Bhubaneswar: The celebrated ‘Rukuna Rath Yatra’ of Lord Lingaraj will be held in the capital city of Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. The chariot pulling is scheduled to commence at 3:30 pm, while the Mangala Aalati of Lord Lingaraj was performed at 5.00 am.
The Surya puja will commence at 10.45 am following which the Pahandi ritual of Lord Lingaraj will be performed between 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm. The other rituals of the Lord will be performed between 1.30 pm and 3.30 pm on the chariot.
The water for the holy ritual was obtained from the Marichi Kunda near the Mukteswar temple on the Saptami for Rukuna Rath Yatra.
Thousands of devotees have congregated at the Lingaraj Temple for the Rukuna Rath Yatra today.
All the preparations are complete and 12 platoons of police have been deployed for the smooth conduct of the Rath Yatra. in addition, two additional DCPs, six ACPs, 12 inspectors, and 50 ASIs have been deployed to maintain law and order around the area.
The Commissionerate Police have also made elaborate arrangements for traffic control.
The Rukuna Rath Yatra of Lord Lingaraj is an annual event that is celebrated on the day of Ashokastami in the Hindu calendar month of Chaitra. This festival is also described as the ‘Papa Binashakari Yatra’ and is held for five to seven days.
The Rukuna Rath is also called the ‘Analeuta’ chariot as the chariot does not take any turn during the return journey. The direction of the altars of the gods gets changed and the chariot is pulled from the opposite direction.
