Curtains Come Down On Lord Jagannath’s Annual Rath Yatra With Niladri Bije [In Pics]

Puri: The sibling deities entered Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri town in ceremonial Pahandi conducted by the Daita servitors on Friday.

The ritual brought curtains down on the 12-day-long Rath Yatra festivities.

While the Pahandi was supposed to start at 4 pm, it began only at 8.30 pm. The ritual began with ‘Bije Pratimas’ of Rama Krushna and Madan Mohan amid chanting of Jai Jagannath, ringing of bells and beating of drums, followed by Sudarshan, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. Lord Jagannath was the last to enter the sanctum sanctorum past midnight.

After entering the shrine in Goti Pahandi (one by one move), the deities were enthroned on the Ratna Singhasana, the bejeweled throne, in the sanctum sanctorum. In Goti Pahandi, the deities move one after another, which means a deity moves from the chariot only after the former reaches to the Ratna Singhasana.

Before Lord Jagannath’s return to the Grabha Gruha, His ‘Goti Pahandi’ was obstructed at Singhadwara (Lion’s Gate) by His consort Goddess Mahalaxmi as she was upset for not being allowed to accompany Him on the annual sojourn to Shree Gundicha Temple. The Goddess was pacified after being offered Rasagola and the Lord was let in.

A two-layer security cordon was put in place for the pahandi.

On Saturday, Nilachala Abhada would be available in the shrine and devotees can have the first rice offering to the deities after their return to the temple from the chariots.