[In Pics] Annual Sojourn Of Lord Lingaraj Begins In Bhubaneswar, Devotees Pull Chariot After 2-Year Gap

Bhubaneswar: Devotees in large numbers turned up for pulling the chariot of Lord Lingaraj along the 2km-long Ratha Danda in the Old Town in Bhubaneswar on the occasion of Rukuna Rath Yatra on Saturday.

It is after two years that the festival, marking the annual sojourn of the Lord to Mausi Maa temple (Rameswar temple), is being held with public participation. It was cancelled in 2020 following the 21-day shutdown owing to the COVID-19 outbreak while only servitors were allowed to pull the chariot last year.

The festival is an important event in the cultural calendar of the city and is celebrated on the occasion of Ashokastami.

After the traditional ‘Mangal Alati’ and ‘Sahan Mela’ darshan, the bronze idols of ‘Chandrasekhar’ (representative idol of Lord Lingaraj), Devi Rukuna and Ananta Basudev were taken to the chariot in the ceremonial Pahandi (procession ritual of the deities from the temple to chariot) at 12.30 pm amid chanting of hymns, beating of drums and gongs and blowing of the conch.

The chariot pulling ceremony was slightly delayed and began around 4 pm.

The deities would rest at the Mausi Maa temple for 4 days before their return journey or Bahuda Yatra on April 13.

Meanwhile, two pots of Marichikunda (sacred well) water, used for the sanctification of the chariot for Rukuna Rath Yatra of Lord Lingaraj were auctioned for more than Rs 1.5 lakh on Friday.

After completion of the construction of the chariot at Mahakhala (workshop) near Lingaraj Temple, the priests performed the rituals for its sanctification. As part of the rituals, sacred water was brought from Marichikunda near Kedargouri and the purification of the chariot was completed late last night.

As per the belief, the Holy water helps barren women conceive, if bathed and drank on the eve of Ashokasthami of Lord Jagannath.