Puri: Lord Jagannath and his siblings returned to their abode, Jagannath Temple, after spending seven days at Gundicha Temple on Wednesday.
The chariots were pulled only by servitors with the Supreme Court’s directive barring the presence of devotees during the nine-day rituals due to the COVID pandemic. The chariot, Taladhwaja, of Lord Balabhadra reached the Singhadwar at 2.46 pm followed by Devi Subhadra’s Darpadalana at 3.06 pm. Finally, Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosa arrived at the Srimandir.
Chants of ‘Hari Bol’ beating of cymbals and blowing of conch shells filled the air of Puri as Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra made their way to their respective chariots from Gundicha Temple this morning.
The Pahandi ritual was conducted between 7.20 am and 9.55 am. Following which, Puri Gajapati King Divyasingha Deb performed Chherapanhara ritual on the three chariots.
The servitors untied the Charamala (ropes) from the three chariots and fixed the wooden horses and charioteers. The Lords then embarked on the homeward journey as scheduled.
