18 times, the Jagannath Temple was a target for its riches. To safeguard the temple, ancient weapons might have been stored in the Ratna Bhandar by the reigning kings,” suggested Shyama Mahapatra, a temple attendant.
Jagannath scholar Bhaskar Mishra recounts, “In 1460, King Kapilendra Deb triumphed over a rival monarch and transported a significant quantity of gold to the Puri Jagannath Temple using 16 elephants.”
Historians and scholars are calling for an in-depth examination of these war weapons. They have urged the government to appoint distinguished archaeologists to determine the era in which these weapons were utilized.
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