Bhubaneshwar: Lakhs of devotees thronged the abode of Bhagwan Jagannath to witness the famous Rath Yatra of the lord of the universe and his siblings, Bhagwan Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra at Puri. Pulling of Raths started around 5.20 pm after Puri’s King Divya Singh Dev completed the ‘Chhera Pahanra’ (chariot sweeping) ritual. The rath of Balbhadra was pulled fast followed by that of Devi Subhadra. At last, the grand moment and the climax of the day’s celebration was reached when the rath of Bhagwan Jagannath started its spectacular journey to Gundicha temple.
Rath Yatra will be a two-day affair this year after 53 years due to some celestial arrangements. So pulling of Raths will resume tomorrow.
Several special rituals like Mangla Arati, Mailam, Tadapa lagi, Rosahoma, Abakasha, Surjya Puja, Dwarapala Puja, Besha Sesha, Gopala Balhava, Sakala Dhupa (Khecudi Bhoga), Ratha Pratishta etc were performed from Sunday early morning onwards.
After the completion of these morning rituals of the the Mangalarpana ritual was performed. After that, four deities came in pahandi (ceremonial procession) and boarded the sacred Raths one after another. The deities namely Lord Sudarshan, Lord Balbhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Sri Jagannath came serially in pahandi and boarded their raths.
What is Pahandi Bije ?
The journey of the deities from Garbha Griha to outside starts with a spectacular royal procession called Pahandi Bije.
“Pahandi” originated from the Sanskrit word “Padamundanam” means a slow step-by-step imbalanced movement just like a child who is learning to walk. “Bije” stands for the procession of the King or the Gods.
After the completion of the ceremonial Pahandi ritual, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati visited the three chariots – Nandighosh of Lord Jagannath, Taladhawaj of Lord Balabhadra and Debadalan of Goddess Subhadra and had darshan of the deities.
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Puri King Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb performed Chhera Panhara, the ceremonial sweeping of the Raths of Bhagwan Jagannath and his siblings – Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra with a golden broom.
President Droupadi Murmu, Governor Raghubar Das, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other dignitaries witnessed the Rath Yatra of Shree Jagannath. Former CM and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik joined them. Dharmendra escorted him to the dais after he arrived at the venue.
During the Rath Yatra, devotees and artists performed Odissi dance and other dances. The atmosphere became spiritual. Bells were being rung and chanting of Jai Jagannath and Hari bola were resonating all around. Different artiste groups performed ‘kirtans’ (religious songs) before the Rath Yatra started.
The Odisha government had made elaborate arrangements for smooth and timely conduct of the annual sojourn of the Lords of Shree Jagannath Temple here.
Tight security arrangements have been put in place, with the deployment of 180 platoons (one platoon comprises 30 personnel) of security personnel.
Artificial Intelligence-based CCTV cameras have been installed at Badadanda, the venue of the festival, and other strategic locations in the pilgrim town, said a Senior Police official. As hot and humid weather may prevail, water was sprinkled on the crowd, he said.
