Puri, Jul 5 (PTI) The nine-day annual Rath Yatra culminated on Saturday as the chariots of sibling deities Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath returned to the 12th-century shrine in Odisha’s Puri with lakhs of devotees participating in the procession.
Pulled by lakhs of people along the Grand Road here, the chariots with the deities on board reached the ‘Singha Dwar’ or Lion’s Gate of the temple.
Amid chants like ‘Jai Jagannath’ and ‘Haribol’, lakhs of devotees pulled Lord Balabhadra’s chariot ‘Taladwaj’, ‘Darpadalan’ of Devi Subhadra and ‘Nandighosh’ of Jagannath from Shree Guncicha Temple to the 12th-century shrine, covering a distance of 2.6 kilometres.
The return car festival is locally called ‘Bahuda’ Yatra (return journey), which marks the culmination of the nine-day annual sojourn of Lord Jagannath and his two siblings.
This time, the ‘Bahuda’ Yatra was conducted under unprecedented security arrangements in the backdrop of a stampede near Gundicha Temple on June 29 that claimed three lives and left around 50 people injured.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi himself monitored all the activities of the return car festival, while all the top police and civil administration heads were camping to make sure that no untoward incident occurred.
Taking to X, the Chief Minister’s Office said, “With the blessings of Mahaprabhu, the Bahuda Yatra is proceeding smoothly. For the peaceful and orderly darshan of devotees, arrangements for a Green Corridor and ambulances have been made. Keeping safety in mind, over 25,000 security personnel have been deployed.” Adequate traffic police personnel have been deployed to manage crowds, the CMO said.
“To make the festival unique and a memorable event, the government has made all necessary arrangements and the Chief Minister himself is overseeing it,” it said on social media.
The chief minister and Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik greeted the people on the auspicious occasion of the ‘Bahuda’ Yatra.
All the rituals, including ‘Pahandi’ (procession) and ‘Chhera Pahanra’ (sweeping before chariots) were completed before time, and the chariot pulling began 70 minutes ahead of the schedule, but they could not reach the ‘Sigha Dwar’ of the Jagannath temple before sunset.
Lord Balabhadra’s ‘Taladwaj’ chariot reached the destination around 6.25 pm, while Devi Subhadra’s ‘Darpadalan’ Rath arrived there 45 minutes later. Lord Jagannth’s chariot was pulled after sunset.
The chariots halted for some time near Maa Ardheswari temple on the side of the Grand Road where the sibling deities were offered ‘Poda Pitha” (baked cakes).
Lord Jagannath’s ‘Nandighosh’ reached the destination around 9.40 pm after a ritual called ‘Laxmi Narayan Bhet’ was held near the Raj Nahar, the titular king’s palace.
According to the ritual, Lord Jagannath meets his consort Maa Laxmi who expresses her anger for not taking her to the festival.
As soon as Lord Jagannath’s chariot reached the Lion’s Gate of the temple a group of around 100 servitors led by Pandit Suryanarayan Rathsharma loudly sang ‘Jay Jay Deva Hare…’.
The pulling of the chariots started at 2.50 PM after the ceremonial ‘Pahandi’ during which the deities were taken to the chariots from Shree Gundicha Temple.
The ‘Pahandi’ rituals ended around noon, much ahead of the schedule at 2 pm.
The ‘Pahandi’ of the trinity began with Chakraraj Sudarshan, followed by Lord Balabhdra, Devi Subhadra and finally Lord Jagannath. The ceremonial procession took around two hours, following which the deities were seated on the chariots.
Later, the ‘Chhera Pahanra’ ritual or sweeping of the floor of the chariots with a golden broom was performed by Gajapati Maharaja Divyasingha Deb, the titular king of Puri.
During the procession, the Grand Road between Shree Gundicha Temple and the Shree Mandir (Main Temple) witnessed a mix of colour and culture as different artists performed Oddissi dance, martial arts, kirtan, and street plays like ‘Jagannath and Sri Chaitanya’ before the deities.
Many devotees were found shedding tears out of devotion towards the Lord Jagannath.
Many foreigners and people belonging to different religions were in Puri to experience the rituals.
Most of the rituals were held amid the beating of gongs, and blowing of conches and cymbals.
Before the ‘Pahandi’, a number of customary rituals like ‘Mangla Aarati’ and ‘Mailam’ were held before the presiding deities came out from the sanctum sanctorum of the Gundicha temple.
Security forces, including 800 personnel of the CAPFs, were deployed during the festival, said Odisha DGP YB Khurania.
Special traffic arrangements were made, while over 275 AI-enabled CCTV cameras, drone technology and other such technology were in place to keep a tab on the crowd, he added.
However, a few reports of people fainting and sustaining injuries were received during the day, an official said.
“Of the injured and ill persons, nine had some problems. All of them were discharged from hospitals after preliminary treatment. The patients were brought to the hospitals via a dedicated Green Corridor,” a senior doctor at the District Headquarters Hospital said. PTI AAM RG AAM BDC
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