Odisha: Puri Prepares for Majestic Rath Yatra Festival

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s pilgrim city Puri is all set to host Lord Jagannath’s majestic Rath Yatra festival on Sunday. All preparations have been made for the grand cultural festival of the deity.

The servitors of Srimandir, the abode of Lord Jagannath, His elder brother Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra —on Saturday performed the ‘Agyan Mala Bije’ rituals for the three chariots ahead of the Rath Yatra. The important ritual was performed after the completion of ‘Sakala Dhupa’ at Srimandir.

After bringing the ‘Agyan Mala’ (a garland as symbol of permission) from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, the senior servitors went in a grand procession to the three chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra and performed the rituals there.

As per the age-old tradition, the three chariots—Nandighosa of Lord Jagannath, Taladhwaja of Lord Balabhadra and Darpadalana of Devi Subhadra — were also drawn from Rath Khala — a place where the chariots were built — towards Singhadwar (Lion’s Gate) by the devotees and police forces following the completion of the ritual. The chariots were kept north-faced towards the Gundicha temple.

“Devotees coming from across the country and abroad will return with a good experience here as we have been putting up extra efforts to make the event more memorable. With Lord Jagannath’s blessings, we are hopeful that this year’s Rath Yatra will be performed smoothly,” said a senior servitor.

Tapan Kumar Swain, a devotee, said, “We have full faith in Lord Jagannath. We are blessed to witness all the rituals before the world-famous Rath Yatra.”

President Droupadi Murmu, Odisha governor Raghubar Das, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his cabinet colleagues, high court judges and many other dignitaries are scheduled to visit Puri to witness the annual Rath Yatra.

The popular Rath Yatra is the time when the deities come out of Srimandir and embark on a nine-day journey to their aunt Srigundicha’s place. The annual three-kilometre journey from Srimandir to Srigundicha temple is called Ghosha Yatra. During the journey, people of all faiths and sections see the deities on the chariots.

The return journey of the deities to Srimandir after their nine-day sojourn is celebrated as Bahuda yatra. The deities reach their own temple attired in new costumes and this new form of the idols is known as ‘Suna Vesa.’

The chariots used during Rath Yatra are built every year. Carpenters begin the construction of chariots on the Akshaya Tritiya day. The chariots are painted with bright colors and the tops are covered with red, black, yellow, or green canopies. Lord Jagannath uses red and yellow, Lord Balaram uses red and green, while Goddess Subhadra uses red and black. All the chariots have separate features to distinguish from each other.