Puri- With entire temple town, Puri, Soaked in devotion, amidst chanting of shlokas and blowing of conches, the three majestic 45 foot wooden chariots carrying Lord Jagannath and His Holy Siblings during the 9-day long Ratha Jatra reached Sharadhabali near the Gundicha Temple in Puri in the afternoon.
While Lord Balabhadra atop Taladhwaja chariot, eldest sibling among all reached the temple at around 12:45 PM, Devi Subhadra 1:41 pm and Lord Jagannath arrived at Sharadhabali one after another by 2.35 PM.
The nine-day annual sojourn of the Lords, which began at 5 pm on Sunday, was halted after sunset as per the tradition on the Grand Road which connects the temple to the 12th century shrine. The pulling of chariots was resumed this morning. Lord Balabhadra atop Taladwaja arrived at Sharadhabali around 1 pm, followed by Devi Subhadra’s Darpadalana and Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosh around 2.35 pm.
On Sunday, the pulling of chariots started at 5 pm, followed by ritualistic ‘Pahandi Bije’ and other traditional rituals of the deities, which include Chhera Pahanra niti performed by the titular king of Puri, Charamala Phita, Ghoda lagi, and Sarathi lagi nitis (rituals) of the Trinity.
The pulling of raths came to a halt after sunset as per the ancient traditions, leaving chariots of three deities halted at different positions.
The Lord of Universe will give darshan to His devotees on Adapa Mandap, also called ‘Janma Bedi’ at the Gundicha Temple till a day before Bahuda Jatra (return journey). During this period, special rituals will be conducted at the temple.
Amid chanting ‘Jay Jagannath’, the devotees pulled the chariots towards the deities’ birthplace Gundicha Temple in the morning on the second day of the annual Ratha Jatra.
The atmosphere reverberated with the sounds of ‘Hari Bol’, ‘Jay Jagannath’ and percussion instruments like gongs, cymbals and mridangam.
Several dignitaries including President Droupadi Murmu, Odisha Governor Raghubar Das, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, Deputy CMs Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and former CM and leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik took part in the grand event of the Holy Trinity. Elaborate arrangements including security have been made to conduct the annual festival peacefully and smoothly.
