Bhubaneswar: The chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra of Puri Jagannath Temple reached the Singhadwar of the 12th-century shrine marking the end of their nine-day sojourn on Monday.
According to sources, Lord Jagannath and his siblings began their return journey to the Singhadwara in a grand Bahuda Yatra amid a sea of devotees on Monday. By 8.25 pm, the chariots of Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra were parked in front of the main temple. However, the chariot of Lord Jagannath reached His abode a little late.
While the Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Balabhadra reached Singha Dwara first, it was followed by the Darpadalana of Devi Subhadra. Lord Jagannath’s chariot, however, halted near the Royal Palace where Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb conducted the Laxminarayan Bheta.
Religious fervour gripped the holy city of Puri as rituals commenced with pomp and gaiety for the Bahuda Yatra on Monday.
The holy triad was brought to their respective chariots from Gundicha Temple Adap Mandap in a grand ceremonial Pahandi Bije procession with the enthralling and divine sound of traditional musical instruments. Though the pahandi ritual of Chaturdha Murti was scheduled to be held at noon, it started much earlier at 10.45 am.
Similarly, chariot chariot-pulling ritual was scheduled to begin at 4 pm, but it started 35 minutes before the fixed time.
The holy city reverberated with holy chants of Jay Jagannath and Hari Bol by lakhs of devotees gathered there to witness the divine sight of Bahuda Yatra.
As per the tradition, the celestial weapon of Lord Krishna, Sudarshan Chakra was first brought and placed in the chariot of Goddess Subhadra which was followed by the Pahandi of Balabhadra, Subhadra. Finally Lord Jagannath was taken to his chariot in a ceremonial procession amid the beating of gongs, blowing of conches, and chants of Jai Jagannath.
Later, the king of Puri, Gajapati Dibya Singh Deb carried out the ceremonial sweeping of the chariots with a golden broom, popularly known as the Chhera Pahanra ritual, before the pulling of the three chariots from Gundicha Temple to Jagannath Temple by the devotees.
On their way back, the Trinity made a brief halt at the ‘Mausi Maa’ temple to taste the ‘Poda Pitha’ following which the three chariots resumed their journey towards the Srimandir.
The Taladhwaja made its arrival at Singhadwara first after which the Darpadalana chariot arrived. The Nandighosha with Lord Jagannath aboard reached the Singhadwara last.
The officials of the temple and district administration left no stone unturned to ensure the smooth completion of all rituals and avoid the repetition of the mishap during the Adap Mandap Bije ritual.
It is pertinent to mention that Lord Balabhadra slipped on the ‘Charamala’ (makeshift ramp) while being taken in pahandi from his chariot, Taladhwaja’ to Adap Mandap of Gundicha Temple on the day of Rath Yatra on July 9.
Following the instructions of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy CM Pravati Parida and two Ministers- Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan and Culture Minister Suryavanshi Suraj, have been camping in Puri to supervise and ensure the smooth completion of all rituals till Niladri Bije, the last ritual of 12-day Rath Yatra festival, which is going to be observed on Friday.
As many as 180 platoons of police force and 1,000 officers were deployed to maintain law and order and crowd management during the Bahuda Yatra.
