Puri: Owning a piece of the three chariots – Nandighosa, Debadalana and Taladhwaja – of the Lords of Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri after Rath Yatra will now cost more.
The prices of wheels, ‘prabha’, ‘kona guja’ and ‘asuari’ have been revised by Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), which recently released an expression of interest and a new standard operating procedure (SOP) for sale of dismantled components of the three chariots, due to their increased demand for among devotees, organisations, and industrial entities.
The base auction price is set at Rs 2 lakh per wheel for Lord Balabhadra’s Taladhwaja, Rs 1.5 lakh for Devi Subhadra’s Debadalana, and Rs 3 lakh for Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosa. A set of one wheel from each chariot has a base price of Rs 6 lakh. The ‘prabha’ for each chariot is priced at Rs 25,000, while ‘guja’ and ‘asuari’ are Rs 15,000 each, up by Rs 5,000 from last year.
Last year’s wheel prices were Rs 60,000 for Taladhwaja, Rs 50,000 for Debadalana, and Rs 1 lakh for Nandighosa.
According to the SOP, prospective buyers have to submit applications with a Rs 1,000 fee for chariot components to the temple administration by September 15. Those selected then will have to deposit the amount within one week of receiving allotment details from SJTA. If a selected applicant fails to pay within this period, the next eligible applicant will be considered.
SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee, who began auctioning chariot parts in 2012, stated that buyers must pledge to worship the components, maintain their sanctity, and not resell or misuse them.
Chariot construction is ongoing at Rath Khala on Grand Road in front of Srimandir, with over 200 temple carpenters using traditional methods since Akshaya Tritiya.
Construction of the three chariots is currently underway at the Rath Khala (construction site) on Grand Road in front of Srimandir. More than 200 temple carpenters are carrying out the work, which started on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, using traditional techniques.