Puri: Amid chants of ‘Jai Jagannath’ and beating of cymbals Mahaprabhu Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra have started returning from Srigundicha temple to Srimandir today on their respective Raths on the occasion of holy Bahuda Yatra.
Lakhs of devotees from the state and abroad reached Puri to participate in this auspicious return Yatra of Mahaprabhu Jagannath. Thousands of devotees pulled these three chariots.
After the early completion of rituals, devotees first started pulling Mahaprabhu Balabhadra’s chariot Taladhwaja. Then Devi Subhadra’s Chariot Darpadalana was pulled and at the end, Devotees started pulling Nandighosh, the Rath of Maha Prabhu Jagannath.
Before this Mahaprabhu Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra along with ‘Chakraraj Sudarshan’ were escorted to their respective chariots from Sri Gundicha Temple in a ceremonial ‘Dhadi Pahandi’ (line procession) in the presence of lakhs of devotees.
Though Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) had earlier fixed the timing of Pahandi between 12 noon and 2.30 pm, the procession began at 10.45 am, more than one hour ahead of the schedule.
As per tradition, 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.
Opening of Charmal and Ghodalagi rituals were scheduled to take place between 3 pm to 4 pm. As the rituals were completed within the expected time, the pulling of Chariots started before 4 pm.
The administration had made elaborate arrangements and security measures were in place to ensure the smooth conduct of the Bahuda Yatra.
On the deployment of security forces for the Yatra, a Senior Police official said, “180 platoon forces have been deployed there. Armed police forces have been deployed here. Besides three companies of RAF, two companies of CRPF have been deployed. Eight teams from the Special Operations Group (SOG). It is a coordinated effort. Every officer and constable is doing their best. Despite the rough weather, everyone is on duty. The entire city is covered by CCTV, and AI is also functioning well.”
