Puri, Odisha: The annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath commenced yesterday. Millions of devotees flocking to the holy city of Puri to catch a glimpse of the majestic chariots. The festival, which is one of the largest religious processions globally, witnessed devotees from all over the world gathering to pull the giant chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra.
The chariot pulling began at 5:20 pm after Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalanada Saraswati visited the chariots. Accompanied by his disciples and the Puri’s titular king, who completed the ‘Chhera Pahanra’ (chariot sweeping) ritual. The wooden horses were fitted to the chariots, and servitor pilots guided the devotees to pull the chariots in the right direction.
This year’s Rath Yatra is significant due to a unique celestial alignment, which has resulted in the festival spanning two days, a phenomenon that last occurred 53 years ago. The ‘Nabajouban Darshan’ and ‘Netra Utsav’ rituals, which typically precede the Rath Yatra, were conducted on the same day.
The streets of Puri were packed with devotees, estimated to be over a million, who had converged on the town to participate in the festival. The air was filled with chants of ‘Jai Jagannath’ and ‘Haribol’ as devotees pulled the chariots, which were decorated with flowers, flags, and other ornaments.
The Rath Yatra will continue today, with the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra being pulled to the Gundicha temple, around 2.5 km away from the Jagannath temple. The festival is a significant event in the Hindu calendar, and its grandeur and fervor were on full display yesterday in Puri.
