MATHURA: The long-sealed treasury - toshakhana - of Vrindavan 's Banke Bihari temple, believed to hold royal gifts, ornaments and centuries-old offerings, was opened last month after 54 years on the orders of an SC-appointed panel tasked with overseeing the temple's financial, structural and administrative functioning. But what emerged from the vault shocked many: one gold and three silver bars and utensils. With no inventory or donor records, the panel has launched the temple's first full asset audit, covering bank deposits worth up to Rs 400 crore, sealed lockers, land holdings and donation records - as questions mount over where the "missing treasure" is.
Like on every Dhanteras, on Oct 18, the priest lit a small earthen lamp and placed it at the foot of the door of the treasury. The wood had darkened, carvings dulled, a panel eaten halfway by termites. No key had survived and a metal cutter was brought in. Snake catchers moved in first as forest officials stood by with oxygen cylinders. Behind the panels - sealed for more than five decades - lay the toshakhana.
When it opened, there was no gold crown as expected. Or a gemstone necklace. Just a long wooden box containing a single gold bar and three silver bars streaked faintly with vermilion. Around them, there were brass utensils, wooden trays, and layers of dust so thick that one official described it as "undisturbed for generations". The chamber yielded no spectacle. But what it did offer was unsettling - the near-total absence of any official record of what had once been kept there: no donor register, no inventory, no valuation documents, and no reconciliation with decades of temple offerings.
The toshakhana, last opened in 1971, had been spoken of for years in reverent tones - a place where ornaments, royal gifts from Bharatpur, Karauli and Gwalior, land deeds and handwritten letters were believed to lie, donated by kings and commoners to "Thakurji". Instead, the inventory was strikingly thin and sparked disbelief among devotees, demands for a CBI probe from locals, and a quiet but unmistakable scrutiny of the shrine's financial history.
As of now, the items found in the toshakhana have not been formally valued, though they have been sealed. No FIR has been filed, and no report has been made public. "The audit is on. This is the first official attempt to document the temple's assets," said a senior official associated with the panel. "We don't have the full inventory yet. Even the panel is trying to find out. A CA firm has been appointed."
Banke Bihari temple, founded in 1864 by followers of saint and musician Swami Haridas , receives some 50,000 visitors a day - a number that rises to several lakhs on festivals and auspicious days. Yet unlike temples in the south, whose wealth was historically documented and regulated under systems of royal patronage and formal audits, Banke Bihari has evolved with a structure rooted in tradition rather than regulation. Offerings - jewellery, land, cash - have come in over generations, but few comprehensive records exist to track them.
Among devotees, reactions have been mixed. "My devotion is to the deity, not to any treasure," said Ramesh Patel, a Surat-based cloth trader who visits Vrindavan two or three times a year. "Yes, I too was expecting something spectacular. But I am not disappointed. We hope all the assets will eventually be documented." Others, however, have gone further. Dinesh Falhari, a local, has written to PM Narendra Modi seeking a CBI probe. Several residents in the vicinity have echoed the concern.
The committee, chaired by retired HC judge Ashok Kumar, was formed after a series of PILs raised concerns over crowd management and administrative lapses. The recent vault opening has prompted the panel to expand its scope and begin a full structural and financial audit - the temple's first.
As per official estimates, the temple holds between Rs 350 to 400 crore across over 10 bank accounts in Mathura and Vrindavan, most currently in Multi-Option Deposit form - a product that offers lower interest rates than fixed deposits. The panel has directed that these accounts be converted into FDs for better returns and asked bank officials to submit details of the temple's funds and their status.
The audit has also raised questions about assets held outside the temple premises. While members of the Goswami community - hereditary sevayats who manage rituals and daily operations - acknowledge that jewellery had once been deposited in SBI's Mathura branch, there is no documentation on when this was done or what was deposited. "Still not with us," said the official. "The Goswamis say the jewellery is there. But no order to open the lockers has been given yet. We don't have a list of items, and there is no record of valuation."
There is no exhaustive list of temple-owned land, income from leases, or encroachment details. Officials have said that the local tehsildar and SDM have been asked to retrieve land records from around the temple. The temple manager has also been asked to prepare a consolidated report of all bank accounts, financial assets and donation receipts before the panel's next meeting on Nov 19.
Within the sevayat community, there is growing discomfort over public speculation around the temple's finances. "People are comparing Banke Bihari with temples in the south," said Shailendra Goswami, a member of the committee and part of the lineage of Swami Haridas. "But those temples were built by kings. Our's was built in stages, in 1864, with around Rs 70,000 collected from devotees. Even the large Hindola (rocking cradle) was made from offerings. Some of Bihariji's jewellery is in the SBI branch - this has been shared with the committee. No one can make a single accusation against the priests."
Three of the four Goswami members who are part of the high-powered committee confirmed that their concerns had been placed on record at the committee's Oct 29 meeting. Among the issues discussed was the crowd situation and the perception being created around the vault opening. "This is Bihariji's temple," one of them said. "The service is done by love. Let them do their audit. We have nothing to hide."
Like on every Dhanteras, on Oct 18, the priest lit a small earthen lamp and placed it at the foot of the door of the treasury. The wood had darkened, carvings dulled, a panel eaten halfway by termites. No key had survived and a metal cutter was brought in. Snake catchers moved in first as forest officials stood by with oxygen cylinders. Behind the panels - sealed for more than five decades - lay the toshakhana.
When it opened, there was no gold crown as expected. Or a gemstone necklace. Just a long wooden box containing a single gold bar and three silver bars streaked faintly with vermilion. Around them, there were brass utensils, wooden trays, and layers of dust so thick that one official described it as "undisturbed for generations". The chamber yielded no spectacle. But what it did offer was unsettling - the near-total absence of any official record of what had once been kept there: no donor register, no inventory, no valuation documents, and no reconciliation with decades of temple offerings.
The toshakhana, last opened in 1971, had been spoken of for years in reverent tones - a place where ornaments, royal gifts from Bharatpur, Karauli and Gwalior, land deeds and handwritten letters were believed to lie, donated by kings and commoners to "Thakurji". Instead, the inventory was strikingly thin and sparked disbelief among devotees, demands for a CBI probe from locals, and a quiet but unmistakable scrutiny of the shrine's financial history.
As of now, the items found in the toshakhana have not been formally valued, though they have been sealed. No FIR has been filed, and no report has been made public. "The audit is on. This is the first official attempt to document the temple's assets," said a senior official associated with the panel. "We don't have the full inventory yet. Even the panel is trying to find out. A CA firm has been appointed."
Banke Bihari temple, founded in 1864 by followers of saint and musician Swami Haridas , receives some 50,000 visitors a day - a number that rises to several lakhs on festivals and auspicious days. Yet unlike temples in the south, whose wealth was historically documented and regulated under systems of royal patronage and formal audits, Banke Bihari has evolved with a structure rooted in tradition rather than regulation. Offerings - jewellery, land, cash - have come in over generations, but few comprehensive records exist to track them.
Among devotees, reactions have been mixed. "My devotion is to the deity, not to any treasure," said Ramesh Patel, a Surat-based cloth trader who visits Vrindavan two or three times a year. "Yes, I too was expecting something spectacular. But I am not disappointed. We hope all the assets will eventually be documented." Others, however, have gone further. Dinesh Falhari, a local, has written to PM Narendra Modi seeking a CBI probe. Several residents in the vicinity have echoed the concern.
The committee, chaired by retired HC judge Ashok Kumar, was formed after a series of PILs raised concerns over crowd management and administrative lapses. The recent vault opening has prompted the panel to expand its scope and begin a full structural and financial audit - the temple's first.
As per official estimates, the temple holds between Rs 350 to 400 crore across over 10 bank accounts in Mathura and Vrindavan, most currently in Multi-Option Deposit form - a product that offers lower interest rates than fixed deposits. The panel has directed that these accounts be converted into FDs for better returns and asked bank officials to submit details of the temple's funds and their status.
The audit has also raised questions about assets held outside the temple premises. While members of the Goswami community - hereditary sevayats who manage rituals and daily operations - acknowledge that jewellery had once been deposited in SBI's Mathura branch, there is no documentation on when this was done or what was deposited. "Still not with us," said the official. "The Goswamis say the jewellery is there. But no order to open the lockers has been given yet. We don't have a list of items, and there is no record of valuation."
There is no exhaustive list of temple-owned land, income from leases, or encroachment details. Officials have said that the local tehsildar and SDM have been asked to retrieve land records from around the temple. The temple manager has also been asked to prepare a consolidated report of all bank accounts, financial assets and donation receipts before the panel's next meeting on Nov 19.
Within the sevayat community, there is growing discomfort over public speculation around the temple's finances. "People are comparing Banke Bihari with temples in the south," said Shailendra Goswami, a member of the committee and part of the lineage of Swami Haridas. "But those temples were built by kings. Our's was built in stages, in 1864, with around Rs 70,000 collected from devotees. Even the large Hindola (rocking cradle) was made from offerings. Some of Bihariji's jewellery is in the SBI branch - this has been shared with the committee. No one can make a single accusation against the priests."
Three of the four Goswami members who are part of the high-powered committee confirmed that their concerns had been placed on record at the committee's Oct 29 meeting. Among the issues discussed was the crowd situation and the perception being created around the vault opening. "This is Bihariji's temple," one of them said. "The service is done by love. Let them do their audit. We have nothing to hide."
You may also like
Gautam Gambhir, Jasprit Bumrah caught watching to Women's World Cup final inside dressing room
Holy aim? Shimla civic body ad shows Lord Rama's arrow pointed at garbage; sparks outrage
Andhra temple stampede: 11 of the injured recovering at hospital
Garlic will be crispy and golden if cooked in 1 simple way
Emraan Hashmi calls 'Haq', a David and Goliath story
