Bhubaneswar: The gigantic chariots of the Holy Trinity, Lord Jagannath and His siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra, started rolling sharply at 5 pm, after the completion of ‘Pahandi Bije’ and ‘Chhera Pahanra’ rituals on Sunday.
This year, the world-famous ‘Rath Yatra’ of the Holy Trinity is being attended by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, accompanied by the Governor of Odisha, Raghubar Das, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, along with other senior leaders.
The movement of raths began as per traditions with the rolling of Lord Balabhadra’s Taladhwaja chariot, followed by Devi Subhadra’s Darpadalana, and at last comes Nandighosha, the majestic chariot of Lord Jagannath.
As per the traditions, the chariots started rolling after the wooden stairs attached to the chariots were removed, which is known as ‘Charamala Phita’.
After the removal of the stairs, wooden charioteers and horses were fastened into each of the chariots under the ‘Sarathi Lagi’ and ‘Ghoda Lagi’ Nitis (rituals) to mark the pulling of chariots by the enthusiastic devotees.
A sea of devotees, irrespective of age, caste, gender, and creed have assembled at the 3-kilometre-long ‘Grand Road’ to witness the graceful journey of Lord Jagannath and His siblings.
