Three Chariots Reach Gundicha Temple

Puri: Chariots of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath reached the Gundicha Temple here as devotion gripped Bada Danda with participation of public in the annual Ratha Jatra of the deities in the pilgrim town of Puri after two years. The Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Balabhadra was pulled by the devotees at around 1 PM, followed by Darpadalana chariot of Devi Subhadra and Nandighosa chariot of Lord Jagannath. Earlier in the day, the deities began their 9-day sojourn to the Gundicha Temple as servitors of the Shree Jagannath Temple here escorted the idols to the chariots in Pahandi ritual. After the Chhera Pahanra ritual by Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the pulling of chariots began. Lakhs of devotees thronged Puri to have glimpse of the
deities on Ratha Jatra as they were not allowed for the same during the last two years due to the COVID-19 situation. The deities will be escorted to the Gundicha Temple, also known as the Janma Bedi of the Lords, from the chariots tomorrow. Newly appointed SJTAChief Administrator Vir Vikram Yadav led from the front to ensure that the festival is celebrated in a grand and incident-free manner, after a gap of two years. During 2020 and 2021, the principal festival of Odisha was observed sans devotees. This year, as expected there was huge crowd on the Bada Danda to witness Rath Yatra. Earlier today, the Magala Alati and Mailama niti of Lord Jagannath were completed by 3.30 am. This followed Chakraraj Sudarsan embarking on Darpadalana. After this,  Pahandis’of the three Lords was carried out one after another. Senior officials of the SJTA, Servitors, district administration, police, other security forces, fire personnel, and other stakeholders have thanked people for their support and coordination for the grand conduct of Rath Yatra.

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